Benjamin Backer is the Next Speaker in the Mudd Lecture Series Backer, founder and CEO of Nature is Nonpartisan, will give a lecture on Oct. 28 in Stackhouse Theater.

By Emily Innes Stanley
October 16, 2025

Benjamin Backer, founder and CEO of Nature is Nonpartisan, will be in conversation with Ryan McCoy, assistant professor of environmental studies at W&L, on Oct. 28 at 5:10 p.m. in Stackhouse Theater in Elrod Commons as part of W&L’s Mudd Center for Ethics’ series, “Taking Place: Land Use and Environmental Impact.”

The event, which is free and open to the public, is titled “Common Ground, Common Future: Bipartisan Environmentalism.” The first part of the event will be recorded and available afterward: https://go.wlu.edu/livestream.

Backer will explore a timely ethical question: Is it possible to protect the environment in an age of deep political division in America? Drawing on his travels across the country, he will share what he’s learned about how culture wars and partisan extremes have taken over the climate conversation, and what it will take to reclaim environmental stewardship as a shared responsibility. Backer will also share insights from his recent book, “The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future” (2024), to show why bridging divides isn’t just good politics — it’s the right thing to do for our communities and future generations.

“The Mudd Center is delighted to host Benji Backer, whose work has been instrumental in bridging divides between the left and right on environmental issues,” said Melissa Kerin, the director of the Mudd Center. “Having Professor McCoy as part of this event makes it even more special. His deep engagement in on-the-ground environmental work with communities positions him well to raise thoughtful and important questions for Benji.”

Backer founded Nature is Nonpartisan in 2025 as a movement to redefine environmentalism as a nonpartisan issue once and for all. He is also the founder of the American Conservation Coalition, the country’s largest conservative environmental organization, which he established during his freshman year of college in 2017. Backer has been named a New York Times Changemaker and to the Fortune 40 Under 40, Forbes 30 Under 30, GreenBiz 30 Under 30 and Grist 50. He is a fellow at The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity and is one of the leading youth environmental voices in the country. He graduated from the University of Washington in 2020 and resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit the Mudd Center for Ethics’ series webpage.

The Mudd Center was established in 2010 through a gift to the university from award-winning journalist Roger Mudd, a 1950 graduate of W&L. By facilitating collaboration across traditional institutional boundaries, the center aims to encourage a multidisciplinary perspective on ethics informed by both theory and practice. Previous Mudd Center lecture series themes have included “Global Ethics in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities,” “Race and Justice in America,” “The Ethics of Citizenship,” “Markets and Morals,” “Equality and Difference,” “The Ethics of Identity,” “The Ethics of Technology,” “Daily Ethics: How Individual Choices and Habits Express Our Values and Shape Our World, “Beneficence: Practicing and Ethics of Care,” “The Ethics of Design” and “How We Live and Die: Stories, Values and Communities.”