A pioneer in sustainability and national security, Sherri Goodman is among the most respected international voices on emerging global risks, including energy and climate security, environment and public health. The Pentagon’s first-ever Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security), Sherri led efforts to transform the Department of Defense into a leader in sustainability, climate resilience and advanced energy.  Today she serves as Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate & Security.  Her book, Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership and the Fight for Global Security, gives readers an inside account, from the Pentagon to the battlefield, of today’s military on the front lines of a changing climate, the energy transition, technology upheavals and new health challenges.

Sherri is recognized for her ability to blend a compelling strategic vision with operational execution to strengthen national security and mission readiness. An experienced “change agent” for large institutions, including the U.S. Department of Defense, Sherri has founded, led or advised over a dozen public and private sector organizations for sustainable success.

Using her famous coinage “threat multiplier,” Sherri is credited with educating a generation of U.S. military and government officials about the nexus between climate change and national security, fundamentally shaping the field of climate and energy security. As the founder and first Executive Director of the CNA Military Advisory Board on Climate Change and National Security, she led the first efforts to assess the national security implications of climate change as a strategic imperative. This work led to more than a decade of bipartisan action on building energy and climate resilience in defense missions and protecting troops from growing biological and other health risks to protect resilience and troop health.

Today, Sherri serves as the Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate & Security, the leading international organization for national security and military leaders on climate and energy security, a Senior Fellow at CNA (Center for Naval Analyses), and as Chair of the Sandia National Laboratories’ Energy & Homeland Security External Advisory Board.  Sherri advises governments and private firms on sustainability, energy, climate and technology opportunities in both board and consulting capacities. 

Recognized by both military and environmental officials for her leadership in national security, energy and sustainability, Sherri has twice received the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Award, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from Amherst College.