New Horizons in Conservation Convening 2024

June 27- 29, 2024

This year, New Horizons in Conservation is a small convening for current and former participants of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative’s (JEDSI) diversity pathways programs. The convening will be in Washington, D.C. at The Westin Washington, D.C. Downtown, 999 9th St NW. 

Participants and alumni in the following programs are invited to attend: 

  • Yale Conservation Scholars- Early Leadership Initiative
  • Environmental Fellows Program
  • Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program : Yale School of Environment and University of Michigan

The Convening features:

  • Professional Development Workshops
  • Tours of government institutions and museums
  • Visits to environmental nonprofits and foundations
  • Networking
  • Flash talks

12:00 - 12:30 PM Registration

12:30 - 1:45 PM Lunch and opening session

  • Danielle Deane-Ryan, Senior Advisor, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, US Environmental Protection Agency
  • Dr. Karen DeGannes, Senior Manager, Pacific Gas & Electric Company
  • Melody Mobley, Former US Forest Service Forester, First black female forester in the USDA Forest Service
  • Dr. Kim Waddell, Acting President, Union of Concerned Scientists

Moderated by Dr. Dorceta Taylor

2:00 - 3:00 PM Afternoon visits to environmental nonprofits and government offices such as: 

  • DC Department of Energy and Environment
  • National Parks Conservation Association
  • Sierra Club
  • US EPA
  • American Forests
  • NOAA
  • The Wilderness Society
  • NRDC
  • USAID
  • Resources for the Future

4:00 - 6:00 PM Tour of the Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery

6:30 PM Evening networking reception

8:00 - 9:00 AM Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 AM Professional development workshops:

  • Intro to Lenape Culture and Making Pine Basket (Meeting Room 15)
    • Bluejay Michalski and Teri Hislop: Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania
  • Community Organizing (Anacostia D)
    • Thaddeus Waterman: Citizens Climate Lobby
  • Elevator Speeches & Career Coaching (Anacostia F)
  • Applying to and Navigating Grad School Panel (Anacostia E)
    • Ambria McDonald and Destiny Treloar: Yale School of Environment
    • Cesar Gomez: Texas Tech University
    • Rosario Torres: UC Berkeley

10:45 - 12:15 PM Professional development workshops:

  • Intro to Lenape Culture and Making Pine Basket (Meeting Room 15)
    • Bluejay Michalski and Teri Hislop: Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania
  • Grant Writing (Anacostia D)
    • Lisa Bassani: Senior Associate Director of Development and Alumni Services, Yale School of the Environment 
  • Policy Brief Writing (Anacostia E)
  • Elevator Speeches & Career Coaching (Anacostia F)
    • Robert Klee: Senior Lecturer, Yale School of the Environment
  • Public Engagement Through Art (Meeting Room 16)
    • Monica Jahan Bose: Freelance Artist & Storyteller

12:15 - 12:45 PM Lunch

1:00 - 1:45 PM Flash Talks

Community Organizing and Urban Greening 

  • Andrew Van Baal: Navigating complex institutions to effect change 
  • Lily Fillwalk: Inequitable green roof distribution in NYC 
  • Claire Nichols: Designing justice in urban spaces using social ecological principles and anarchist geography 
  • Anna Hogarth: Reflections on Running a College Food Systems Committee
  • Aneika Perez: Access to and benefits of urban green spaces

Environmental Racism and Racial Capitalism 

  • Assata Hanif: Environmental racism and lead poisoning in Baltimore’s communities and Cancer Alley in Louisiana 
  • Alycia Ellington: Overpolicing as an environmental justice issue and its links to abolition in education and educational spaces. 
  • Lupe Franco: Homelessness as an environmental and climate injustice in CA 
  • Bennett Olupo: Black Marxist Research Paradigm/Framework 

2:00 - 3:30 PM Roundtable discussions with leaders in government, nonprofits, foundations, and advocacy organizations

  • Andrew Fang: USAID
  • Brandon Jones: National Science Foundation
  • Capri St. Vil: Kiskeiano Consulting
  • Casey Love: NRDC
  • Charles Olsen: NPCA
  • Danielle Deane: EPA
  • Deeohn Ferris: Sustainability, Equity and Social Impact Strategies
  • Carmera Thomas: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation & Planet Women
  • Jayson Velazquez: Acadia Center
  • Jeffery Ross: University of Idaho
  • Jill Capotosto: US Dept of Energy
  • Joshua Simon: American Forests
  • Katie Chiang: Federal Agency Sustainability Program 
  • Kiera Quigley: Enterprise Community Partners
  • Lauren Wiggins: Abt Global
  • Marccus Hendricks: University of Maryland
  • Megan Wilkerson: DC Dept of Energy and Environment
  • Michelle Mabson: Earthjustice
  • Rebeca Villegas: National Wildlife Federation
  • Simon Bunyan: US Dept of Energy
  • Storm Lewis: Private Consulting (DDCSPP, Pisces Foundation, NOAA)
  • Whitney Vong: Chesapeake Bay Trust
  • Jena Thompson: Freelance Journalism
  • Janice Newson: Lilian Augusta Beauty, Self-employed
     

3:30 - 4:00 PM Group Photo

4:00 - 5:00 PM Closing Remarks by Dr. Dorceta Taylor

5:00 - 7:00 PM Evening networking dinner

8:30 - 9:00 AM Breakfast

9:00 - 10:00 AM Flash talks 

Sustainable Community Building 

  • Cristina Mancilla: Challenges and opportunities to public engagement with science 
  • Esaac Mazengia: Environmental joy & its importance to the EJ movement 
  • Jayanna Killingsworth: Utilizing systems thinking in organizations 
  • Abby Jordan: Coastal resiliency and environmental science curriculum 
  • Brett Zeuner: Roles of regional NGOs and foundations in EJ efforts.  Community Organizing and Urban Greening 
  • Andrew Van Baal: Navigating complex institutions to effect change 
  • Lily Fillwalk: Inequitable green roof distribution in NYC 
  • Claire Nichols: Designing justice in urban spaces using social ecological principles and anarchist geography 
  • Anna Hogarth: Challenges and benefits to leading college campus food systems committee 
  • Aneika Perez: Access to and benefits of urban green spaces 

Public Health, Energy Policy, and Tradeoffs 

  • Brandi Williams: Wastewater-based epidemiology as a feasible and accessible public health tool  
  • Puneet Singh: Examining the proposed changes to the NYC Zoning Resolution 
  • Dionna Brown: Health disparity impacts of beauty products  

Environmental Perceptions and Programs 

  • Damaris Ibrahim: Litter Eradication Program in Trinidad and Tobago 
  • Mariana Garcia: How LatinX in Phoenix, AZ use embodied experiences to narrate environmental shifts and their impacts 

10:30 AM - 12:30 PM Guided Tours of government institutions:

White House, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, or Capitol Building

-or-

Self-guided tours of museums: 

 Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum,  National Museum of African American History & Culture, National Museum of the American Indian

12:30 - 2:00 PM Lunch & Closing session

Registration

  • $150 – alumni who are still students, grassroots community organization
  • $250 – early career
  • $350 – mid to senior career
  • Scholarships are available: apply here The deadline is March 31. 

Included in registration: hotel, transportation to Washington, D.C., meals, and site visits (a value ~ $800). Registration ends June 5th. 

Registration includes reasonable roundtrip travel to Washington, D.C., and a shared hotel room for June 27th and 28th. Rooms are double occupancy- please let us know if you have a roommate you would like to stay with.

Travel arrangements will be for the morning of June 27th and the evening of June 29th. We will pay for:

  • Train tickets for attendees living in the northeast
  • Economy airfare for those who live too far to take a train
  • Mileage reimbursement for anyone driving (we cannot reimburse parking)
Register Here