Tia Nelson, champion of environmental stewardship, to receive honorary degree from UW–Madison
Nelson, who has been instrumental in advancing local, national and global conservation efforts, will be honored on May 8 at the spring commencement ceremony.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison will award an honorary doctorate degree to Tia Nelson, an internationally recognized champion for environmental stewardship and conservation.
“Tia Nelson embodies the Wisconsin Idea in its fullest sense. Through her lifelong dedication to environmental stewardship and public service, she has helped shape both conversation and action around global sustainability efforts,” says Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin. “Her work reminds us that environmental stewardship is both a shared responsibility and a profound opportunity. It is a privilege to recognize her unwavering commitment that stands as an inspiration for us all.”
Nelson is a UW–Madison alumna who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology before moving to Washington, D.C., where she spent 17 years at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in government relations and as their policy advisor for Latin America. She went on to become the founding director of TNC’s Global Climate Change Initiative, which identifies goals to slow global warming trends, protect natural habitats, and manage farmlands and forests through innovative climate change solutions.
In 2004, Nelson returned home to Wisconsin where she served as executive secretary to the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. In that role, she secured bipartisan support for legislation that realigned the agency’s land ownership, resulting in increased sustainable forestry and the permanent protection of unique natural areas. During her tenure, she also helped bolster funding for public school libraries and scholarships for Universities of Wisconsin students. Nelson also led the Outrider Foundation’s Climate Change Program as its managing director.
Tia Nelson embodies the Wisconsin Idea in its fullest sense. Through her lifelong dedication to environmental stewardship and public service, she has helped shape both conversation and action around global sustainability efforts.
She remains actively involved in environmental sustainability causes, currently serving on the boards of ecoAmerica and Ploughshares and as an ambassador for Wisconsin’s Green Fire. Most recently, she returned to the role of executive secretary to the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.
In selecting recipients, the UW–Madison Committee on Honorary Degrees considers sustained and uncommonly meritorious activity exhibiting values that are esteemed by a great university. “Ms. Nelson’s distinguished achievement represents the best of the Wisconsin Idea in regard to the university and the world,” the committee wrote. “She has been a lifelong champion for sustainability, with her leadership impacting local, state, national and international leadership across areas of environment, conservation, sustainability, climate and the responsible role of science in society.”
A veteran of the first United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations, Nelson has been at the vanguard of the environmental movement. She is a staunch believer in the power of individuals to influence change, and she has seen that change in action throughout her professional and personal life. Her father, Gaylord Nelson, who served Wisconsin as governor and U.S. senator, founded Earth Day in 1970. Tia Nelson saw first-hand how the inaugural Earth Day become a catalyst that sparked the adoption of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act and lead to President Nixon creating the Environmental Protection Agency.
In 2015, to thank her for her years of dedicated service to and on behalf of the Nelson Institute, she was awarded the title of board member emeritus by Nelson Institute Dean Paul Robbins.
“If Tia Nelson faithfully serves the Wisconsin Idea, and she certainly does, she also embodies what I like to think of as the ‘Nelson Idea,’ recognizing that the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the reverse,” says Paul Robbins, dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. “She has tirelessly supported UW–Madison, its students, faculty and staff in work that uplifts social and economic good across the state through a steadfast dedication to Earth stewardship. In doing so, she advances our shared commitment to what Gaylord Nelson so powerfully articulated as ‘an environment of decency, quality, and mutual respect for all human beings and all other living creatures.’ ”
For her work in Wisconsin and across the world, Nelson has received numerous awards, such as the Climate Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2000. In 2006, she received the Environmental Lifetime Achievement Award by Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful; she was named the David Engleson Award winner by Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education in 2012; and in 2015, UW–Stevens Point presented her with the Environmental Leader Award. That same year, Nelson was honored with the Torchbearer Award from the Wisconsin Chapter of the Sierra Club. She recently received the Tommy G. Thompson Distinguished Public Leadership Award, which recognizes Wisconsinites who have committed themselves to public service.
Nelson will be conferred with the honorary doctor of science degree at the spring commencement ceremony for all doctoral, MFA and medical professional degree candidates at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8 at the Kohl Center. For more information and updates, visit commencement.wisc.edu.
