Episode 4: Adela J. Gondek, Ph.D - Lecturer, Columbia University-Climate School & Earth Institute

On The Leadership Thread with Dr. Peggy Pelonis, this episode features Dr. Adela Gondek, a Columbia University lecturer in public and environmental sustainability ethics and a political theorist by training. Drawing on her experience as a former legislative analyst in the Massachusetts State Senate and her academic work at Columbia and Harvard’s Kennedy School, Dr. Gondek explores whether ethics can truly be taught, or whether it is shaped early in life through upbringing and lived experience. She reflects on leadership lessons learned from her parents, particularly her father’s military service and example of leading from the front and connects those values to her work developing ethics curricula for public administration and environmental studies. The conversation also highlights the growing importance of climate and environmental education, emphasizing the need to introduce ethics and sustainability principles from an early age to prepare future leaders for complex global challenges. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices