Dedicated to Lamont C. (Monty) Hempel

Lamont C. (Monty) Hempel (1950–2019) was one of the founders and the first interim president of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS). Thw AESS Board approved this Festschrift to celebrate Monty’s life, scholarship, activism, and optimism. Monty was the Hedco Chair in Environmental Studies and Director of the Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Redlands. Monty helped to form and lead the key US organizations in our field, including the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (CEDD) of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). He was active in global environmental education and governance, including in the Republic of Palau where he led field courses for Redlands students for more than a decade.