At this year's Sustainability Summit, keynote speaker Mustafa Ali of the Hip Hop Caucus will discuss “Moving Vulnerable Communities From Surviving to Thriving.”
Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Oct. 2, 2017
(DALLAS) — Sustainability is a way of life that benefits everyone — families, community members, cities and people everywhere … especially families who live in vulnerable communities. That concept — as well as resilience and environmental justice — will be the focus of the Dallas County Community College District’s annual Sustainability Summit on Friday, Nov. 3.
The free event will be held at Cedar Valley College from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., located at 3030 N. Dallas Ave. in Lancaster. Lunch is free, and advance registration is requested by Oct. 30. Visit dcccd.edu/SustainabilitySummit to sign up and view the full conference schedule.
“Our vision is for the colleges of DCCCD to become environmental leaders in our communities — teaching, learning and supporting sustainability,” said Georgeann Moss, the district’s director of digital communications and co-chair of DCCCD’s sustainability team. “Our annual Sustainability Summit is one way to reach students, employees and community members and to show everyone that we all benefit from sustainable practices, wherever we live, work and play.
“DCCCD, with the support of our board of trustees and our chancellor, Dr. Joe May, is committed to sustainability and environmental compliance,” she added.
Dr. Maria Boccalandro, director of CVC’s Sustainable Communities Institute, said that Cedar Valley is excited to host the summit. “Our vision is sustainability in practice, and we have concrete practices on campus that are designed to help us achieve that vision, including quality of life, social justice, efficient buildings and stewardship of our natural environment,” she said.
Cedar Valley’s president, Dr. Joe Seabrooks, supports those efforts. “Sustainability at Cedar Valley College has been institutionalized through the vision and leadership our college has shown over the past several years,” he said. “National awards that we received in 2016 recognize the strong commitment we have, as a college, to a sustainable future. We want to do the right thing for our students and our community.”
The one-day program will feature keynote speaker Mustafa Santiago Ali from the Hip Hop Caucus; breakout sessions; workshops; and synergy sessions.
Ali, who is senior vice president of climate, environmental justice and community revitalization for the Hip Hop Caucus, will discuss “Moving Vulnerable Communities From Surviving to Thriving” during the 8:30 a.m. keynote address.
The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization which connects the Hip Hop community to the civic process in order to build power and create positive change. Ali leads the strategic direction, expansion and operation of the caucus’s portfolio on climate, environmental justice and community revitalization. He has conducted more than 1,000 presentations, including speeches, guest lectures and training sessions, and he has worked with more than 500 domestic and international communities to secure environmental, health and economic justice.
Ali joined the Hip Hop Caucus after he worked 24 years for the Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as the assistant associate administrator for environmental justice and as senior advisor for environmental justice and community revitalization. He is a former instructor at West Virginia University and Stanford University in Washington. He also served as co-host for the “Spirit in Action” radio show, which focused on social justice issues.
The summit will feature two sets of breakout sessions in the morning and afternoon:
10 to 10:50 a.m. — Breakout session 1
- Project-based environmental engineering;
- An energy-efficient future is ours if we seriously want it;
- Solar in your community;
- The 4-foot perspective: A case study on walkability by young students.
11 to 11:50 a.m. — Breakout session 2
- Hidden value in healthier buildings;
- Sustainability at home/urban farming;
- Creating competitive communities;
- Not business as usual: Fostering civic engagement on climate change.
1 to 1:50 p.m. — Breakout session 3
- Grow native — a plant and pollinator garden catalyzes engagement and learning;
- Zoning for sustainability;
- Texas Honey Bee Guild;
- Sustainability standards and reporting: Is the accounting profession ready?
2 to 2:50 p.m. — Breakout session 4
- Urban agriculture, community food systems and urban farming/gardening;
- Sustainability implementation for small cities;
- Texas native wild cats: Was that a bobcat or a mountain lion in my neighborhood?
- Saving humankind: A peak behind the curtain of environmental panic.
Three synergy sessions are scheduled as well:
- 10 to 11:50 a.m. — “We Over Me Farm” and “Backyard Biospheres”
- 1 to 2:50 p.m. – Bicycling, DART and ride-sharing services
- 1 to 2:50 p.m. – From recovery to resiliency: Lessons learned from Hurricanes Harvey and Katrina;
Three workshops will be offered:
- 10 to 11:50 a.m. — Silo busting proposal for sustainable economic development in Southern Dallas and Northern Ellis counties
- 1 to 2:50 p.m. — A rooster’s guide to backyard chickens
- 1 to 2:50 p.m. — Dancing in the great outdoors
Exhibits open at 8 a.m. Lunch is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Afternoon roundtable discussions will be held from 3 to 4 p.m.
Sponsors for the 2017 DCCCD Sustainability Summit are DCCCD, Cedar Valley College, Trane, AAA Texas, Abilene Christian University, Facility Performance Associates, Ward’s Science, Kleen Kanteen, Whole Earth Provision, GreenSource DFW, Natural Awakenings Dallas, Dallas Water Utilities and Clear Channel Outdoor.
Cedar Valley College, serving as the summit’s host institution, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
For more information about the summit, contact Boccalandro at 972-860-5204 or at
mboccalandro@dcccd.edu. For details about sponsoring the summit, contact Moss at 214-378-1823 or at
gemoss@dcccd.edu.
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