Hello 👋
Joseph Gelfer here, founder of Ecotopian Careers. My background has mostly been in teaching and research in the higher education sector. I’ve also written a whole bunch of stuff including books such as Numen, Old Men: Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy (Routledge), 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse (Routledge), and Masculinities in a Global Era (Springer), plus articles in newspapers and magazines such as The Guardian, Vice and Spirituality & Health.
Like many others, I spent years trying to figure out what I can do to be part of the solution to climate change. Like many others I made changes to my lifestyle such as being vegetarian, recycling, and living very modestly. But what I really wanted to do was to make climate change the focus of my working week.
However, like many others I realized that it’s hard to make significant professional changes in mid-career. There are many obstacles that make such changes difficult: some of these are to do with individual circumstances, and others with social expectations and prejudices. I founded Ecotopian Careers with the intention of reducing these obstacles so as many people as possible can transition to green jobs and make climate change the focus of their working week.
I am a member of the Climate Coaching Alliance where I am convener of the Work and Careers group. I am also an En-ROADS Climate Ambassador.
Why “Ecotopian”?
The word “Ecotopian” comes from Ernest Callenbach’s 1978 novel Ecotopia. The novel tells a story of a group of breakaway states in the west of the US who established a new country, Ecotopia, that is governed on ecological principles.
While there are various elements in the book that are somewhat of their time, there are many others that remain very relevant today and for the future.