Thursday, March 27th
California has long served as a leading edge laboratory for innovative endeavors across many sectors. Building on the state’s history of leading the nation by implementing visionary environmental policies, California has enacted a suite of legislation in recent years that firmly put conservation and Nature-based Solutions at the center of the effort to mitigate and adapt to a rapidly changing climate. Given the situation at the federal level today, these bold efforts from the fifth largest economy on earth are even more essential as a model moving forward. Learn how the state is attempting to put nature first, about the challenges inherent in this work, and the incredible progress already being made. With: Clesi Bennett, Senior Environmental Scientist at the California Natural Resources Agency; Torri Estrada, Executive Director and Director of Policy at the Carbon Cycle Institute; and Juan Altamirano, Director of Government Affairs at The Trust for Public Land. Moderated by Ellie Cohen, CEO of the Climate Center.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Magnes Museum
Panelists
Torri Estrada
Executive Director and Director of Policy | Carbon Cycle Institute
Torri Estrada, who has worked to advance solutions to social and environmental justice, climate, and environmental issues for 30+ years, is the Executive Director at the Carbon Cycle Institute, where he directs its policy and climate justice work. Torri’s previous roles include: Program Director at the Marin Community Foundation; Program Officer at the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program; co-founder and a Senior Policy Fellow with the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water; and Program Director at Urban Habitat.
Ellie Cohen
CEO | The Climate Center
Ellie Cohen, a longtime, award-winning leader in catalyzing cross-boundary, collaborative, and just responses to the climate crisis, is CEO of The Climate Center and oversees the collaborative Climate-Safe California campaign which seeks to achieve state-wide net-negative emissions as soon as possible. Before joining The Climate Center, Ellie served for 20 years as President and CEO of Point Blue Conservation Science where she and the organization’s 160 scientists developed climate-smart conservation solutions for wildlife and people.
Clesi Bennett
Senior Environmental Scientist | California Natural Resources Agency
Clesi Bennett, an Environmental Program Manager working on climate change issues at the California Natural Resources Agency, manages that agency’s nature-based solutions portfolio, including its Climate Targets and Climate Smart Lands strategies. Clesi, who has been with the agency since 2017 working on issues related to climate change, coastal zone management, environmental justice, and outdoor access, previously worked on coastal resilience, sustainable agriculture, and energy in the non-profit and academic sectors.
Juan Altamirano
Director of Government Affairs | The Trust for Public Land
Juan Altamirano, the Director of Government Affairs for the Trust for Public Land, oversees that organization’s policies that enhance public access to land and parks and works to forge partnerships with government agencies and stakeholders to advance initiatives that protect and expand public spaces. His extensive background in public policy and his passion for conservation have driven a number of successful campaigns across various levels of government.
Haudenosaunee Chief, Oren Lyons (Joagquisho) and Taino Elder, José Barreiro (Hatuey), in a conversation moderated by Baratunde Thurston, will discuss the Indigenous roots of American democracy, the legacy of Haudenosaunee diplomacy, and the global resurgence of indigeneity and its first principles of self-governance. This won’t merely be a look back, but a look forward. In a moment of severe climate and democracy crises, those who hold wisdom about how to live together and with the natural world are being sought out more than ever. Rarely have voices as powerful as Lyons and Barreiro been in public conversation, and never under today’s circumstances. With urgency, perspective, and dashes of humor and hope, this session is sure to provoke and inspire.
Note: This session will be filmed and released post-conference.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Berkeley Ballroom, Residence Inn
Panelists
Oren Lyons
Member Chief | Onondaga Council of Chiefs
Oren Lyons, a Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan who serves as a Member Chief of the Onondaga Council of Chiefs and the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy (i.e. the Haudenosaunee peoples), is an accomplished artist, social and environmental activist, and author; a Professor Emeritus at SUNY Buffalo; a leading voice at the UN Permanent Forum on Human Rights for Indigenous Peoples; and the recipient of many prestigious national and international prizes including The UN NGO World Peace Prize. Oren also serves on the boards of several major nonprofit organizations and social enterprises; is founder and Principal of One Bowl Productions, a purpose driven film and TV production company; and is an All-American Lacrosse Hall of Famer and Honorary Chairman of the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team.
Baratunde Thurston
Writer, Producer, Proud Earthling
Baratunde Thurston, a writer, communicator and Emmy-nominated host and Executive Producer of the PBS TV series America Outdoors, and creator and host of the How To Citizen podcast, is also a founding partner and writer at Puck. His newest creation is Life With Machines, a YouTube podcast focusing on the human side of the A.I. revolution. Author of the bestselling comedic memoir, How To Be Black, Baratunde also serves on the boards of Civics Unplugged and the Brooklyn Public Library and lives in Southern California. (baratunde.com)
José Barreiro
Author and Activist
Jose Barreiro (Hatuey), an author and activist, is a Taino elder and a journalist who has covered Indian Country issues and themes for four decades. Among many other achievements, Barreiro directed several major multi-year exhibitions at the Smithsonian-National Museum of the American Indian between 2006 and 2017, including: "Taino: Native Heritage and Identity in the Caribbean," and “The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire." A resident of Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, Barreiro retired from the Smithsonian Institution, as a Scholar Emeritus, in 2017, but serves as an advisor to several Indigenous community projects in Guatemala, Cuba and Peru.
Friday, March 28th
3:00 pm: Civic Participation and Running for Office: From Inspiration to Action
A Panel Discussion Hosted by Civic (Re)Solve
The stark reality of American democracy demands urgent attention: Over 70% of elected offices go uncontested each year, creating a critical void in representative leadership. Taking decisive action to recruit and engage new generations to transform our civic landscape through elected, appointed, and applied positions across all levels of government is increasingly imperative to upholding our democracy.
This powerful conversation will illuminate the public servant mindset—one centered on advancing community wellbeing—while showcasing diverse pathways to meaningful civic engagement. The panel will feature experienced organizers who work directly with Native American and Millennial communities, bringing their unique insights on breaking down barriers and building successful campaigns. Additional perspectives from Black, Hispanic, and Asian recruitment initiatives will further enrich the discussion. By directly addressing the systemic underrepresentation in our civic institutions, we hope this comprehensive conversation provides both the motivation and practical tools needed to diversify and strengthen American democracy. Whether your path leads to elected office or other forms of public service, join us to discover how you can be part of building a more representative and responsive government.
This session is meant to serve as a catalyst for change—to challenge leaders to envision their role in public service. Hosted by Reena Szczepanski. With: Caitlin Lewis, Work For America; Anathea Chino, Advance Native Political Leadership; Elizabeth Rosen, Future Caucus; and Chloe Maxmin, Dirtroad Organizing.
Note: This session will be followed by an afternoon interactive workshop where inspiration transforms into action: all participants will be invited to create personal roadmaps to public service and to connect with the panelists who can guide their journey from civic aspiration to active leadership.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:45 pm | Golden Bear Room, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Caitlin Lewis
Executive Director | Work For America
Caitlin Lewis, Executive Director of Work for America, a nonprofit seeking to make public service a more desirable, accessible, and stable career path that uplifts families and communities, has a long track record working in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including: developing social impact strategies for global brands; being a philanthropic advisor to Van Jones; helping launch an affordable housing fund; serving in local, state and federal governments, including at NYC’s City Hall and in the White House Liaison Office of USDA; working on several political campaigns and managing external affairs for the organization that manages Times Square.
Anathea Chino
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Advance Native Political Leadership
Anathea Chino (Acoma Pueblo), co-founder and Executive Director of Advance Native Political Leadership, is a queer feminist leader and champion for Native voices with 20 years’ experience as a political strategist, fundraiser, and operative, works to advance Indigenous representation through investment in infrastructure development, strategy, research, and relationship building. She has co-founded a number of state and national organizations, including: Women’s Democracy Lab, Indigenous Women Rise, and Emerge New Mexico, and also serves on the boards of Americans for Indian Opportunity, California Native Vote Project, and Emergent Fund.
Chloe Maxmin
Dirtroad Organizing | Co-Founder
Chloe Maxmin, co-founder (with her best friend, Canyon Woodward) of Dirtroad Organizing and co-founder of and advisor to JustME for JustUS, a Maine-based organization focused on rural youth civic engagement and climate justice, also runs Begin Again Farm with her partner, Bill Pluecker, growing organic vegetables for her community. Chloe’s political engagement has included co-founding Divest Harvard when she was a student there, serving in the Maine House of Representatives in 2018, and in the Maine State Senate in 2020, when she was the youngest woman ever to serve in that body. Chloe is also co-author (with Canyon Woodward) of Dirt Road Revival.
Elizabeth Rosen
Communications Director | Future Caucus
Elizabeth Rosen, Communications Director for Future Caucus, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the U.S., previously supported global democracy movements with Freedom House, mobilized young voters with NextGen America, worked on public diplomacy at NATO, and held numerous odd jobs, including ski instructing in Park City, pizza delivery in Fort Myers Beach, and fact-checking for a New York Times writer in Paris.
Reena Szczepanski
House Majority Leader | New Mexico House of Representatives
Reena Szczepanski has spent her career working for justice, equality, and public health, starting in her teenage years doing work/study as a caregiver for babies affected by HIV/AIDS and eventually managing the New Mexico Department of Health’s Hepatitis Program. She later became Executive Director of Emerge New Mexico, a statewide organization dedicated to training women to run for office and led the Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico to many legislative victories, including the state’s medical cannabis law, substance abuse treatment, and criminal justice reform. Reena then served as the Chief of Staff to Speaker Brian Egolf, and in 2022 was herself elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives and was elected House Majority Leader by her colleagues. She is the first Asian American elected to legislative leadership in the history of New Mexico.
4:45 pm: Interactive Session – Catalyst for Change—Building Personal Roadmaps for Civic Participation
Hosted by Civic (Re)Solve
This session is meant to serve as a catalyst for change—to challenge and encourage leaders and engaged citizens to envision their personal role in public service. In this interactive workshop, we will seek to transform inspiration into action, as all of us will be invited to create personal roadmaps to public service. All of us will be welcomed to connect with the panelists, to gain valuable insight into their programs and to explore diverse ways to actively get involved in civic leadership. With: Anathea Chino, Advance Native Political Leadership; Chloe Maxmin, Dirtroad Organizing; Elizabeth Rosen, Future Caucus; and Caitlin Lewis, Work For America.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Anathea Chino
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Advance Native Political Leadership
Anathea Chino (Acoma Pueblo), co-founder and Executive Director of Advance Native Political Leadership, is a queer feminist leader and champion for Native voices with 20 years’ experience as a political strategist, fundraiser, and operative, works to advance Indigenous representation through investment in infrastructure development, strategy, research, and relationship building. She has co-founded a number of state and national organizations, including: Women’s Democracy Lab, Indigenous Women Rise, and Emerge New Mexico, and also serves on the boards of Americans for Indian Opportunity, California Native Vote Project, and Emergent Fund.
Chloe Maxmin
Dirtroad Organizing | Co-Founder
Chloe Maxmin, co-founder (with her best friend, Canyon Woodward) of Dirtroad Organizing and co-founder of and advisor to JustME for JustUS, a Maine-based organization focused on rural youth civic engagement and climate justice, also runs Begin Again Farm with her partner, Bill Pluecker, growing organic vegetables for her community. Chloe’s political engagement has included co-founding Divest Harvard when she was a student there, serving in the Maine House of Representatives in 2018, and in the Maine State Senate in 2020, when she was the youngest woman ever to serve in that body. Chloe is also co-author (with Canyon Woodward) of Dirt Road Revival.
Caitlin Lewis
Executive Director | Work For America
Caitlin Lewis, Executive Director of Work for America, a nonprofit seeking to make public service a more desirable, accessible, and stable career path that uplifts families and communities, has a long track record working in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including: developing social impact strategies for global brands; being a philanthropic advisor to Van Jones; helping launch an affordable housing fund; serving in local, state and federal governments, including at NYC’s City Hall and in the White House Liaison Office of USDA; working on several political campaigns and managing external affairs for the organization that manages Times Square.
Elizabeth Rosen
Communications Director | Future Caucus
Elizabeth Rosen, Communications Director for Future Caucus, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the U.S., previously supported global democracy movements with Freedom House, mobilized young voters with NextGen America, worked on public diplomacy at NATO, and held numerous odd jobs, including ski instructing in Park City, pizza delivery in Fort Myers Beach, and fact-checking for a New York Times writer in Paris.
As climate breakdown escalates, communities are increasingly realizing that climate action and resilience have as much to do with actual ecological boundaries as with political boundaries on a map. The ground truth is that communities are defined by their local watersheds, foodsheds and energy sheds – as well as culture sheds. These ecological maps will increasingly redefine political maps that can engender meaningful strategic collective action. How do bioregional perspectives translate into political action? How can we build political-ecological alliances for climate action that address urgent bioregional realities and needs? This visionary group of leading-edge climate action organizers will illuminate multiple pathways for addressing both practical climate actions and emerging forms of eco-governance that center equity and justice. With: leading Rights of Nature attorney Thomas Linzey; climate justice organizer and lawyer Colette Pichon Battle whose Taproot Earth nonprofit works in the Gulf South and Appalachia; global Indigenous climate leader Eriel Deranger; OneEarth founder Justin Winters whose science-based climate solutions framework focuses on Renewable Energy, Regenerative Agriculture, and Land and Biodiversity Conservation.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Freight & Salvage
Panelists
Thomas Linzey
Senior Legal Counsel | Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights
Thomas Linzey, Senior Legal Counsel for the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, widely recognized as the founder of the contemporary community rights movement, drafted the very first “rights of nature” law in the world (in Pennsylvania in 2006), and consulted on the very first rights of nature constitutional provisions (in Ecuador). Linzey co-founded the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, sits on the Board of Advisors of the New Earth Foundation and is the author of several books, including: Be The Change: How to Get What You Want in Your Community and On Community Civil Disobedience in the Name of Sustainability. Linzey’s work has been featured widely, including in leading publications including the NY Times, Mother Jones and the Nation magazine.
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Indigenous Climate Action
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), a leading global figure in Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice activism, is the co-founder and Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action and is a member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. She also sits on a number of boards of notable non-profit organizations (including Bioneers) and activist groups. She has organized divest movements, lobbied government officials, led mass mobilizations against the fossil fuel industry, written extensively for a range of publications and been featured in documentary films (including Elemental).
Colette Pichon Battle
Vision & Initiatives Partner | Taproot Earth
Colette Pichon Battle, a generational native of Bayou Liberty, Louisiana, is an award-winning lawyer and prominent climate justice organizer. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when Black and Indigenous communities were largely left out of federal recovery systems, Colette led the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy (GCCLP) to provide relief and legal assistance to Gulf South communities of color. After 17 years at GCCLP’s helm, as frontline communities from the Gulf South to the Global South face ever more devastating storms, droughts, wildfires, heat, and land loss, she co-founded Taproot Earth to create connections and power across issues, movements, and geographies.
Justin Winters
Co-Founder and Executive Director | One Earth
Justin Winters is the co-founder and Executive Director of One Earth, a nonprofit organization that works to prove that we can solve the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss through three pillars of collective action: renewable energy, nature conservation, and regenerative agriculture. One Earth generates educational content, inspiring storytelling, and innovative digital tools to equip people to drive change across Earth’s 185 Bioregions. Prior to One Earth, Justin served as Executive Director of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, where she built the organization’s grant-making program that awarded over $100 million in grants across 60 countries, and grew its digital media community to 80 million followers. Justin’s goal has always been to use a collaborative, inclusive, and entrepreneurial approach to build a broad public movement of engaged change-makers to help solve the climate crisis and build a just future for all.
Saturday, March 29th
In this session, one of the Bay Area’s most accomplished independent media makers, Lisa Rudman, Director of Audience Engagement at San Francisco Public Press, will engage with America’s leading progressive radio host, the bestselling author Thom Hartmann, who is also one of the most deeply knowledgeable analysts of our nation’s politics,to delve deeply into the roots of our current plunge into authoritarian governance. The topics covered with include the long-developing alliance between American oligarchs and the Supreme Court and the larger endgame to replace American democracy with plutocratic autocracy. What are the pathways to reclaim American democracy from the oligarchs, and what can popular movements do to change the game?
March 29th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Magnes Museum
Panelists
Thom Hartmann
Author and Talk Show Host
Thom Hartmann, a best-selling author of over 30 books in print and host of the #1 progressive talk show host in America for more than a decade, has co-written and been featured in 6 documentaries with Leonardo DiCaprio about climate change. A former psychotherapist, entrepreneur and refugee worker helping the worldwide Salem group start homes for abandoned and abused children all over the world, Thom and his wife Louise live in Portland, Oregon with a small menagerie of cats, dogs, ducks & geese.
Lisa Rudman
Journalist, and Director of Audience Engagement | San Francisco Public Press
Bio coming soon.
