Carolyn Raffensperger is the founding director of Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN). As a lawyer with specialization in the environment, she has focused her attention on law and policy that seeks to protect and restore public health and the environment. Coeditor of Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing the Precautionary Principle, she coined the term "ecological medicine" to encompass the broad notion that both health and healing are entwined with the natural world.

During this lecture she will address the important question of how we as a people articulate and breath life into our common values. She will explore the intersection of science, culture, and policy by asking the question: What is the role of government in helping citizens understand and be proactive about living with environmental risks?