Adela J. Gondek

A Lecturer at Columbia, Sen. Adela J. Gondek first taught American political theory and the Core Curriculum in the Department of Political Science, and then began teaching ethics at SIPA, SPS, and E3B. She acquired her PhD in the Department of Government at Harvard, with cross-disciplinary study in the law and divinity schools and the Kennedy School of Government.  She has also served as a legislative analyst in the Massachusetts State Senate, with investigative specialization in consumer product safety, prison reform and model judicial practice.  Dr. Gondek currently focuses on environmental, sustainability, and public ethics in the Sustainable Development Program of the Arts and Sciences, and the Master of Arts in Climate and Society Program at the Climate School.  Most recently, she has written a chapter titled, The City Meets Practical Ethics, published in a book titled, Urban Sustainable Development (2024).  She has been made a member of the Women’s International Forum (WIF), which works in partnership with the United Nations.  Under this aegis, she has presented a talk titled, A New Ethics, at the United Nations (November, 2025).  She has also presented a talk in the American Community School in Athens, Greece (April, 2026) on Education, Leadership and Ethics.