On the passing of Bill Bradbury
April 19, 2023
Dear friends, colleagues and supporters,
We at the Geos Institute are deeply saddened by the untimely loss of our long-time former board member, Bill Bradbury. Bill passed away on April 14th due to complications in his long battle with Multiple Sclerosis while traveling with his wife, Katy Eymann.
Bill began his decades-long public service in the Oregon Legislature, first as a Representative and then as a Senator. After retiring from the Legislature, Bill was appointed by Gov. John Kitzhaber to replace retiring Phil Keisling as Secretary of State. Bill was also appointed to serve on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Bill’s notable accomplishments include directing “For the Sake of Salmon” with tireless efforts to rescue threatened Salmon runs statewide. Yet another project Bill undertook was as one of Al Gore’s first “Climate Warriors”, having been trained by Al and going on to train many more!
This Oregonian article touches on much of his extraordinary legacy, embracing other areas as well, including voter registration, leading Oregon to be the first state to adopt mail-in voting, and so much more.
Geos Institute benefited tremendously from Bill’s lengthy service on our Board of Directors, where he brought exuberance and passion to climate and other environmental deliberations, with ever-present positive energy and encouragement, and light-hearted humor, tempered with the sage advice of a veteran.
His passing will not eclipse the enduring radiance of his joyful, youthful spirit, which lives on in those who knew and loved him, as well as with each nascent run of wild salmon up the cool coastal rivers of Oregon.
As our Executive Director Tonya Graham so beautifully put it: “The world has lost a bit of its sunshine.”
And so indeed… Shine On, Bill!!
With gratitude,
James Ince
Board of Directors, Geos Institute
Ashland, Oregon
Arsum is the Senior Adaptation and Coastal Resilience Specialist for the National Wildlife Federation’s Southcentral Region. In this role, she advances climate adaptation efforts, with a focus on nature-based approaches to address the impacts of climate change and extreme events across the Gulf region. She has authored and co-authored numerous publications on climate impact assessments and adaptation solutions. Additionally, she regularly participates in state-based coastal resilience and hazard mitigation planning across the Gulf, collaborating with regional and local stakeholders.
Frank is the former President of the Reinsurance Association of America. Frank currently serves on the Advisory Board of the OECD’s International Network for the Financial Management of Large-Scale Disasters, the RAND Center on Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation, and the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner III Center for Insurance and Risk Management Advisory Board.
Jim is a multilingual world traveler. Based in Bavaria during the 1970s, Jim spent most of this period in India, Afghanistan and Nepal, where he founded and operated a charitable medical clinic serving Tibetan Refugees. He settled in Oregon in 1983 on a forested ranch in the Umpqua National Forest.
Dr. Micah Hahn is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health in the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. She received her joint PhD in Epidemiology / Environment and Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MPH in Global Environmental Health from Emory University. Subsequently, she was a postdoctoral fellow for the CDC Climate and Health Program, and in this position worked collaboratively with the CDC Division of Vector-borne Diseases and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Her research focuses on understanding the health impacts of climate change and working with communities to develop locally-relevant adaptation and resilience-building strategies. Dr. Hahn is also on the Management Team of the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center.
Michael is a former Founding Principal of Resilient Cities Catalyst, a global non-profit helping cities and their partners tackle their toughest challenges. He is currently the Executive Director of Climate Resilience Academy at the University of Miami.
Dr. Quintus Jett is a consultant, educator, and strategist for public causes. He has a doctorate in Organizations & Management from Stanford University, and a two-decade faculty career which spans schools, departments, and programs of business, engineering, liberal studies, divinity, and public and nonprofit management. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Dr. Jett launched a volunteer project in New Orleans, which enlisted residents, students from over a dozen colleges and universities, and hundreds of others to field map the city’s Gentilly district, Lower Ninth Ward, and New Orleans East. Dr. Jett is an innovator in higher education, bridging the divide between academic research and the other priorities of the modern university, including student access and diversity, community engagement, and providing foundations for life-long learning in today’s rapidly changing world.
Scott is Monfort Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. He has written about 100 publications in the peer-reviewed climate literature, is a former editor of the Journal of Climate, and served for five years as founding Science Chair of the North American Carbon Program.
Linda has many years of experience in disaster preparedness and resilience. She has been an elected official on the Linn County Iowa Board of Supervisors, Chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, the statewide Mental Health Developmental Disability and the Linn County Board of Health. Langston is a former president of the National Association of Counties (2013-2014).
Ken works with families and organizations as a mediator, organizational consultant, trainer and facilitator. Along with his passion for helping people prepare for and reduce climate change, Ken also volunteers as a mediator through Mediation Works and is passionate about supporting youth through mentoring with Boys to Men of Southern Oregon.
Matthew is a retired high school teacher who was once honored as Oregon High School Social Studies Teacher of the Year. Before his teaching career he was in the restaurant business in Portland. He is also a lawyer who has been a member of the Oregon State Bar Association since 1980.
Andrea is the Resilience Policy Advisor for the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. She works across state agencies and with local governments to increase the state’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.