2011 Laureate
The Hillary Institute of International Leadership’s international third global Laureate for exceptional leadership on Climate Change Solutions is Aimée Christensen.

Ms. Christensen is founder and CEO of Christensen Global Strategies, collaborating with industries, governments, organizations and individuals worldwide to develop solutions for a strong clean global economy, healthy communities and protection of our natural resources. She is known as a thought-leader who also delivers results. Trained as an environmental and energy lawyer with deep experience in energy policy in Washington, D.C., she brings two decades of experience in climate change and sustainability strategy to the corporate, investment, and philanthropic sectors.

Her clients are wide-ranging and have included the Clinton Global Initiative, Duke Energy, the Elders, the Global Observatory, Ogilvy, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Swiss Re, the United Nations Development Program, the U.S. Department of Energy, Virgin Unite and Wolfensohn + Co. She serves as Strategic Adviser (USA) to Cambridge University’s Programme for Sustainability Leadership and the Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme and is Program Chair of the World Climate Summit. At the UN “COP16” climate talks in Cancun in December 2010, Christensen orchestrated “Business Action for Climate 2010,” showcasing business leadership on climate change with the CEOs of Duke Energy, Dow Chemical, The Coca-Cola Company, and FEMSA.Joined by Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and President Felipe Calderón of Mexico, Business Action for Climate successfully launched business’ presence at COP 16. In addition to her advisory work, Ms. Christensen has contributed to building the global clean economy by playing a central role in the founding of a number of organizations, campaigns, and businesses including the Clean Economy Development Center, the Clean Economy Network, the Global Observatory, EKO Asset Management Partners, and the Newark Green Future Network. She is responsible for a number of critical firsts including drafting and negotiating the first U.S. bilateral agreements on climate change, and writing and successfully advocating for the adoption of the first university endowment investment policy on climate change.

Ms Christensen follows the Institute’s selection of Jeremy Leggett (UK) in 2009, Chair of Solar Century, and Peggy Liu (China) in 2010, Chairwoman of JUCCCE (Joint US-China Co-operation on Clean Energy). Prior to starting her own company, she worked in “green” leadership positions at Google.org and the U.S. Department of Energy where she negotiated the first bilateral agreements on climate change. She concentrated on environmental issues while practicing law with the World Bank and with Baker & McKenzie’s groundbreaking Climate Change and Clean Energy practice group. She is a 2010 Aspen Institute Catto Environmental Leadership Fellow, addressed energy issues at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and in 2008 was chosen as an “Emerging Leader” by the New Leader’s Council. She serves on numerous boards including the American Council on Renewable Energy and is a frequent contributor to media outlets, including Bloomberg and ABC’s energyNOW!

Finally, while a student at Stanford Law School, Ms. Christensen wrote and led efforts to obtain the adoption by Stanford’s Board of Trustees of the “Climate Change and Investment Responsibility Policy,” which governs Stanford’s investment policies to this day.

Ms Christensen will lead the Institute’s 2011 New Zealand Symposium (Christchurch) and she will also be honoured by the Institute in the USA, her home country. Says Hillary Institute Chair David Caygill: "The Hillary Summit governors are delighted Aimee has accepted our 2011 Laureate Award. By any measure her leadership and influence on Climate Change Solutions work is outstanding."

Says Christensen: "I am deeply honored by this recognition and I am committed to making the most of this great opportunity, not just for my work, but truly for the climate and broader sustainability and protection of our planet, to accelerate and scale the deployment of climate change solutions around the world."