The Getches-Wilkinson Center and Center of the American West will co-host the 16th Annual Schultz Lecture in Energy on February 25, 2025 with special guest, Tommy Beaudreau, former Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025
6:00 p.m. (Mountain Time)
Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom

“The Lords of Yesterday and the Imperatives of Now”

Discussion by Tommy Beaudreau, former Deputy Secretary of the Interior, about the structural, legal and political challenges to energy transition on public lands.  An exploration of the contemporary problems that must be solved for in bringing public lands to bear in the energy transition and the roots of those issues in the legacy of American westward expansion and the displacement of Native people.

Student Lunch and Learns
Tues, February 25, 2025 at the Center of the American West
Wed, February 26, 2025 in Room 207 in Wolf Law

GWC and CWA respectively, will host a lunch and learn for students, where Tommy Beaudreau will share his professional experiences and offered advice and guidance to students and engage in a Q&A session.

Tommy Beaudreau

Tommy Beaudreau is co-chair of WilmerHale’s Energy, Environment and Natural Resources and Native American Law Practices. Mr. Beaudreau focuses his practice on a broad range of areas including conventional and renewable energy and large-scale infrastructure projects; environmental regulatory, litigation and enforcement matters; crisis management and response; and Tribal matters. In addition, Mr. Beaudreau leads internal investigations and responses to government investigations and congressional oversight.

Mr. Beaudreau served in senior leadership roles in the United States Department of the Interior for nearly a decade across two administrations. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Secretary of the Interior after being confirmed by the US Senate in June 2021 by a vote of 88-9, reflecting his strong reputation as a bi-partisan problem solver. In this role, Mr. Beaudreau was point on the most pressing and high-profile matters before the Department, including energy development on public lands and waters, water infrastructure and delivery to address sustained drought in the American west, infrastructure permitting and critical minerals development, implementation of the historic investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, and a broad range of priorities relative to Indian Country.

Mr. Beaudreau previously served for nearly seven years at the Department of the Interior (DOI) during the Obama Administration, including as the first director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, and chief of staff for the Interior Department. He is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.