R. Edward Freeman is University Professor and Academic Director of the Institute for Business in Society at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Best known for his award-winning book, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach (Pitman, 1984; and reprinted by Cambridge University Press in 2010), he holds seven honorary doctorates for his work on stakeholder theory and business ethics.

Dr. Freeman will discuss the ethical issues in which today’s world is enmeshed.  He suggests that these kinds of issues will prevail for the rest of our lives, and argues that we need to get much better at having ethics conversations with each other.

Paulo honed his skills in the courtroom, often being called upon to try the most difficult and complex cases for the Virginia State Bar. He prides himself on knowing the true value of a case, being a good listener, a good communicator, and a passionate defender of his clients’ interests.

For the last 18+ years, Paulo E. Franco Jr. was a prosecutor for the Virginia State Bar, prosecuting lawyers on its behalf. He has deep knowledge of the regulatory landscape and can serve as an advocate, helping you navigate the system.

Over 20 students joined Elev8 Ethics for this special luncheon with JMU Professor of Philosophy, Dr. Katherine Brelje. Dr. Brelje discusses her current research within feminist philosophy and environmental ethics, focusing on care ethics and plant life. Using the tools of contemporary philosophy to examine claims about the capabilities, identities, and value of plants, Dr. Brelje helps us better understand plants as active players in the world. Lunch will be served before the presentation, which will be followed by a short Q&A session. This is a wellness passport event.

Steven David Johnson is a conservation photographer and Professor of Visual and Communication Arts at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. His photography of the natural world has appeared in Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Nature Conservancy Magazine, and numerous other conservation publications and journals. In a recent interview with the Citizen, Steven says conservation photography is a way of “using nature photography to advocate for the protection of the natural world.”   

Travis N. Rieder, PhD, is an associate research professor at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, where he directs the Master of Bioethics degree program. In particular, Travis is concerned with engaging in ethical reasoning about our individual lives in a time dominated by massive, structural threats that are too big and too complex for any one of us to meaningfully address on our own. This has led to publications on climate change, pandemics, food ethics, and overpopulation—and is the subject of his second book, Catastrophe Ethics (Dutton, March 2024). 

Dr. Rieder discusses the difficult ethical situations that we face in today's society such as climate change and consumer choices.