VIEC Speakers

Speaker:
Tom Mullikin

Having led environmental expeditions to every continent, Tom Mullikin brings a unique blend of fi rst-hand experience, critical legal analysis, and community and stakeholder involvement to the leadership of his fi rm’s Government, Policy and Regulatory Affairs team. His extensive travel, including multiple trips to the Arctic and Antarctic, provides context to his work as a senior environmental attorney. Tom partners with his clients to address the practical social, political, and environmental impacts of climate change.

Tom led his fi rst Antarctic expedition in 2005 with a team of researchers and environmental experts to study the effects of climate change on the polar regions. He told the story of this expedition in a video documentary, Climate Change: Global Problems, Global Solutions, which received widespread acclaim in both business and environmental circles, and was broadcast on New Hampshire Public Television, with a Boston-area viewership of more than 2.4 million households. In his award-winning follow-up documentary, The Whole Truth, he documented subsequent expeditions to the Namib Desert of Africa, the Amazon River Basin of Peru, and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, discussing the global nature of climate change. It received Bronze Telly Awards for Feature Documentary and Social Issues and was featured at the Charleston Film Festival and was broadcast on the Halogen Network to over 13 million homes in the United States. In 2010, Tom undertook additional investigative expeditions to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica and the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.

Tom has been recognized as a Distinguished Lecturer on climate change at Illinois’ Governors State University and at Loyola University New Orleans. He presented in the University of the Ozarks Distinguished Speaker Series and at St. Petersburg State University, Russia. He has spoken on the intersection of the economy and environmental challenges at international conferences such as the Woodrow Wilson Center Cross Border Energy Forum, and in Australia, Russia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, as well as across the United States in conjunction with industry associations and state and regional chambers of commerce. Tom has over 125 lecture hours in front of a wide variety of audiences.

Tom is the author of Global Solutions: Demanding Total Accountability for Climate Change, The Maxims of Politics: Making Government Work, Sportsman Environmentalist, and Truck Stop Politics: Understanding the Emerging Force of Working Class America. He has been widely published in both legal and mainstream periodicals, including UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, and Campaigns and Elections Magazine, among others. Further, he has been quoted for his experience in both the law and the environment by major national and local newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and the Associated Press. He also has appeared on numerous broadcast networks and their affi liates, including CSPAN, PBS, FOX, NBC, CBS and ABC.

Tom previously served as Chief Counsel and Vice President for Public Affairs to the largest environmental services company in the world. He has served on state legislative and congressional staffs, and as an advisor and campaign manager to senior members of Congress and U.S. Presidential candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties. Tom’s career spans more than 20 years and includes key legislative staff roles, direct legislative advocacy, extensive corporate environmental legal representation, and management of environmental and energy issue campaigns. He is a member of the South Carolina Bar, the D.C. Bar, and is admitted to practice before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Tom formerly served with the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps, USAR, where he served as the Assistant Staff Judge Advocate for the 360th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations, United States Army Special Operations Command. For his service, he was awarded, among other honors, the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Tom continues to serve as a Lieutenant Colonel, Legal Affairs Section, Joint Services Detachment of the South Carolina State Guard. He has also received the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the State of South Carolina.