Dr. Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, founder of the Green Belt Movement and a pioneering advocate for women, human rights and environmental conservation, traveled through the United States for a Fall 2009 US/Canada speaking tour.  She was one of the main participants at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting and the UN General Assembly. For interviews during her tour, she emphasized the urgent need for U.S. leadership to help save the world’s vanishing tropical forests – and how doing so could save the climate and U.S. consumers billions of dollars. Dr. Maathai worked with former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Obama administration, and top Members of Congress to make the United States a world leader in saving the world’s tropical forests. She passed away in 2011. She will be missed.