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2023 Call for Proposals - Program Content, Sessions and Speakers


2022 Conference Program

Day One | Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022
9:00am-12:00pm
Student Sustainability Action Challenge Workshop
Sarah Stoeckl, PhD | Director, Office of Sustainability, University of Oregon
Lauren Brohawn | Assistant Director, UW Environmental Innovation Challenge
Moji Igun | Founder, Blue Daisi Consulting
Charlie Burr | CEO, Motmot Coffee
Kelsey Foster | Founder, PotentiaLi

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Schedule: ▾

9-10am: Welcome, get to know the group, overview of design thinking
10-11am: Design thinking sprints
11am-12pm: Hear from speakers + team work on pitch deck with speaker mentors

Learn more here.
TOURS | Must be a registered WOHESC attendee to attend.
3:00-4:00pm
The Bullitt Center Tour
To advance both public and professional awareness and support for construction of more high performance buildings, the UW Center for Integrated Design (CID) conducts tours of the Bullitt Center, a certified "living building" that has met the toughest set of environmental building standards in the world. Tours focus on the building's unique integrated design and resource conservation systems, providing participants a view into the future of urban sustainability. ▾
All tours of the Bullitt Center begin in the lobby on the 2nd floor, and will include the building's mechanical and electrical rooms, the toilet water and grey water systems, rainwater to potable treatment system, and the "irresistible" stairway. Please use the entrance located at 1501 E. Madison Ave. To access the building, you will need to use the call box to dial the UW Integrated Design Lab (IDL).
Tour Leader: Deborah Sigler | Program Coordinator, UW Center for Integrated Design
Space is limited, RSVP to attend.
3:00-4:30pm
UW Life Sciences Building Tour
The highly innovative and sustainable University of Washington Life Sciences Building (LSB includes a 20,000 square-foot greenhouse and creates a new centerpiece for UW Biology. Home to the largest undergraduate major on campus, UW Biology educates more STEM students than any other program in the state. Tracking to LEED Gold, the building's highly innovative sustainable design was a result of a unique collaboration between designers and students from UW Solar. ▾
LSB boasts the first-of-its-kind installation of vertical glass solar fins on its exterior, one that is anticipated to generate enough electricity to light more than 12,400 square feet of offices throughout the year. Other sustainable features include operable windows for natural ventilation cooling, chilled beams and waves, a water reclamation system for greenhouse irrigation, radiant floors and rooftop solar panels. Students and visitors can learn about the research conducted within the building as well as real-time information about the building's energy and water usage from a touchscreen dashboard on the first floor.
Tour Leader: David Perkel | UW Biology; Lead Architect
Tour Leader: Andy Clinch, AIA, LEED AP® BD+C | Principal, Perkins&Will
Tour Leader: Devin Kleiner, AIA, LEED AP®BD+C | Senior Project Architect, Associate Principal, Perkins&Will
Space is limited, RSVP to attend.
4:00-5:00pm
Hans Rosling Center for Population Health Tour - 100% Virtual
The new Hans Rosling Center for Population Health establishes a new type of academic venue for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. The new 300,00 SF hybrid facility is designed to respond directly to the mission of the University of Washington's (UW) Population Health Initiative - a 25-year vision to address the most persistent and emerging challenges affecting human health, environmental resilience and social and economic equity across the globe. This project creates a new campus hub where scientists, researchers and faculty work together to address some of the world's most significant challenges like poverty, equity, health-care access, climate change and government policy. ▾
Delivered by the progressive design-build team of The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP and Lease Crutcher Lewis, the building supports this goal by bringing related yet disparate specialties together in the pursuit of global health and a world where all people can live healthier and more fulfilling lives. Key areas of sustainability include the pursuit of LEED v4 Gold Certification and Fitwel Certification, in addition to equitable measures with the inclusion of UW's first gender-neutral bathrooms.
4:00-5:00pm
McKinstry Campus Tour - 100% Virtual
We invite you to explore sustainability in action with brief and virtual tours of the McKinstry Seattle campus, the Zero-Carbon & Zero-Energy Catalyst building and South Landing EcoDistrict in Spokane, the award-winning Augmented Reality pilot program at the UW School of Medicine-Gonzaga University Heath Partnership building 840 Project; followed by presentations on our work including Clean Buildings Laws and decarbonizing the built environment to combat climate change. Enjoy an interactive Q&A conversation with McKinstry industry experts. ▾

Special attention will be given to McKinstry’s Catalyst Building and South Landing EcoDistrict, a transformative model for sustainable development. The cross-laminated timber (CLT) Catalyst Building is the result of a unique collaboration between a cross-industry team of partners including Avista, McKinstry, Katerra and Eastern Washington University (EWU) that culminated in the creation of one of the largest Zero-Energy & Zero-Carbon buildings in the world.

McKinstry's Seattle campus is designed around collaboration, featuring common areas that reflect our philosophy of integration - encouraging the sharing, cohesion and camaraderie that drives our efforts to make a lasting impact on our industry and within our communities by addressing the climate, affordability and equity crises head on.
Tour Leader: LeAnn Vargo Scalzo | Higher Education Senior Account Executive, Energy Services
Tour Leader: Mark Deschenes | Detailing Operations Manager, PMP at McKinstry
Tour Leader: Sarah Moore | Director of Engineering, PE
Tour Leader: Brad Liljequist | Director of Zero Carbon Solutions
5:00-6:00pm
Welcome Reception
Join us for an Opening Reception to kick off the conference with time to network, chances to win raffle prizes, groove to music from a DJ, and a short presentation on “Better Together: Reenergize by sharing your Sustainability Drive for Meaningful Change” with LeAnn Vargo Scalzo, Higher Education Sr Executive-Energy Services at McKinstry.

Raffle prizes include:
Sustainable Ocean-Inspired Artwork
National and State Park Access Annual Passes
Amazon gift cards
Day Two | Thursday, March 3rd, 2022
8:00-8:10am
Welcome Remarks
Emcee: D'Andre Fisher | Associate Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, North Seattle College
8:10-8:15am
Land Acknowledgement
8:20-8:50pm
Keynote | Every Job is a Climate Job
Elizabeth Bagley, PhD | Director of Programs, SEI
8:50-9:15am

boxed water
Sustainability Round Table Update
▾
WOHESC Host Partners and Higher Education Sustainability Leaders will share major projects and initiatives that their institution will be launching over the next year.
Serena Dressel | Coordinator, Student Sustainability Center, Portland State University
Sarah Stoeckl, PhD | Program Manager, Office of Sustainability, University of Oregon
Rebecca Walker | Sustainability and Recycling Manager, Southern Oregon University
9:15-10:30am
Imagining A Just Future: Writers on the World We Want to Build
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"We're living inside the imagination of someone else," according to writer and activist Adrienne Maree Brown. What would it mean to reclaim imagination in order to shape a future we believe in? This panel will focus on different ways writers envision, practice, and create potential futures. We will explore questions such as: How should we be in relationship with each other and with the more-than-human-world? Can capitalism shift to be a force for more good in the world? What vocations contribute to shaping the future in innovative ways? What could the future look like if we start imagining now? Join us for this important regenerative conversation.
Moderator: Sarah Stoeckl, PhD | Program Manager, Office of Sustainability, University of Oregon
Mat Johnson | Author, Pym and Professor, University of Oregon
Annalee Newitz | Author, Techsploitation.com and 'Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age'
Marina Psaros | Author, The Atlas of Disappearing Places
10:30-11:00am
Break – Structured Networking with Table Topics
11:00am-12:15pm
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
Monumental Visions: Teaching Social and Environmental Justice Through Project-Based Learning
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In this interactive Workshop participants will learn how to teach social and environmental justice through project-based learning. This project was born out of student interest in public monuments in the Seattle area. My English 101 and 102 classes created visual arguments to reimagine the space where the colonial statue of Christopher Columbus once stood at the Seattle Waterfront, as well as Confederate monuments at WA cemeteries. The purpose of the project was the active learning of social justice concepts through visual argumentation, as well as the recognition of the original peoples of the PNW, and to produce original work that reimagines public space in an environmentally and culturally respectful way. Students created visuals, from original drawings, art, QR code public surveys, and written plans and ideas, based on their diverse perspectives of what a public monument can be, and should be (using diverse class readings from the Monuments Lab and the works of artists of Color). This workshop will discuss the process involved, and how this project could also be adapted to STEM classes, utilizing SCC's Maker Space and 3D printing to produce student work based on Science and Math concepts. From this project students learned real world problem solving--answering the complex questions of our times. Students also demonstrated and took ownership of their learning and skills by creating a public presentation for a real audience. My students invite you to help us reimagine these spaces as a creative and diverse community.
John Calavitta-Dos Santos | South Seattle College
Community-Engaged Learning Across Disciplines: Facilitating Student Leadership Toward Equitable, Regenerative Economies
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Four University of Washington instructors, along with staff from the Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center, will share how they create transformative learning opportunities for students via community engaged courses (formerly called service-learning courses). Applying equity-centered theories to experiential learning in courses across the undergraduate curriculum opens students' understanding of the many ways structural oppression impacts the health and well-being of both humans and the natural world.
Kathryn Cornforth | Director of Community Engagement, Community Engagement and Leadership Education Center, University of Washington
Kristi Straus | Associate Teaching Professor, University of Washington
Anjulie Ganti | Associate Teaching Professor, University of Washington
Christian Love | Program Manager, University of Washington
Eli Wheat | Associate Teaching Professor, University of Washington
CWU Sustainability Certificate and OSU Sustainability Engagement Program
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In this session we discuss how the Central Washington University Sustainability Certificate was created, ongoing challenges related to the structure and execution of the certificate, and exciting outcomes from students who have completed the Sustainability Certificate. We also provide suggestions for other institutions interested in creating their own Sustainability Certificate. The Sustainability Certificate offers students from any academic path an opportunity to develop an experiential, service-learning project that focuses on improving sustainability needs of the university or a community partner. The Sustainability Certificate was created to provide an avenue for students to gain enhanced problem-solving and communication skills to better prepare them for the workforce and growing market of sustainability related jobs.
Susan Kaspari | Professor, Central Washington University
Clay Arango | Associate Professor, Central Washington University
Kathleen Klaniecki | Sustainability Coordinator, Central Washington University
Leticia Cavazos Sanchez | Sustainability Assessment Manager, Oregon State University Sustainability Office
Amplifying Student Skills and Knowledge for Sustainability Leadership
▾
This session joins Simon Fraser University and University of Oregon to talk about two programs. The SFU Climate Action Student Collaborative, co-run by the university and a student group, is a co-curricular program for students who are looking for ways to apply their climate change knowledge to current climate action projects, gain project management skills, and prepare for their post-SFU careers. The UO Environmental Justice Fellowship, part of the Emerging Leaders Program, will discuss environmental justice projects as well as joint leadership with the Fossil Free UO campaign via the Climate Justice League club. These presentations will talk about their respective programs and their benefits for future sustainability leaders and navigating student feedback and university and community organizing.
Maria Spiliotopoulou | Manager, Student Learning and Leadership, SFU Sustainability, Simon Fraser University
Desiree Gabriel | Programs Manager, Embark Sustainability
Abbey Gravatt | Student, University of Oregon
Eloise Navarro | Student, University of Oregon
12:15-1:30pm
Lunch Break
1:30-2:45pm
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
Shifting the Culture Towards Equity: Practicing Equity Tools in Stakeholder Settings
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PCC recently finished writing its 2021 Climate Action Plan: Resiliency, Equity and Education for a Just Transition. The Climate Action Plan process incorporated equity throughout the planning process, including an equity guide, associated tools and training. In this workshop, we will provide the same training and tools and guide you in practicing an equity mindset in your sustainability work. We will also create space for critical reflection on equity efforts to-date as well as efforts in the broader sustainability movement. This is a great opportunity to improve your equity approach and communication skills in a low-risk environment.
Stephania Fregosi | Sustainability Analyst, Portland Community College
Briar Schoon | Sustainability Manager, Portland Community College
Nonprofit Land for Student Projects
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Nonprofit entities can help groups of people to be able to purchase land that can be shared with others. Having access to land can help provide the space for action in healing the planet more quickly, and provides opportunities for sustainable development in many aspects. The implementation of capstone projects in study programs helps to empower students to make sustainable action happen. Nonprofit Land can help open doors for students to implement ideas, including the construction of eco-villages that can provide sustainable lifestyles for people.
Joao Vilca Soto | CEO, Ruta Verde
Stephan Classen | Assistant Director of Sustainable Practices, Cascadia College
Nataleigh Steffens | Senior Student, Cascadia College
In the Trenches: Accelerating On-the-Ground Climate Action
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Changing the world requires bold leadership but also lots of hard work a persistence. What do sustainability leaders need to do to convert bold presidential commitments on sustainability and decarbonization into real action on your campus? This presentation will give you the playbook to derail business-as-usual thinking and redirect your campus's resources towards a renewable, resilient and equitable future. We'll talk about gaining the support of your facilities staff, framing significant financial investments to your CFO, channeling stakeholder input from students and faculty to accelerate your transition.
David Karlsgodt | Director of Energy Advisory Services, Brailsford & Dunlavey
Amy Dvorak | Sustainability Director, Lewis & Clark College
Jim Simon | Director of Sustainability, Gonzaga University
We Are Not Drowning: The Pacific Experience at COP26
▾
The UN Climate Conference or COP26 dominated the climate headlines for entire month as world leaders pushed for the agendas of our their perspective countries. While the narrative of "blah blah blah" and no leadership rang throughout mainstream news and social media, the Pacific (and other countries fighting for their livelihoods) held the line and demonstrated exceptional leadership. Come and learn about the untold story of the Pacific at COP26. Learn how we model indigenous practices, overcame odds and fought through climate polluters. Also hear about some personal insights at COP26 that allowed us to show the world that "We are not drowning, we are fighting"
Makerusa "Mak" Porotesano, M.Ed | Multicultural Center Coordinator, Portland Community College - Sylvania Campus
2:45-3:15pm
Networking Break
Poster Session
3:30-5:30pm
YOUTH v GOV Film Screening
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YOUTH v GOV is the story of America's youth taking on the world's most powerful government. Since 2015, twenty-one plaintiffs, now ages 13 to 24, have been suing the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, personal safety, and property through their willful actions in creating the climate crisis they will inherit. But YOUTH v GOV is about more than just a lawsuit. It is the story of empowered youth finding their voices and fighting to protect their rights and our collective future. This is a revolution designed to hold those in power accountable for the past and responsible for a sustainable future. And many of the movement's leaders aren't even old enough to vote. (Yet.) Learn more at https://www.youthvgovfilm.com/
Day Three | Friday, March 4th, 2022
8:00-8:05am
Intro & Announcements
Emcee: D'Andre Fisher | Associate Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, North Seattle College
8:05-8:20am
McKinstry Scholarship Recognition
Ashley Ruiz | National Director of Corporate Social Impact, McKinstry
8:20-8:50pm
Keynote: The Opportunity and Imperative for Academic Institutions in Redesigning Capitalism
Dr. Maria Ballesteros–Sola | Chair of Membership, B Academics and Assistant Professor of Management, MVS School of Business & Economics, CSUCI.
8:50-10:00am
Youth Activism for Climate Justice and Indigenous Ways of Knowing
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In many ways we are seeing the youth become the voice of climate change activism; from the notoriety of Greta Thunberg and widespread Fridays for Future sit-ins, stand-ups and walk-outs across the globe, to the Youth V. Gov lawsuit and more. Indigenous youth speaking on climate justice and Indigenous ways of knowing or TEK (traditional ecological knowledge) is foundational to this youth uprising. This session will hear from young leaders in climate action on how to learn from the land and from traditional knowledge to find solutions for the climate crisis.
Moderator: Akichita TakenAlive | Urban Native Education Alliance
Sadie Olsen | Lummi Nation member (Lhaq'temish traditional name Kwastlmut), Student, Northwest Indian College and Co-Founder, Whiteswan Environmental
Watson Whitford | Chippewa Cree Nations, Earth Ambassador, United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY)
Jonathan Arakawa | Co-Vice President, National Congress of American Indians Youth Commission
Maiya Martinez | Spokane Tribe, Earth Ambassador, United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY)
10:00-10:45am
Networking Break
10:05-10:35am
Internships, Equity and Climate Change
presented by King County Green Building
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King County has long valued the hard work of student interns. They are called upon to tackle a broad array of tasks such as drafting white papers, updating county documents and outreach materials, workshop support, presentations, gathering data and other research. In return, students have the opportunity to job shadow, grow skills, gain office experience, and work on projects that match their interests. In this session students will share their experience as County interns and the projects they get to work on where climate change intersects with equity and social justice. Those who supervise and manage programs will share how the internship program has transformed over the years and the care that is taken to elevate these important team members.
Navera Ahmed | Environmental Intern II, King County Solid Waste Division
Jazmine Patten | Environmental Intern II, King County Solid Waste Division
Nori Catabay | Program Manager, King County Internal Green Building Team
Lauren Cole | Environmental Programs Managing Supervisor, King County Solid Waste Division
10:45am-12:00pm
Sustainability Action Challenge Pitchfest
Founding a Sustainable Culture Through a Faculty & Facilities Partnership
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The partnership of faculty and facilities seems like an obvious step to building a sustainability program on a college campus, but far too often each faction works on their own priorities, rather than building consensus. This session will feature two case studies from campuses that have leveraged faculty and facility relationships to drive sustainable action. The first looks at an adaptive management field experiment at the University of Oregon, where faculty and facilities explored together how maintenance mowing can be modified to improve ecological regeneration. The collaboration will expand to highlight habitat management improvements and research initiatives on campus in 2022. The next case study will focus on an opportunity to bring Spokane Falls Community College students, facilities, and faculty together to renovate the campus garden. As the partnership progressed, faculty and facilities found their shared knowledge and skills could establish a Sustainability Center to benefit the campus and Spokane communities. In this presentation, we will share what worked, what didn't, and what lies ahead in the founding of a sustainable culture on campus.
Monica J. Stenzel | Director of Sustainability Center, History Instructor, Spokane Falls Community College
Andrew Lemberg | Resource Conservation Manager, Community Colleges of Spokane
Aaron Olsen | Landscape Planning Associate, University of Oregon
Michael Geffel | Landscape Architecture Faculty, University of Oregon
How to Strengthen Innovative, Interdisciplinary Sustainability Programs Through an Applied IT Sustainability Minor/Certificate
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This presentation follows the journey of how one diverse department has incrementally integrated four traditional academic disciplines into a novel Applied IT Sustainability minor/certificate. The Central Washington University IT Sustainability curriculum within the Information Technology and Information Technology Department integrates coursework that introduces students to a combination of data, financial, administrative management, and IT skills. These traditional disciplines are being blended to create an IT Sustainability program with the goal of empowering students with decision-making tools that consider social equity, environmental outcomes, and sustainable business. Solutions that are especially appropriate for higher education campuses will be emphasized.
Susan Rivera, Ph.D. | Senior Lecturer, Central Washington University
Kevin Lomax | Student, Central Washington University
Robert Lupton | Chair, Information Technology and Administrative Management Department, Central Washington University
Kurt Kirstein | Interim Associate Dean, Central Washington University
Elizabeth Fountain, Ph.D. | FlexIT Program Coordinator, Central Washington University
Home is Where the Story Begins: The Power of Academic Engagement in Housing and Climate Policy Innovation
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Building a shared, sustainable future is the work of a whole community. This case study shares lessons from a collective impact model addressing Oregon's housing crisis and illustrates the power of academic engagement in local policy innovation.
Kaarin Knudson | Founding Director, Better Housing Together / Principal, LARCO KNUDSON, University of Oregon
12:00-1:15pm
Lunch Break
1:15-2:30pm
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
Leveraging Curricular Expertise Across Departments to Advance Education for Sustainability (ESD)
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In this interactive workshop participants will try out ESD-across-the-curriculum resources and strategies developed through collaborative between the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) and the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at Georgia Tech. Facilitators will share examples and lessons learned from ESD workshops, symposia, and faculty learning communities that support ESD across the curriculum. Participants will leave the session with new ideas for cross-departmental collaboration on ESD across the curriculum and a set of resources that support faculty with course re-design aligned with ESD.
Rebecca Watts Hull | Service Learning and Partnerships Specialist, Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ruthie Yow | Service Learning & Partnerships Specialist, Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain, Georgia Institute of Technology
Carol Subino Sullivan | Assistant Director, Faculty Teaching and Learning Initiatives, Center for Teaching and Learning, Georgia Institute of Technology
Future Rivers: Training the Next Generation of Freshwater Sustainability Scientists
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Leaders of the University of Washington's National Science Foundation Research Training (NSF NRT) program - Future Rivers - will share how they have structured their graduate traineeship in innovative ways to prepare students to tackle some of today's toughest societal and environmental challenges. They will highlight early program results in breaking down academic silos and partnering across departments on teaching and research, and how they are integrating equity and justice principles into their full scope of work. They will also discuss how they have been bringing the concepts of interdisciplinary science and cultural inclusivity to the broader community in unique ways to further foster knowledge of and interest in sustainability issues.
Athena Bertolino | Future Rivers Program Manager, University of Washington
Dr. Gordon Holtgrieve | Associate Professor, University of Washington
Food Pantry Waste to Nature Preserve Compost: An Intersectional Approach
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A case study of a sustainable energy course project designed to create insights into how sustainability and social justice are intertwined. The course highlights innovative intervention in Engineering curriculum helping students see the limitations of singularly technical problem-solving and appreciate the knowledge and expertise that ordinary people in the community bring to the problem-solving process.
Shehla Arif | Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Mount Union
Climate Action Planning: Charting a Path to Carbon Neutrality
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In this session you'll hear from representatives from three universities on the challenges, successes and next steps in tackling the decarbonization goals of their respective institutions. With one of the most ambitious carbon neutrality goals in the nation, OSU has reduced emissions that equates to a 39% reduction per student and 47% reduction per square foot of building space since 2010. UW has made huge strides by hiring a new Executive Director of Energy, Utilities and Operations and they are working on ambitious plans to transform their energy infrastructure, including a technical strategy, a financing strategy and a communications strategy. Western Washington University just established a Sustainability Engagement Institute to build the systems, structures, and culture for comprehensive implementation of their Sustainability Action Plan. Decarbonizing their heating system and planning for ways to reduce and offset carbon associated with travel have been some of the stickier ongoing projects. Still, with all this progress we have a long way to go to realize carbon neutrality; join the conversation to learn more!
Brandon Trelstad | Sustainability Officer, Oregon State University
Lindsey MacDonald | Associate Director of the Sustainability Engagement Institute, Western Washington University
Marilyn Ostergren | Interim Sustainability Director, University of Washington
2:30-2:45pm
Break
2:45-4:00pm
Closing Workshop: Synthesis and Action Planning
Kathleen Klaniecki | Sustainability Coordinator, Central Washington University
Lindsey MacDonald | Associate Director of the Sustainability Engagement Institute, Western Washington University
Irena Lambrou | Sustainability Program Coordinator, Professor, Whatcom Community College

Click here to view the 2021 Program