UMACS 2024 Conference
Advancing a More Sustainable and Just Upper Midwest
September 20 & September 21, 2024
Macalester College, St. Paul, MN |
KEYNOTE SPEAKERSJonathan Foley, Ph.D., is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author, and public speaker. His work focuses on understanding our changing planet and finding new solutions to sustain the climate, ecosystems, and natural resources we all depend on.
Jon’s groundbreaking research and insights have led him to become a trusted advisor to governments, foundations, non-governmental organizations, and business leaders around the world. He and his colleagues have made major contributions to our understanding of global ecosystems, food security and the environment, climate change, and the sustainability of the world’s resources. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including many highly cited works in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named him a Highly Cited Researcher in ecology and environmental science, placing him among the top 1 percent most cited global scientists. Before joining Project Drawdown, Jon led a number of world-leading environmental science and sustainability organizations. From 1993 to 2008, he was based at the University of Wisconsin, where he launched the Climate, People, and Environment Program (CPEP), founded the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), and served as the first Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies. From 2008 and 2014, he was the founding director of the Institute on the Environment (IonE) at the University of Minnesota, where he was also McKnight Presidential Chair of Global Environment and Sustainability. Then, between 2014 and 2018, he served as the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences, the greenest and more forward-thinking science museum on the planet. Jothsna Harris is the founder of Change Narrative, which exists to build capacity in the climate justice movement through the power of our stories. Through a coaching practice, Jothsna works with front-line leaders, legislators, artists, organizations, and community groups to craft climate narratives to advocate for solutions. With a decade of experience, Jothsna has designed and implemented award-winning climate change programs rooted in community, centering personal stories and other values-based ways that resonate, coaching thousands of people to find compelling narratives to share at live events, on radio, and in print media. Jothsna led the creative process and co-edited the 2020 book, Eyewitness: Minnesota Voices on Climate Change, is the Producer of the 2022 MN Fringe Festival ‘Venue Pick’ show Changing the Narrative: Climate Stories for Justice, and the recipient of the 2023 Creative Climate Communications Award from the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership. Jothsna is named a 2023 Obama USA Leader, part of a cohort of 100 changemakers across the Nation working to strengthen democracy. Jothsna currently serves on The Great Northern Festival Board of Directors.
|
Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn
|
Proudly powered by Weebly
|