Simran Sethi is an award-winning journalist and associate professor at the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, where she teaches courses on sustainability and environmental communications. She is currently writing a book on the psychological barriers to environmental engagement for HarperCollins. Simran is the contributing author of Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy, winner of the bronze 2008 Axiom Award for Best Business Ethics book. She is also the founding host/writer of Sundance Channel’s environmental programming The Green and the creator of the Sundance Web series The Good Fight, highlighting global environmental justice efforts and grassroots activism.
Named one of the top 10 eco-heroes of the planet by the UK’s Independent and lauded as the “environmental messenger” by Vanity Fair, Simran has contributed numerous segments to NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CNBC, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Martha Stewart Show and The History Channel. She is committed to a redefinition of environmentalism that includes voices from the prairie, the inner city and the global community.
Simran blogs about sustainability for The Huffington Post and is currently writing a yearlong series about making her first home more resource efficient for the MOTHER EARTH NEWS and Oprah Winfrey websites. She has been a featured guest on NPR and is the host of the Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary, A School in the Woods. Simran has lectured at institutions ranging from the Commonwealth Club to Cornell University; keynoted conferences including Bioneers by the Bay, the Green Business Conference and the North American Association for Environmental Education; and moderated panels for the Clinton Global Initiative University, Demos and the Climate Group.
Simran is an associate fellow at the Asia Society and serves on the Sustainability Advisory Board for the city of Lawrence, Kan. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration in sustainable business from the Presidio Graduate School and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Smith College. She is the 2009 recipient of the Smith College Medal, awarded to alumnae demonstrating extraordinary professional achievements and outstanding service to their communities, and the 2010 recipient of the American College Personnel Association Champion of Sustainability Award for leadership on sustainability within academe.