Announcing New Leadership at CES

Below you will find four emails sent to CES members in November 2025 announcing significant leadership changes at CES. Following you will find, in this order:
1: An announcement from Herman Greene, CES Founder and President of 25 years
2: A message from Simon Spire, incoming CES President and Executive Director
3: A message from Linda Wendling, Executive Director of SOEL and CES Director of Operations
4: A message from Glenn Astolfi, CES Board Chair

1: An announcement from Herman Greene, CES Founder and President of 25 years

I am excited to announce changes in CES’s operations. All that is described below is taking place at my request and with my approval. I will continue to be active in CES’s editorial and writing work and will have a leadership role in “SOEL,” which is described below. The net result of these changes for me is that I will have less administrative responsibilities so that I can concentrate more on research, writing, and teaching. This will benefit you as I change my focus and strengthen CES’s work.

I am confident that the following changes will enable CES to continue and expand its work for years to come.

•  In September, CES added a new division, the Society for Earth Law (SOEL). This brings an important action component to CES.
• In January, Simon Spire will become the president of CES. Herman Greene, who turned 80 in September, will step down as president while remaining active in CES’s work.
• In the coming year, CES will restart regular publications and expand its programming. Since Covid-19 hit, our publication schedule has been irregular. The focus of CES turned to five one-year study groups on creating the Ecozoic era. Plans are in the works for renewed, improved, and expanded CES operations.

This email will be followed by (i) an email from Simon Spire as the new President of CES, (ii) another from Linda Wendling as the overall administrative manager of CES and the Executive Director of SOEL, and (iii) another from Glenn Astolfi, the Chair of the Board of CES.

I, along with Albert Hardy, Sue Tideman, and Betty Lou Chaika, founded CES on January 1, 2000. At the end of this year, I will have served as president for twenty-five years. I turned eighty in September. It is time to turn the management of CES over to a new generation of leaders. This being said, I am not through as is indicated by the picture of me after finishing the Mount Desert Isle (Maine) Marathon on October 19—my 27^th. I will remain active in CES and SOEL in various capacities.

SOEL is an expression of one of Thomas Berry’s greatest passions, which was the creation of a new Earth jurisprudence. Much of my work since 2018 has been in that field. I co-edited and co-authored the primary legal textbook in that field, Earth Law: Emerging Ecocentric Law—A Guide for Practitioners, the second edition of which will be published in February 2026. I am currently Thomas Berry Scholar-in-residence at the Earth Law Center, and I am a co-founder of SOEL, which has now become a division of CES.

We now have two complementary divisions of CES: (1) legacy CES that will continue and expand on the present programming of CES—internally we are calling this division the Center for Ecozoic Futures, and (2) the Society for Earth law, which as mentioned above, has the acronym SOEL.

The compatibility of these two divisions is indicated by their mission statements.

CES: The mission of CES is to advance ecology and culture as the organizing principles of societies.

SOEL: The mission of SOEL is to transform law for an ecological age based on the meta-principles of relationality, reciprocity, and responsibility.

Find out more about SOEL by viewing brief bios of its leaders and by reading the Call for an Earth Law Society and the Mission and Purpose Statement of SOEL.

Please feel free to send me your questions and comments at my new CES email address, which is h.greene@ecozoicstudies.org.

Consider supporting CES’s with your time (offer to volunteer for CES or conduct the Great Work in your own ways) and treasure (by credit card, by Venmo to @ecozoicstudies, or by sending a check made payable to “CES” to Center for Ecozoic Studies, 2516 Winningham Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516).

Yours in service,

Herman F. Greene
President

2: A message from Simon Spire, incoming CES President and Executive Director

Dear members, supporters, and friends of the Center for Ecozoic Studies,

It is with great gratitude and joy that I am writing to you today as CES’s incoming President for 2026. Ever since I encountered CES in 2018, I have found its work and community to be an ongoing source of inspiration. While Herman’s 25 years of leadership and dedication to the center is a hard act to follow, what Herman has managed to build over those years is what makes the possibilities for the next chapter of CES’s life so exciting. The opportunity to be a part of the new journeys that await CES is a true honor.

In this letter, I’d like to share a little about how I found my way to the Ecozoic vision, followed by a glimpse into what CES has in store for 2026. Although I had heard the name before, it wasn’t until 2016 that I truly became aware of Thomas Berry’s work as I was delving into Bill Plotkin’s writings in eco-depth psychology. A prominent thread in my life has been exploring the interior dimensions of the human experience and the nature of full human development, which has led me down paths as a songwriter and recording artist, a soul-oriented psychotherapist, and a contemplative practitioner. It also led me to embark upon a yearlong, nature-based vision fast and Soulcraft program with Bill Plotkin and his Animas Valley Institute, during which Bill mentioned “Herman Greene and the Center for Ecozoic Studies” when I spoke of having recently moved to Chapel Hill, NC. I made a mental note. As fate would have it, it was only a couple of months later that I found myself at an event standing in front of a man with an enthusiastic glint in his eye and a name tag that read “Herman Greene.” I mentioned CES, and a deep conversation ensued.

What immediately drew me to the Ecozoic vision was its integrative and holistic nature, and as my studies with Herman proceeded over the subsequent months, my sense of having found an intellectual home grew clearer. Ever since I can remember, I’ve felt drawn toward visions of a more whole and more life-supporting world. It’s what motivated my undergraduate studies in economics in New Zealand, where I spent the first 22 years of my life; it was also present in my decision to follow the calling I felt to music and the adventure that brought me to the United States. And it’s been at the heart of my pursuits ever since, whether graduate studies, facilitating inner work for individuals and groups, or working with organizations active in societal and economic innovation. What I found in the Ecozoic was a compelling, inclusive, and intellectually-grounded vision to point the way for humanity’s future. I soon realized that this was not just an environmental or ecological body of work. Rather, the Great Work recognizes, among other things, the importance of systems, economics, and governance; culture, diversity, and philosophy; and psychological and spiritual development. I found that there’s room for all of who I am in the Ecozoic, an experience I imagine many others reading this letter have had. And because there’s room for all of the interdependent dimensions of human beingness and civilization, this House of Life is large enough to host an inspired vision that can serve as a guiding light for humanity’s and Earth’s future.

It is with this understanding in mind that I invite you to join us in 2026 as we launch our new community platform. Along with the rest of the CES leadership team, I believe that the Ecozoic vision has a role to play in humanity’s future and that it needs to be brought to a broader audience. I believe there are many who can be nourished by its thoughtful and informed message of purpose and hope interwoven with its invitation to continual discovery of what it is to be human and what it is to be part of this Earth. To facilitate this, we will be launching a dynamic and community-based online platform that will both make CES’s existing educational resources available in a structured format while also serving as a hub and incubator for those seeking connection and support for envisioning and co-creating the emerging Ecozoic Era. As you know, CES has celebrated not just the work of Thomas Berry but also those whose work is resonant with the Ecozoic framework. In this spirit, we plan to host an ongoing community learning journey in which contemporary thought leaders and their work provide further inspiration for our inquiry into the emerging Ecozoic. We’ll be announcing details in early 2026. I hope you will join us!

There’s so much in store for 2026 — both with our upcoming CES developments and, of course, with the recent launch of SOEL and the many dedicated people who are involved in this important new community. As I’ve been working with CES’s outstanding leadership team of Herman, Glenn Astolfi, and Linda Wendling over the months, my anticipation for the new year and all that we will be pursuing has steadily grown. Once again, I want to thank the CES community and Herman for this opportunity to contribute to the Great Work through CES’s mission. If you’d like to contact me in the future, I can be reached at s.spire@ecozoicstudies.org  And if you’d like to learn more about me, feel free to read more about my story on my website. Herman suggested I include a song, and while my musical output has slowed dramatically since my twenties (a long time ago now!), I did manage to release two new songs in the present decade, which you can find here and here if you’re curious.

If you would like to contribute to CES’s annual fundraising appeal to help propel us into this new year of new opportunities, we gratefully welcome your contributions by credit card, by Venmo to @ecozoicstudies, or by sending a check made payable to “CES” to Center for Ecozoic Studies, 2516 Winningham Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516. We also welcome volunteer support for CES’s projects.

Thank you for being a part of the CES community, and I look forward to connecting with you again in the new year!

Simon Spire 

3: A message from Linda Wendling, Executive Director of SOEL and CES Director of Operations

Dear members, supporters, and friends of the Center for Ecozoic Studies,   It gives me great joy during this week of Thanksgiving to write to you as the Director of Operations for the Center of Ecozoic Studies and Executive Director of the Society for Earth Law (SOEL). What I can give thanks for this year is the deepening of my understanding of the Ecozoic and my friendship with Herman. I believe deeply in the mindfulness of the Universe, and these past two years have been living proof. I found myself unsatisfied in my career in higher education and then unemployed due to dramatic restructuring of my university department which would have required me to move from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Universe had something else in mind for me. My job loss enabled me to participate in the Earth Law Center’s (ELC) Legacy Fellowship program and live in Durango, Colorado, for almost the whole month of May 2024. It was through that work that I met Herman, the Thomas Berry Scholar-in-Residence of ELC. Nothing was going to be the same after Herman and I met up in Chapel Hill and talked for hours over a cup of coffee. Since then I have been immersed in the work of Earth law and Ecozoic studies. And since September, this has been my new, more satisfying and meaningful, full-time job.

A little background about me is appropriate. Some of you already know me from this year’s CES study group on “Ecozoic culture.” It was an honor and a pleasure to join in those meetings on “Ecozoic culture” that clearly demonstrated the interconnectedness of all living things. Indeed, Herman, in an email back in March, noted that “part of Ecozoic culture is having affective relations with non-human species.” I have actively sought out those opportunities to interact with animals; I feel an irresistible pull toward them as fellow travelers on our planetary journey through the Universe. Aside from the domestic creatures I have shared my life with, I also share my love with injured and un-releasable birds of prey. I volunteer with CLAWS, a local wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization here in Chapel Hill. I have had the honor of being chosen by our red-shouldered hawk, Taghrid, as her “person” as evidenced in the accompanying picture. When I asked what this hawk behavior was, the director of CLAWS simply said: “unknown – hawks don’t cuddle.” I continue to be moved beyond words when these birds trust me. I hope that you all will also place your trust in me. You may find out more about my background here. I have two roles under the larger umbrella of the Center. For CES, I am here, as Director of Operations, to support Simon’s vision of growth. My job is to provide the functionality, organization, and platforms to bring to life the community of Ecozoans, thus enabling deeper learning dialogues and providing easy access to the enormous library of Ecozoic works. Springing from CES, I will also guide the collective vision for the Society for Earth Law ultimately to change the ways that law supports global warming and biodiversity loss. This will take time, but we must remember that each beautiful sunrise heralds a new opportunity to make positive change. The positive change I want to bring to the world through SOEL is to uncover truth through language as words are the building blocks of our social, spiritual, legal, and economic frameworks. The truth is that we do not see a “sunrise” every day. We do not watch the sun rise – this word – “sunrise” is a word that humans use to describe a Universal phenomenon from their very limited human-centric perspective from a tiny spot within the Universe. What we actually saw was the beauty of the RELATIONSHIP of our little planet to the star that allows life to exist on Earth. This relationship is bound by immutable universal laws that we humans witness from our particular vantage point. Words that we use to describe the world around us matter. Words have power. It is my vision for SOEL to search for, use, and collaboratively create a new eco-centric dialogue. We can use this eco-centric language in all sectors, disciplines, organizations, and communities to bring about the changes we need to survive and thrive together – to act in our common best interests, including the interests of the Earth itself, all ecosystems, all bioregions and all living beings that contribute to our planet’s habitability.  These words that reflect the truth of our reality will become part of our everyday lexicon and therefore be the better building blocks of the future. Linda Wending l.wendling@ecozoicstudies.org

4: A message from Glenn Astolfi, CES Board Chair

Dear friends and supporters of the Center for Ecozoic Studies,

Over the past weeks you’ve heard from Herman Greene about “Significant Changes at the Center for Ecozoic Studies,” from our incoming President, Simon Spire, about the next chapter of CES, and from Linda Wendling about her position as Director of Operations and leader of the Society for Earth Law. Today I’m writing to you as Chair of the Board of CES to share my own gratitude and excitement—and to invite your continued companionship and support as we move forward together.

When I think about where CES is today, I keep returning to the image of a living tree.

 At the roots is the work and spirit of Thomas Berry, whose vision of the Ecozoic era has guided CES from the beginning. At the trunk is the Center for Ecozoic Studies itself—twenty-five years of careful tending by Herman and many others, developing a strong, resilient body of work, community, and practice.

Now, new branches are emerging. One is Simon’s leadership and the expanded educational and community platform he has outlined for 2026 and beyond. Another is the Society for Earth Law (SOEL), now a division of CES, bringing an action-oriented focus on transforming law for an ecological age, grounded in relationality, reciprocity, and responsibility. These new branches do not replace the trunk or the roots—they grow from them.

On a personal note, I want to say a public “thank you” to Herman. Nearly ten years ago, my friendship with him led me to Thomas Berry’s work. That encounter has enriched my life and my spirit in ways I am still discovering. I have watched up close the devotion with which Herman has carried CES—often quietly, always faithfully. His decision to release day-to-day leadership at age eighty is itself an act of care: for the Center, for the Ecozoic vision, and for the generations who will carry this work forward.

I also want you to know how much confidence I have in the leadership team that is now stepping forward. Simon brings both depth and breadth: a contemplative and psychological grounding, a systems-level view of culture and economics, and an ability to build community around big, life-giving ideas. Linda Wendling offers seasoned administrative leadership and has been at the center of forming SOEL. And SOEL itself gathers a remarkable group of legal scholars and practitioners who are already shaping the emerging field of Earth law.

Together, CES and SOEL make one another stronger. CES continues as a thought, imagination, dialogue, and action center for an ecological age, advancing ecology and culture as the organizing principles of societies and nurturing a vision of full human development in a flourishing Earth community. SOEL brings that same Ecozoic orientation into the “ordering principles of societies”—law, governance, and practice—so that relationality, reciprocity, and responsibility can begin to reshape institutions from the inside out.

As Board Chair, I see our task as finding the synergies, leverage, and economies of scale that allow this combined work to flourish—and to be good stewards of every dollar, hour, and ounce of attention entrusted to us. The funds we raise will support both the legacy work of CES and the growing initiatives of SOEL, always in service of the Ecozoic vision.

On this Giving Tuesday, I have three simple invitations:

1. Stay engaged.
   Continue to open our emails, read our publications, and watch for the new community platform and programs launching in 2026. Your presence in this community matters as much as your financial support.
2. Share the Ecozoic vision.
   If CES’s work has nourished you, consider forwarding this email to someone you think would resonate with the Ecozoic orientation, or inviting a friend to join our email list.
3. Support CES and SOEL financially, as you are able.
   If your circumstances permit, a gift today will help us enter this next phase with strength. You can give by credit card, by Venmo to @ecozoicstudies, or by mailing a check payable to “CES” to:

Center for Ecozoic Studies
2516 Winningham Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Please know this: your continued support and engagement are what matter most. A financial contribution is deeply appreciated, but it is not a requirement for belonging here. We are grateful for every person who cares about advancing the Ecozoic vision and for all the ways you already carry the Great Work into your lives, communities, and professions.

Thank you for walking with us through this time of transition and growth. I am honored to serve as Chair of the Board at this moment, and I look forward—with you—to seeing what can grow from these strong roots and this sturdy trunk in the years ahead.

With gratitude,

Glenn Astolfi
Chair of the Board
Center for Ecozoic Studies