The new year promises some big changes for the field of environmental security—and some big moves for the Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP). As we say hello to 2018, we wave goodbye to Roger-Mark De Souza, and welcome him to our team of advisors and fellows. And I’m excited (if a bit daunted) to step into his shoes as our Acting Director and tackle the challenges to come.

At December’s Planetary Security Conference in The Hague, the hallway chatter focused on the United States’ dramatic roll-back of the progress on climate-security connections made in 2016. But even as the U.S. administration cools on climate, the discussion continues to heat up in Europe, where policymakers are working to bridge the gap between research and practice on conflict-sensitive, climate-resilient development. At the conference, ECSP Senior Advisor Geoff Dabelko and I led two innovative workshops where migration experts Jon Barnett of the University of Melbourne and Wilson Center Global Fellow Caroline Kihato worked with participants to identify out-of-the-box responses to climate-migration-security linkages.

The conference was a great opportunity to connect with old friends like Aaron Wolf, Peter Gleick, and Ashok Swain, who are all leading experts on transboundary water security. After 10 years at the Wilson Center, I still get giddy at the power of the network that we’ve built over 23 years: starting from a small seminars of the pioneering researchers who created the field of environmental security, and growing to today’s global broadcasts that reach tens of thousands of contacts around the world.

With Roger-Mark’s departure for Sister Cities International, that network just grew by one. Sister Cities, which was created at President Eisenhower’s 1956 White House summit on citizen diplomacy, seeks to foster peace between communities across the world. As a champion for population, health, and environment programming, and an advocate for small island states, Roger-Mark’s impact has always reached far beyond the Wilson Center walls—and  no doubt he will continue to punch above his weight at Sister Cities International. We’ll greatly miss his thoughtful leadership, his inspiring way with words, and his generous laughter.

While I’m sad to say goodbye to Roger-Mark, I’m excited to work with our team to ensure that the critical work continues. ECSP has been a program at the Wilson Center for two decades, and our cross-cutting, intersectoral approach to critical challenges has been a key contribution to the Wilson Center’s ranking as the #1 Transdisciplinary Think Tank.

Over my 10 years at the Center I’ve worked on all of our nontraditional security issues, from climate and water, to women’s health and urban sustainability. I’ve been very proud to lead our work on the Resilience for Peace Project, which supported the groundbreaking New Climate for Peace project commissioned by the G7 Foreign Ministers and helped drive some of the big policy changes we saw in 2016. A highlight for me was co-authoring Navigating Complexity, a first-of-its-kind report on climate, migration, and conflict; and I am eager to continue to share our analysis with the emerging networks focused on these little-understood and critically important intersections.

I’m very lucky to work with a team of rock stars; together, we have over 30 years of experience at the Wilson Center:

• Meaghan Parker is more than our Senior Writer/Editor. Sure, she founded New Security Beat, co-produced our 4 films, and sits on the board of the Society for Environmental Journalists. But she’s also the first person any of us turn to when we need a smart answer to a tough problem, a communications strategy (which, let’s face it, is 90 percent of our work), or a mentor.
• John Thon Majok is a daily reminder of the power—and the possibility—of resilience. His personal experience as a resettled refugee from South Sudan is a constant source of inspiration—as our his rigorous financial management skills.
• Benjamin Dills has grown into every role that we’ve thrown at him—program assistant, social media manager, digital editor—he does it all with a wry smile and a focus on the future.
• Sarah Barnes—after just five months—is transforming our Maternal Health Initiative into one of the most dynamic programs at the Wilson Center. Her nearly 20 years of experience across multiple countries is injecting new energy and new insights to the initiative’s excellent programs.

As we head into 2018, we look forward to shining a spotlight on how global transboundary trends interact to create security issues. We will continue to produce analysis and reporting on water and conflict that informs policymakers’ efforts—such as the recently released Global Water Strategy—to confront these threats. On January 16 at the Center, the former president of Slovenia, Danilo Turk, will share his ideas for building peace through transboundary water resource management. And together with our Senior Fellow Sherri Goodman and Senior Advisor Geoff Dabelko, we’re working to create a water conflict prevention center that will leverage our 20 year of experience on water security and encourage smart answers to these difficult questions.

Women’s health and empowerment remains a key part of our programming—and of global political and social discourse. On January 23, an expert panel on women and war will delve into how women’s health services enable women’s political participation, peacebuilding, and military leadership. And throughout 2018 we’ll explore why better health for women equals more wealth for everyone.

As we build on what we’ve learned from Roger-Mark, we’re thrilled to welcome him to our all-star group of fellows and advisors, and along with Geoff Dabelko, Maxine Burkett, Rich Cincotta, Ken Conca, Jack Goldstone, Sherri Goodman, Sharon Guynup, and Jennifer Sciubba, we’ll continue working to amplify the need for holistic approaches to our critical foreign policy and security issues.

Finally, I’m turning the tables on our popular Q&A segment and asking you—our experts—for  your input. Please give us your feedback in the comments:

1. What do you think are the most critical—and most critically overlooked—issues that need a more innovative and integrated approach?
2. Which parts of the world aren’t getting the focus from our foreign policy community that they deserve?
3. What are the opportunities we are missing that could truly transform environment, health, and security?

What can we do differently at the Wilson Center to support you and your efforts to build a more secure, sustainable world?