Mantell Symposium in Environmental Justice and Conservation Innovation 2023

Please join us for a special event that will catalyze the Bren School’s efforts to advance environmental justice and conservation innovation. The symposium will include panel discussions featuring leaders in the environmental justice and conservation innovation space as well as Bren School faculty and the second cohort of Michael Mantell Fellows. Following the event, a reception for donors, partners, all Bren students, staff faculty, and others attending the Symposium will be held in the Michael J. Connell Memorial Courtyard.

The symposium will also be live streamed for remote viewing; see below.

RSVP required for in person attendance only; kindly email Renee Dubie at reneedubie@ucsb.edu to reserve your place.

A special thank you to the Resources Legacy Fund Board and Friends of Michael Mantell, who provided the support for this annual Symposium and the Diversity Fellows program at the Bren School.
 

1:00 - 5:00 PM | Symposium, Bren Hall 1414

1:00 - 1:10 Introduction
Dr. Steve Gaines, Bren School Dean

1:10 - 1:40 Opening Keynote
Rue Mapp, Founder and CEO, Outdoor Afro

1:45 - 2:15 Panel 1
Equity in Clean Energy: Advancing Clean Energy through Indigenous Leadership
Partners: Muscogee Nation, Navajo Nation, Collective Energy
Invited Panelists: Kimberly Dutcher (DirectRelief); Laura Crane (Director, California Climate Program; The Nature Conservancy)
Moderator: Dr. Grace Wu
Bren Innovation Fellows: Marissa Sisk (Bren MESM; Muscogee Nation), Austin Sonnier (Bren MESM)

2:20 - 2:50 Panel 2
Justice, Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance and Sustainability: Lessons Learned from the Fashion and Sustainable Apparel Industry
Partners: Toad&Co, Beni
Invited Panelist: Gordon Seabury (CEO, Toad&Co), Celine Lightfoot (Bren alum; Co-founder, Beni)
Moderator: Dr. Roland Geyer
Mantell Student Fellows: Jaenna Wessling (Bren PhD), Shunsuke Yamada (Environmental Studies undergrad)

2:53 - 3:03 Bren Environmental Justice Club Presentation

15 min intermission

3:20 - 3:50 Panel 3
Global Challenges, Local Solutions: Managing marine debris in the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary
Partners: Chumash Bands, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries West Coast Regional Office
Invited Panelists: Violet Sage Walker (Chairwoman, Northern Chumash Tribal Council; chumashsanctuary.org), Teresa Romero (Board President, Native Coast Action Network), Laura Ingulsrud (Bren alum; NOAA)
Moderator: Dr. Sarah Anderson
Mantell Student Fellows: Elizabeth Braun (Bren MESM), Anna Brunnick (Environmental Studies undergrad)

3:55 - 4:25 Panel 4
Connecting People to Progress: Enhancing Communities & Livelihoods - South River Watershed Restoration and City of Atlanta
Partners: City of Atlanta, Community and College Partners Program (C2P2)
Invited Panelist: Michael Burns (Director, C2P2)
Moderator: Dr. Arturo Keller
Mantell Student Fellows: Erin Clem (Bren MESM), Daniela Robles (Environmental Studies Promise Scholar undergrad)

4:30 – 4:50 Closing Remarks
Michael Mantell, Resources Legacy Fund

5:00 - 7:00 PM | Reception, Michael J. Connell Memorial Courtyard

With community partners: Wilderness Youth Project, The Sea League, Brown Girl Surf