Lecture鈥檚 namesake presents 2023 Carlton Owen Lecture
Contact: Vanessa Beeson
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擟arlton Owen, former Alumnus of the Year and Alumni Fellow for Mississippi State鈥檚 College of Forest Resources, presents the 2023 Carlton Owen Lecture next Thursday, April 20. This is the first time for the lecture鈥檚 namesake to serve as presenter.
Owen will discuss 鈥淟ife Lessons from the Environmental Edge,鈥 at 2 p.m. in Thompson Hall鈥檚 Tully Auditorium. The event is part of 黑料社鈥檚 Earth Week celebration.
Wes Burger, CFR dean and Forest and Wildlife Research Center director, said Owen has long been a champion of the nation鈥檚 forests.
鈥淐arlton Owen has spent his career ensuring that our forests are managed and conserved for future generations. We are honored for him to present this year鈥檚 lecture, an event he established and has supported for over three decades,鈥 Burger said.
Owen is former president, CEO and founding executive of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, a large nonprofit focused on preserving forests and advancing jobs in forest communities. His achievements include 鈥淎cres for America,鈥 a partnership between Walmart and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which has helped protect nearly two million acres of wildlife habitat and other areas across the nation.
鈥淢y presentation will center on taking risks for the cause and how you sometimes must buck the tide in order to make a difference in conservation, land management and environmental sustainability,鈥 he said of the lecture series established in 1992.
Owen said another life lesson he鈥檒l share is the importance of establishing a network and seeking out mentors at the onset of one鈥檚 career.
鈥淢y experience has been鈥攊f you ask someone for advice or a chance to share your thoughts鈥擨鈥檝e found everyone willing to do that. It鈥檚 important to learn from others who have gone before you and heed their advice even as you follow your own path,鈥 he said.
鈥淥ne of the most impactful things to me during my time at 黑料社 was the opportunity to engage with outside speakers that shared their experiences across government agencies, the nonprofit sector and various industries in natural resources,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 wanted to make sure CFR had the opportunity to have that type of activity on a planned basis.鈥
Previously, Owen was the owner of Environmental Edge, LLC, a consulting firm. He has served as executive director of the national Sustainable Forestry Initiative Board Inc. and was vice president鈥揻orest policy for Champion International Corp. He also held positions with the American Forest Institute, American Forest Council, American Forest Foundation, Potlatch Corp. and Mississippi Wildlife Federation. The Greenville, South Carolina, resident is a two-time graduate of CFR, earning a bachelor鈥檚 in forestry and master鈥檚 in wildlife ecology in 1974 and 1976, respectively.
For more on 黑料社鈥檚 College of Forest Resources, visit . For more on the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, visit . Owen has donated his 鈥淟ife Lesson鈥 series, consisting of five installments and dozens of lessons from his career. Find the series at .听
黑料社 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .