The 2024 UMACS Conference had:
Thank you to all who attended and made the 2024 UMACS Conference a success!
2024 UMACS Conference Testimonials & Reflections...
Thank you to the
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Are you working to advance sustainability and inclusivity on a higher education campus? Join us to explore how we can take action together while we learn from incredible keynote speakers, presentations, interactive workshops, art installations, and more.
UMACS welcomes everyone who wants to create a culture of sustainability and inclusivity within higher education and broader community in the Upper Midwest, regardless of their campus role, background or identity. We seek to work together to meet the needs of all people without harming future generations' ability to meet their own needs. 2024 UMACS CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Jonathan 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. (Photo credit: Caroline Yang Photography)
Melody Arteaga was born and raised in Southern California, in the Inland Empire region, surrounded by warehouses and polluting projects that impacted her family's health. In pursuit of education and new opportunities, she moved to Minnesota to attend college. Through her experiences as a youth worker, mentor, and facilitator, Melody has seen firsthand the power of community in changing systems and creating equitable changes. She firmly believes that we must organize to demand knowledge about the underlying systems affecting day-to-day life. As the Environmental Justice Coordinator at COPAL, Melody works alongside other environmental organizers to make change in Minnesota. Melody will join Jothsna Harris' keynote as a guest storyteller to share their climate story.
Brandyn Lee Tulloch is an artist, activist, and self-published author from the Twin Cities. His work focuses primarily on the liberation of Black people, while also addressing how capitalism, colonialism, and white supremacy have systemically oppressed communities and harmed the planet.
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