Concordia to award an honorary doctorate to Gina McCarthy, former White House National Climate Advisor

Concordia University will be conferring an honorary doctorate on Gina McCarthy in recognition of her leadership on climate action and public health.

McCarthy is one of the United States’ most respected voices on climate change, environmental policy and public health. Appointed by President Joe Biden as the first-ever White House National Climate Advisor, she led the Climate Policy Office and helped drive the most ambitious climate action in U.S. history. Her commitment to bold initiatives across the Biden administration, supported by the climate and clean energy provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, restored U.S. climate leadership on the global stage. 

McCarthy is known for her pragmatic, collaborative approach to environmental policy. She has worked closely with states, communities, businesses and labour leaders to develop solutions that both protect public health and grow the economy. Today, she continues this work as chair of the America Is All In coalition and as senior fellow at the Fletcher School’s Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University. 

Previously, McCarthy was president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council and professor of the practice of public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as well as a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 

From 2013 to 2017, McCarthy was administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama, where she strengthened national air and water protections while advancing global climate accords, including the Kigali Amendment and the Paris Climate Agreement. 

She holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and an MSc from Tufts University. 

The special conferral of an honorary degree, in association with the Faculty of Arts and Science, will take place on April 17, 2026.