Interim Vice President for Climate
![Photo of Richard Lester](/sites/default/files/styles/headshot_lg_1x/public/2023-02/lester.jpg?h=f1c46bf8&itok=bR-HsPT3)
About the Position
The interim vice president for climate (VPC) provides strategic leadership and direction for MIT in the areas of climate research, translation, innovation, education, and public and industry engagement. He leads the Climate Project, overseeing the work of the Climate Missions, Frontiers, and HQ. The VPC builds and sustains relationships within the MIT community and externally, and plays a lead role in resource development to enable important new work on climate.
The faculty mission directors for the Climate Project report to the VPC. For the Climate Project, the VPC is responsible for setting ambitious goals, providing the mission directors with the resources and advice they need to succeed, holding them accountable for progress, and communicating the impact of their work to key stakeholders. The VPC is tasked with building the Climate Project into one of the world’s most collaborative and prolific sources of climate solutions – solutions that can help bend the trajectory of climate change.