Contact: Ann Hatch
214/378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release: March 2, 2015
(DALLAS) – “Living Green: Exploring the Spectrum of Sustainability” in the spring means many opportunities to learn how to “grow” a green thumb, try a green lifestyle or pass a green law during the Dallas County Community College District’s fifth annual Sustainability Summit. The free, one-day event will be held Thursday, April 2, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
Brookhaven College, 3939 Valley View Lane in Farmers Branch, and the general public is invited to attend.
Workshops, breakout sessions and a keynote speaker will focus on key areas that support sustainability in the community. Lunch is provided free, and participants are asked to register in advance. For details, and to register, visit
www.dcccd.edu/sustainabilitysummit.
Registration check-in is from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Performance Hall (Building C), where exhibitors also will be located. The keynote address will be held in the same location from 9 to 10:20 a.m. The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.,
president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus. Lennox is a minister, community activist and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life.
The day also includes activities associated with the Brookhaven College Earth Day Fest on its commons from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., featuring music, a sidewalk theater and electronics recycling. Lunch for summit participants will be provided in the gymnasium from 11:50 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Dessert will be served in the Performance Hall lobby so that attendees can visit with sponsors for the summit.
Sessions for Beginners, Middle and Advanced
Three sets of breakout sessions are scheduled, and topics on sustainability will be offered for beginner, middle and advanced participants who are interested in three key areas: environmental integrity, economic vitality and social equity.
The first breakout session (10:40 to 11:50 a.m.) will feature these topics: “Urban Farming as Community Development”; “Falling Crude Prices: A Clog in the Wheel of Burgeoning Biofuel Technologies”; “Environmental Legislation in the 84th Legislature”; “Designing with Trees for a Resilient Community”; “Performance with Purpose: How PepsiCo Delivers on Sustainability”; “Environmental Action: Turning Best Intentions into Meaningful Results”; and “How to Save Money and Energy in Your Home.”
The second breakout session (1 to 1:50 p.m.) will include: “Urban Farming as Community Development”; “The Art of Beeing”; “What the Scientists Say about Climate Change”; “Climate Change Impacts on Public Health”; “Texas Water 101”; “Fracking, Global Warming and Population Growth: Their Impact on Sustainability”; and “Urban Rewildings: Landscaping for Biodiversity.”
The final breakout session (2 to 2:50 p.m.) will offer these subjects: “Da Vinci School Trip”; “Walden at White Rock: Living Deliberately in the City of Dallas”; “Recycled Art Installations Guided Tour”; “Sustainability and Solar”; “Performance with Purpose: How PepsiCo Delivers on Sustainability”; and “Fracking, Global Warming and Population Growth: Their Impact on Sustainability.”
Hear a Green Movement Game Changer
In 2010, keynote speaker Lennox Yearwood was named one of the 100 most powerful African-Americans by Ebony Magazine and one of the 10 Game Changers in the Green movement by the Huffington Post. In 2008, Yearwood created the Hip Hop Caucus’ “Respect My Vote!” campaign with celebrity spokespeople T.I. and Keyshia Cole, which turned out record numbers of young people on election day.
A national leader and pacemaker within the green movement, Yearwood successfully has bridged the gap between communities of color and environmental issue advocacy for the past decade. With a diverse set of celebrity allies, Yearwood raises awareness and action in communities that often are overlooked by traditional environmental campaigns. His innovative climate and clean energy work has garnered support for the Hip Hop Caucus from several environmental organizations, including former Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, the National Wildlife Federation, Earthjustice, the Sierra Club and Bill McKibben’s 350.org.
Rolling Stone called Yearwood one of the country’s “New Green Heroes.” He also was named to Source Magazine’s Power 30; Utne Magazine’s 50 Visionaries Changing the World; and the Root 100 Young Achievers and Pacesetters. Yearwood is the subject of a Discovery Network documentary for the Planet Green Channel. The film, ‘Hip Hop Rev,’ (www.HipHopRev.com) follows a year in the life of Yearwood’s environmental activism.
Track session speakers include presenters David Griggs, former civil prosecutor for the Federal Trade Commission and Dallas attorney; Don Gatzke, professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington; Gbenga Oyedepo, chemistry professor at Brookhaven College; Matt Grubisich, urban forestry expert from the Texas Trees Foundation; Robert ter Kuile, senior director of sustainability in the Global Public Policy group at PepsiCo; Cathy Redson, solar installation expert; Zac Trahan, DFW program director for the Texas Campaign for the Environment; Gary Olp, director of GGO Architects, based in Dallas; Susan Pollard, co-founder of the Texas Honeybee Guild; Jim Schermbeck, director of the local clean air group Downwinders at Risk; Rita Beving, North Texas outreach coordinator for Clean Water Fund; and Fred Busche, CEO of WinTechGeo LLC and adjunct professor at Brookhaven College.
Take a Field Trip or Art Tour
Tours and discussions about the Da Vinci School, recycled art on the Brookhaven College campus, and living sustainably in Dallas will be conducted by Mary Ann Greene, art professor Natalie Macellaio and her students from Brookhaven, and the Rev. Aaron White, respectively.
Sponsors for the day-long event are: Platinum – Trane, DN Tanks, GCA Services Group, Jason's Deli; Gold – Waste Management, Urban Engineers Group, Vitruvian Park in Addison, Canteen; Silver – Subway, City of Farmers Branch, FIAT of Dallas; Bronze – Dolphin Blue, Follett, Money Concepts, Whole Foods, Norwex, Dallas Water Utilities.
For more information, contact Carrie Schweitzer, who is coordinating the summit, at (972) 860-4848 or send an email to
cschweitzer@dcccd.edu.