2020 SPEAKER INFORMATION
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE 101
with Keynote Speaker Melissa Miles
Melissa Miles is the Environmental Justice Manager with the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), in Newark, NJ. She has her M.A. in Anthropology from the New School for Social Research and has spent considerable time in Brazil which inspired her to make her home in the largely Portuguese speaking Ironbound neighborhood of Newark. After her then one-year old son was diagnosed with asthma in 2013, she discovered that air pollution was linked to many cases of childhood asthma in Newark. Following this toxic trail, she learned of the legacy of environmental degradation in the Ironbound which ultimately led her to activism. That activism was a precursor to her current work as a community-based organizer with a focus on mitigating air pollution related to the transport and incineration of waste in Newark. Melissa represents ICC and Newark on the Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the NJDEP. She is also an Advisory Board Member of the Moving Forward Network and on the Steering Committee for the Coalition for Healthy Ports. In her role she also works closely with the Climate Justice Alliance, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and the Post Landfill Action Network.
DUE TO COVID-19, WE HAVE DECIDED TO CANCEL WORKSHOPS FOR 2020.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HOSTING THE FOLLOWING WORKSHOPS IN 2021!
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
with Dr. Lisa Jordan
Lisa Jordan serves on the faculty in Environmental Studies and Public Health at Drew University. Her teaching and research have focused on environmental justice and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Her current work is supported through Mellon Foundation grants that established the Spatial Data Center at Drew, and the recent Digital Humanities Summer Institute. She also serves on the Drew University Sustainability Committee and the Borough of Madison's Sustainable Madison Action Committee. Lisa collaborates with USAID's Famine Early Warning Systems Network, and has spent time exploring the conflict induced migration and population changes within South Sudan.
STEPPING UP U.S. CLIMATE LEADERSHIP: WE ARE STILL IN
with Jessie Arnell
Jessie Arnell, Federal Policy & Campaigns Associate at the sustainability nonprofit Ceres, researches and advocates for climate and clean energy policies at the federal and global levels.
Jessie also leads strategy of international campaigns, including the We Are Still In effort, the largest and broadest coalition in pursuit of climate action ever formed in the U.S., representing nearly half of the American economy.
Prior to joining Ceres in 2017, Jessie created a course on the psychobiology of smell and neurological connections between sensory perception and mental health for a lecturer at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She also worked as a pro-choice canvasser at NARAL. Jessie received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Carleton College.
DIY BEAUTY
with SaVonne Anderson
SaVonne Anderson is a graphic designer, blogger, and entrepreneur on a lifelong journey toward life in harmony with nature. The goal of her Instagram based blog @simply.savonne is to share an honest portrait of what it’s like to live simply and how we can live with nature instead of in conflict with it. She wants to help other young people of color see that they can do it too. Like her Instagram name says, SaVonne believes that living sustainably can be simple. Her goal is to get back to the essence of how things are naturally and take all of the complexity, additives, processing and packaging
out of it. In July 2019, SaVonne launched her latest entrepreneurial project: sustainable stationery and gift company Aya Paper Co. She created Aya to make it easier for people to purchase paper goods and gifts that don’t leave a negative impact on the earth. Aya is at the intersection of her expertise in writing, design, and sustainability, and proves that goods produced sustainably don’t have to be boring, generic, or bland.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ANIMAL AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
with Janani Shiva
Janani Shivakumar is a sophomore at Metuchen High School, an environmentalist and animal rights activist as well as the founder of Girls Play Global, a non-profit initiative to educate and empower girls in rural India through the power of sports. She has spoken at the United Nations HQ about climate justice and the role of animal agriculture in climate change and has received multiple awards globally for her activism. Janani travels frequently within the U.S. and abroad to speak in various schools and colleges about making better choices for our planet and demanding change and equality for a better world. She also works with organizations like NJSSC and the Save Movement.
PLASTIC POLLUTION: THE GLOBAL CRISIS & HOW TO INSPIRE CHANGE
with Purva Bommireddy & the Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ Movement
Bye Bye Plastic Bags is a global movement of youth raising awareness about the impacts of plastic pollution and working to ban single-use plastics, with a focus on plastic bags, across the world. By educating young people about plastic pollution, giving them a platform to get involved with, and sharing how they can be leaders for change, Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ is working to help students take their futures into their own hands.
Purva is a high school student at the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Technologies and seeks to empower young people to take action, especially through environmental advocacy and innovation. She leads Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ, is a coordinator for the New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition’s Plastics Project, and volunteers for Greenpeace USA. Purva is passionate about the intersection of climate justice and gender equity, and is Advocacy Director for the New Jersey Girl Up Coalition.
PLASTIC POLLUTION: THE GLOBAL CRISIS & HOW TO INSPIRE CHANGE
with Aneesha Rompally & the Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ Movement
Aneesha is a high school senior at the Morris County School of Technology. In addition to a passion for environmental activism, she has an interest in medicine. When pursuing her environmental passions, she finds herself most engaged in areas related to the issue of plastic pollution, social inequities due to environmental pollution and environmental sustainability. Aneesha is the Event Coordinator for Bye Plastic Bags NJ and Plastic Project Co-coordinator for the New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition.
PLASTIC POLLUTION: THE GLOBAL CRISIS & HOW TO INSPIRE CHANGE
with Amy Liu & the Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ Movement
As a senior at Parsippany Hills High School, Amy has pursued her interest in environmentalism with her participation in organizations such as Bye Bye Plastic Bags. As the Workshop Director, she helps brainstorm and enact ideas to educate people about environmental causes and bring communities together in the fight against plastic pollution. She hopes that by working together, people will eventually reverse environmental damage and create a more sustainable and healthy world.
PLASTIC POLLUTION: THE GLOBAL CRISIS & HOW TO INSPIRE CHANGE
with Aarush Rompally & the Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ Movement
Aarush is a high school freshman attending the Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Academy at Morris Hills High School. His environmental pursuits include working with Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ as Policy Director and dreaming up ideas and innovations to combat prominent environmental issues, such as climate change and shrinking forests. Aarush believes that the environmental problems that humans face today can be overcome through strong federal and state regulations as well as scientific innovation to make everyday practices more sustainable.
PLASTIC POLLUTION: THE GLOBAL CRISIS & HOW TO INSPIRE CHANGE
with Olga Pidruchna & the Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ Movement
Olga is a junior at Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Technologies, and works alongside Bye Bye Plastic Bags NJ as the Design Director. She is passionate about art and design, and inspiring others with her creations. Olga is heavily inclined towards environmentalist thought, and refuses to be complicit in New Jersey’s thoughtless proliferation of harmful plastics. She has joined BBPB to take a stand, and hopes their work will inspire others to stand alongside them.
NATURE WRITING IN A TIME OF ECOLOGICAL CRISIS
with Flannery James
Flannery James is a writer and ecologist from New Jersey. She has conducted research on the behavioral ecology of ground squirrels and coyotes in Colorado and Utah, and spent two field seasons with the National Ecological Observatory Network as a mammal research technician in California, Alaska, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Flannery graduated from Columbia University in 2018 with B.A.s in Creative Writing and Environmental Biology. She currently teaches and coaches at Newark Academy.
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO DO OUR ENVIRONMENT GOOD!
with Brian Ray
Brian Ray is a social sciences professional with a focus in bettering our systems and leaders’ decisions therein with respect to the public interest. He has had the opportunity to work within reform of the criminal justice system, housing and food insecure communities, and the environment to name a few areas. He will be presenting on how to start making differences in the lives of others in your community and abroad on the issues of environmental sustainability and climate change prevention in a strategy that accords with any area of interest or level of experience. He has worked across both of these concerns through organizations such as New York Public Interest Research Group, New Jersey Public Interest Research Group Students, New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition, and Sierra Club National.
