JOEL CLEMENT

Joel Clement is a PhD biologist who was serving as a Senior Executive Service-level advisor to the Secretary of the Interior on the adverse impacts of climate change when, in the summer of 2017, he was arbitrarily reassigned as an act of retaliation by then-Secretary Ryan Zinke to the office that collects and processes oil and gas royalty payments. Although dozens of other SES-level employees were similarly notified, Clement was the only one to hire counsel and blow the whistle. He placed an op-ed in The Washington Post in June 2017 that was a stinging rebuke of Sec. Zinke’s action and promptly filed a whistleblower complaint with the Office of Special Counsel. Clement has become a convincing spokesperson for adherence to scientific integrity in climate science. He is a recipient of the 2017 Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage from The Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest.