Renowned British international law and human rights attorney Amal Clooney will deliver the opening keynote address at this year's Greenbuild International Conference and Expo taking place Nov. 14-16 in Chicago at the McCormick Place Convention Center, the organizing U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today.
“Green building is about providing equal access to safe, healthy, and sustainable environments for everyone. It’s about understanding that every life matters, and furthermore, that quality of life must be preserved," said USGBC senior vice president of conferences and events Kate Hurst in a press release. "Amal has a deep understanding of this. She has spent her life fighting for the underserved and underrepresented and her tireless and extraordinary efforts on behalf of others underscore the greater humanitarian mission of our movement."
The theme of this year's expo is "Human x Nature" (pronounced "human by nature"), to celebrate the connection between the green building movement and humanity "by making sustainable buildings and environments accessible to everyone, and in doing so, benefits the natural environment around us," according to the same release.
“We are thrilled to align Clooney’s powerful message and mission with this year’s Greenbuild theme of 'Human x Nature,''” said Lindsay Roberts, group director of USGBC's co-host Informa Exhibitions. “Amal’s passion for equality and human rights will resonate with the equally passionate Greenbuild audience and we are excited to have this important conversation delivered by a strong female on the main stage as we kick off the 2018 event.”
An Oxford University graduate, Clooney practices at Doughty Street Chambers in London and is a visiting professor at Columbia Law School where she teaches on human rights law. She has held multiple posts within the United Nations, including as senior adviser to former U.N. secretary-general and more recently the organization's envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan. In 2016, Clooney co-founded the nonprofit, the Clooney Foundation for Justice with her husband and in 2017 she was named a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum. Clooney is currently serving as counsel to Yazidi women who have been sexually ensalved by ISIS, and is pursuing the terrorist group for its genocide in the Middle East in national and international courts.
Clooney will speak at the opening plenary from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
