Thursday, March 28th
Sammy Gensaw III, a dynamic young Yurok leader, will share some of his experiences working for ecological and cultural revival along the Klamath River, central to his people’s identity and livelihood. He’ll discuss how the epic struggle to remove destructive dams required drawing deeply from ancestral wisdom, modern science, and cutting-edge activism, and how Indigenous leadership can play a central role in rekindling our connections to land and water and ushering in a restorative, resilient future for all of us.
March 28th | 11:25 am to 11:41 am | Zellerbach Hall
Keynote
Samuel Gensaw, III – Youth Keynote
Founding Director | Ancestral Guard
Sammy Gensaw III is a leader in environmental and cultural preservation in his Yurok community. Director of the Ancestral Guard, a nonprofit focused on teaching traditional fishing and farming methods to Indigenous youth, his approach is deeply rooted in food sovereignty, cultural preservation, community resilience, and self-sufficiency. Gensaw's activist journey began in his early teens with the Klamath Justice Coalition, the largest dam removal and river restoration project in history, and his contributions to restoring Native American foodways are featured in the documentary film, Gather.
Introduction by Nikola Alexandre, Co-Creator & Stewardship Lead at Shelterwood Collective
Taylor Brorby grew in the dynamic shortgrass prairie of western North Dakota, a youth that coincided with the brutal physical and psychic scarring of his surroundings by the coal and oil industry, a fate not made any easier by being a young gay boy enthralled by classical music, art, fishing, and poetry. From here, Taylor became a brilliant poet, writer and dedicated activist, one of the most eloquent and profound critics of the fossil fuel industry in the nation, penning, among other works, the extraordinary memoir: Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land, the powerful essays in Civil Disobedience, and co-editing: Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America. He will share some of his life story and seek to inflame us with the passion we will need to stop the carbon-burning Leviathans from destroying the biosphere.
March 28th | 12:14 pm to 12:37 pm | Zellerbach Hall
Introduced by
Nikola Alexandre
Co-Creator & Stewardship Lead | The Shelterwood Collective
Nikola Alexandre, Co-Creator & Stewardship Lead of the Shelterwood Collective, is a Black queer forester with MA degrees in both Forestry and Business Administration from Yale who founded Conservation International’s Ecosystem Restoration Program. After attending a nature-based healing gathering following the Pulse massacre, Nikola committed his life to tending the earth and reclaiming land stewardship as a way of nurturing a future for the communities he belongs to, which led to his co-founding the Shelterwood Collective in Sonoma County.
Keynote
Taylor Brorby
Author & Activist | Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land
Taylor Brorby is the author of: Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land; Crude: Poems; Coming Alive: Action; and Civil Disobedience; and is co-editor of: Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America. Taylor's work has appeared in many leading publications, including The NY Times, LitHub and Orion, and he has been supported by several prestigious fellowships, including from the MacDowell Colony and the National Book Critics Circle. He also serves on the editorial boards of Hub City Press and Terrain.org, is a contributing editor at North American Review, and teaches nonfiction writing at the University of Alabama.
We are constantly inundated by attempts to influence our behavior, and we also often seek to persuade others on social and cultural issues, but how do we differentiate between authentic and manipulative persuasion? When do we give up in our efforts to persuade others? When do we stay engaged in persuasion even when it’s difficult? In this interactive session, facilitated by Joan Blades, entrepreneur, political activist and co-founder of Living Room Conversations; and Ricky Diaz, manager of the EngageNow National Youth Voting project at JETTIX.net, we’ll have a conversation that explores when persuasion is effective and when it isn’t, as well as what we think is worth the effort and why. This conversation is inspired in part by themes found in Anand Giriharadas’s book, The Persuaders.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Skillful Means Center, Dharma College
Panelists
Joan Blades
Co-Founder | Living Room Conversations
Joan Blades, with a background as an attorney and mediator, is a co-founder of LivingRoomConversations.org, an open-source effort to build respectful connections across ideological, cultural and party lines while embracing our core-shared values. Joan previously co-founded MomsRising.org and MoveOn.org and is co-author of The Custom-Fit Workplace and The Motherhood Manifesto. (livingroomconversations.org)
Ricky Diaz
Manager of Disruptive Technologies Series and EngageNow National Youth Voting project | JETTIX.net
Ricky Diaz, whose parents are from El Salvador and who is the first in his family to attend college, is a UC Berkeley Senior graduating with a degree in Computer Science. He is currently managing the Disruptive Technologies Series and EngageNow National Youth Voting project at JETTIX.net, a Berkeley technology company developing products for the Multicultural GenZ Tech youth.
Since 2005 nearly a third of the newspapers in the U.S. have folded up for good, many at the hands of rapacious capital firms intent on squeezing every last drop of profit out of the “Third Estate.” Local news, so vital to the practice of democracy on the ground in communities, is seriously at risk. Half of the counties in the country now qualify as “news deserts,” but against this specter of corporate domination, a booming expansion of nonprofit newsrooms, along with a renewed public interest in local news, is pointing the way towards a truly innovative media future. In this session, some leading editors and journalists will share their visions about what a future of news built on collaboration, community engagement and a commitment to exceptional journalism could look like, if enough of us get involved. Hosted by Christa Scharfenberg, Director of the California Local News Fellowship program at UC Berkeley. With: Larry Ryckman, Editor and co-founder of The Colorado Sun, previously Senior Editor at The Denver Post; Jacob Simas, Community Journalism Director at Cityside Journalism Initiative; Madeleine Bair, founder of El Tímpano.
March 28th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | The Marsh Theater
Panelists
Madeleine Bair
Founder | El Tímpano
Madeleine Bair is the founder of El Tímpano, an award-winning civic media organization designed with and for the Bay Area’s Latino and Mayan immigrant communities. Madeleine, who has been carrying a microphone in her backpack since she belonged to the Oakland bureau of Children’s Express, has taught radio production to young adults, worked on a morning show at Chicago Public Radio, produced multimedia for Human Rights Watch, and collaborated with media activists from around the world. Her stories have appeared in the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, Colorlines, and Orion, and broadcast on PRI’s The World and Independent Lens.
Larry Ryckman
Co-Founder and Editor | The Colorado Sun
Larry Ryckman, co-founder and Editor of The Colorado Sun, was previously: Senior Editor at The Denver Post; Managing Editor at The Gazette in Colorado Springs; and City Editor at the Greeley Tribune. Ryckman also spent 22 years at The Associated Press (AP), where he was Assistant Managing Editor and a National Editor and Supervisor of the AP's national desk in New York. He also spent nearly four years as a Moscow correspondent for AP and helped cover the fall of the Soviet Union and supervised AP's coverage of the Columbine High School massacre and directed its coverage of the presidential election recount in Florida in 2000.
Jacob Simas
Community Journalism Director | Cityside Journalism Initiative
Jacob Simas, Oakland-based Community Journalism Director at Cityside Journalism Initiative, previously managed social-impact initiatives at Univision, established a youth journalism training program with Fusion Media Group, and was a Senior Editor and Director of Youth and Community Media at New America Media/Pacific News Service. Before journalism, Simas was a school-based counselor and program director for Latino youth and families at the nonprofit Horizons Unlimited in San Francisco’s Mission District.
Christa Scharfenberg
Director of the California Local News Fellowship Program | UC Berkeley
Christa Scharfenberg, Project Director of the California Local News Fellowship Program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, was previously Senior Vice President at the American Journalism Project (AJP), a venture philanthropy that invests in the growth of local nonprofit newsrooms across the country. Prior to AJP, Christa spent more than 18 years at Reveal/The Center for Investigative Reporting, serving as CEO from 2017-2021. She is also on the advisory boards of the Poynter Institute, the Legal Clinic Fund and Correctiv (in Berlin).
How does “Natural Law” teach us to take care of Mother Earth? And what is the intimate relationship between natural law and food sovereignty? The Indigenous-led food sovereignty movement has spread rapidly over the past decade. Food sovereignty is more than just returning to ancestral diets for health and wellbeing. It is also a return to natural law while honoring our responsibilities towards all life on earth. In this panel, three Indigenous women share their personal journeys to food sovereignty, what this has meant for their communities, and why food sovereignty is so much more than a movement. Moderated by Alexis Bunten. Featuring Tabitha Robin, Rowen White and Marcus Briggs-Cloud.
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Berkeley Ballroom, Residence Inn
Panelists
Tabitha Robin
Assistant Professor in the Applied Biology Program | University of British Columbia
Tabitha Robin, Ph.D. (Métis/Cree/settler ancestry), an Assistant Professor in the Applied Biology program at the University of British Columbia, earned her doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Manitoba, where she examined the role of food in Cree helping and healing practices. Her research includes how Indigenous knowledges can be used as food literacy; the reclamation of Indigenous seed knowledges; and factors that affect Indigenous food sovereignty.
Marcus Briggs-Cloud
Co-Director | Ekvn-Yefolecv
Marcus Briggs-Cloud (Maskoke), Ph.D., is a language revitalizer, scholar, musician and co-director of Ekvn-Yefolecv: an off-grid, climate-positive, income-sharing ecovillage comprised of Maskoke People who, after 180 years of displacement, returned to their homelands for language and cultural revitalization and ecological stewardship. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School who also has a doctorate in ecology, Marcus’ research intersects ecology, genetics, linguistics, liberation theology, and ecofeminism.
Rowen White
Director | Sierra Seeds
Rowen White, an Indigenous seed-keeper from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne and a passionate activist for Indigenous seed and food sovereignty, is the Director of Sierra Seeds, an innovative organic seed organization focusing on Indigenous seed stewardship and education. Rowen is the founder of the Indigenous Seedkeepers Network, which is committed to restoring the Indigenous Seed Commons across North America through restoring seed kinship routes.
Alexis Bunten
Co-Director, Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Alexis Bunten, Ph.D., (Aleut/Yup’ik), Co-Director of Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program, has been a researcher, media-maker, manager, consultant, and curriculum developer for organizations including the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the FrameWorks Institute. She has published widely about Indigenous and environmental issues, and is the author of So, how long have you been Native?: Life as an Alaska Native Tour Guide.
6:40 pm: Film Screening and Discussion: 2 Episodes in the Wild Hope Series
Conservation Storytelling: From Inception to Impact
Biodiversity loss is a global crisis, but success is out there. The new broadcast and YouTube series WILD HOPE aims to make these conservation stories accessible and engaging for a global, young audience. The key to that success? Focus on hope. Biodiversity decline is a local problem with local solutions – and the milestones for successfully reversing the crisis are everywhere. Produced by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. Introduction and post-screening Q+A with Sarah Arnoff, Co-Executive Producer of the series; Alex Duckles, Senior Digital Media and Impact Producer, and Alexandra Pearson, Impact and Communications Producer.
—Vertical Meadows (7:11): As urban expansion quickly replaces natural habitats, façade engineer Alistair Law has created a radically new way to restore native ecosystems for pollinators and create natural spaces for us all within cities—by turning the walls of buildings and construction sites into meadows.
—Return of the Manatees (16:01): Today, manatees are experiencing what scientists call a UME — an unusual mortality event — some 1000 of them are dying each year, a major crisis for a population of only 7000, but citizens in the manatee stronghold of Crystal River have pioneered an approach to restore critical seagrass that now shows promise to help the gentle giants throughout their range.
March 28th | 6:40 pm to 8:10 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Sarah Arnoff
Co-Executive Producer of the Wild Hope series | Tangled Bank Studios
Sarah Arnoff, a former zookeeper and widely traveled wildlife conservationist who has 12 years of experience producing, directing and shooting award-winning wildlife television series and specials, is currently the Co-Executive Producer of the Wild Hope series for Tangled Bank Studios. Previously a show-runner and Co-Executive Producer for several Emmy Award-Winning series with Jeff Corwin, she has produced wildlife documentaries with National Geographic TV, including a series on great apes with Jane Goodall.
Alex Duckles
Digital Media Specialist | HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
Alex Duckles, a digital media specialist at HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, has backgrounds in ecology, filmmaking and communication, including narrative models of science storytelling. He previously produced an award-winning documentary on destructive algae blooms and worked for PBS Education and PBS Digital Studios. Alex is currently focused on producing short-form video content that brings emotionally-driven science storytelling to platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, including the original YouTube series “I Contain Multitudes” about the human microbiome starring best-selling author Ed Yong.
Alexandra Pearson
Impact and Communications Producer | HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
Alexandra Pearson leads impact-driven campaigns at HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, overseeing strategy development, key events and partnerships. An expert in social impact strategy and creative film distribution, she brings 10+ years’ experience in media and grassroots organizing. Previously, Pearson worked at Vulcan Productions, where she developed and managed impact campaigns for more than 15 films, TV shows and multimedia content, including the "Ghost Fleet" campaign, which supported the passage of congressional legislation improving the regulation of unsustainable and unethical fishing practices. Prior to Vulcan, she was an impact campaigns director at Picture Motion, where she contributed to more than 40 film and TV campaigns.
Saturday, March 30th
Richmond, CA, has been the site of exemplary progressive community organizing and political mobilization these past few years, and it is home to a number of groundbreaking projects, and some exciting new initiatives on the horizon include: a 10-acre farm and resiliency center in North Richmond; California’s First ADA accessible community garden on the Richmond Greenway; innovative approaches to getting youth access into higher education; radically boosted cycling infrastructure; and much more. Come hear from local Richmond activists and leaders as they share stories, best practices, and fresh perspectives on what building a genuinely progressive community looks and feels like. Hosted by Adam Boisvert, Deputy Director and Director of Education Programs at Urban Tilth. With Najari Smith, Executive Director at RICH City Rides; Arleide Santos, Community Organizer at Urban Tilth; Anselmo Ramirez, co-founder, Moving Forward; Chito Floriano, Director of Farm and Gardens at Urban Tilth.
March 30th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | The Marsh Theater
Panelists
Adam Boisvert
Urban Tilth | Deputy Director
Adam Boisvert has spent the past 13 years growing community and school garden and food production programs with the food justice organization Urban Tilth in Richmond, California. Currently, Adam serves as Urban Tilth’s Deputy Director and as a teacher-of-record for the Urban Agriculture Academy at Richmond High School, a year-round elective course rooted in hands-on, experiential learning.
Najari Smith
Executive Director | RICH City Rides
Najari Smith is the Executive Director of Rich City Rides, a Richmond, CA-based organization he founded in 2012 that uses bike ownership and bicycling as base-building vehicles for healthy civic change, and that has been transitioning into the broader community-focused development through the incubation of new enterprises. For over 10 years, Najari and Rich City Rides have worked to unite communities, transform vacant lots into vibrant parks, make closed storefronts into worker-owned cooperatives and strip away the barriers to using bicycles as viable, healthy green transportation options.
Anselmo Ramirez
Co-Founder | Moving Forward
Anselmo Ramirez, a Richmond, CA native, co-founded Moving Forward (a fiscally sponsored project of Urban Tilth) to uplift and empower the Richmond community through health, academics, and community service. Since 2017, Anselmo and the Moving Forward team have: held an annual 5K fundraiser event, raising over $60,000 for Richmond youth pursuing higher education; hosted 100+ community clean-ups and 100+ health and wellness related events; and supplied thousands of local youth with backpacks, school supplies, and shoes to ensure local youth feel confident and prepared when stepping into their classrooms.
Chito Floriano
Director of Farm and Gardens | Urban Tilth
Marcos “Chito” Floriano, who first worked the land in the corn fields in Pajacuarán, Michoacán, where his father is from, is the Director of Farm and Gardens at Richmond, CA’s renowned grassroots community organization, Urban Tilth. Driven by a desire to feed his community, encourage healthy lifestyles and end generational disease, Chito began his activist trajectory at Richmond’s RYSE Youth Center and also has a background in teaching photo and video production and as a touring musician.
Arleide Santos
Community Organizer | Urban Tilth
Arleide Santos, a passionate educator and community activist from Brazil who has lived in the Bay Area since 2017, is the Greenway Community Organizer for the renowned, influential, multi-faceted Richmond, CA grassroots non-profit, Urban Tilth.
Hosted by the Ecology Center
Since the “Back to the Land” movement and the Free Breakfast Program of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in the 1960s and 70s, food-based movements have continued to evolve and chart new territory thanks to dedicated generations of leaders. In this session, some visionary contemporary food equity luminaries will discuss their projects and analyses and share their experiences and insights. We will hear about how to forge structural solutions for building systemic change through pilot programs, community building, and political advocacy; learn about innovations and successes in production and distribution at local and national scales; and come away with an overarching picture of how food activists are collaborating to build a healthy, sustainable, and just food system for all. We will leave feeling informed, activated, and inspired to make change. Moderated/hosted by Martin Bourque, Executive Director, Ecology Center. With: Minni Forman, Food and Farming Director, Ecology Center; Xavier Morales, Executive Director of The Praxis Project; Miguel Villarreal, Interim Co-Executive Director, National Farm to School Network.
March 30th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Magnes Museum
Panelists
Minni Forman
Food and Farming Program Director | Ecology Center
Minni Forman, MBA, who leads efforts to support small farm-direct retail channels in California as the Food and Farming Program Director for Berkeley’s Ecology Center, was born in a subsistence farming family in Belize and went on to dedicate her career to the development and growth of resilient and equitable food systems. Minni previously co-founded an urban farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in Detroit and implemented a trade model that directly connects smallholder Indigenous cacao farmers in Belize to fine chocolate markets across the globe.
Xavier Morales
Executive Director | The Praxis Project
Xavier Morales, Ph.D., MRP, with academic backgrounds in Regional and Urban Planning, Community Development, and Environmental Sciences, is Executive Director of The Praxis Project, a national non-profit dedicated to accompanying base-building community organizations to transform systems, structures, policies, and practices toward improved health, equity, and racial justice.
Miguel Villarreal
Interim Co-Executive Director | National Farm to School Network
Miguel Villarreal, MBA, Interim Co-Executive Director for the National Farm to School Network, was born into a family that followed work in the fields for the first seventeen years of his life. He subsequently worked as a School Food Service Director for 30+ years and was a renowned innovator in bringing locally-grown, plant-based meals to schools. He worked with many partners, including a wide range of educational institutions, community stakeholders, health-oriented organizations, farmers, local and national policy makers, state and national groups, and foundations to achieve a high degree of success in creating sustainable, equitable, nutrition and wellness environments in schools and communities. He serves on numerous local, state and national boards of organizations focused on improving the “culture of wellness” in communities.
Martin Bourque
Executive Director | Ecology Center
Martin Bourque, the Executive Director of the Ecology Center in Berkeley since 2000, has led that cutting-edge non-profit to become a high-impact engine for change locally, regionally and nationally, helping move progressive agendas in such domains as transparency in plastic recycling, pollution reduction, food and farming, access and equity, consumerism, and zero waste.
4:45 pm: Stewardship For All
Hosted by Bay Nature
Almost 50% of lands in California have some level of protection, but how do we best take care of these lands and steward them responsibly in the face of rapidly increasing climate instability, development pressures, and the urgent need for far more inclusive access to the natural world by hitherto disenfranchised groups? Bay Nature is an independent nonprofit publication and website with a vision that all people have a close relationship with nature. It has been one of the leading organizations helping connect the people of the Bay Area to the natural world and motivating society to seek to solve problems with nature in mind. In this session leaders in local conservation will share their insights into how to engage specific communities and the broader public through wide ranging volunteer programs, green jobs initiatives and policy innovations to ensure vibrant ecosystems with equitable access to all. Moderated by Kate Golden, Bay Nature’s Digital Editor. With: Annie Burke, the Executive Director of TOGETHER Bay Area, a leading regional voice for resilient lands and watersheds for all the people around the Bay; Yakuta Poonawalla, Associate Director of Community Stewardship and Engagement at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy; Jessica Sloan, Volunteer Program Supervisor at East Bay Regional Park District; Steven Addison, Conservation Program Manager at Civicorps.
March 30th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Golden Bear Room, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Steven Addison
Conservation Program Manager | Civicorps
Steven J. Addison, who has 25+ years’ experience in the conservation field, is currently the Manager of Civicorps’ Conservation Program where he facilitates transformational job training and outdoor experiences for young adults. Steven previously worked for the California Conservation Corps (CCC) in many capacities; for the National Park and U.S. Forest services; and for California State Parks.
Annie Burke
Executive Director | TOGETHER Bay Area
Annie Burke is the Executive Director of TOGETHER Bay Area, a regional coalition of organizations working for climate resilience and social equity, and also serves as the co-chair of California's 30x30 Partnership Coordination Committee.
Yakuta Poonawalla
Associate Director of Community Stewardship and Engagement | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy,
Yakuta Poonawalla, the Associate Director of Community Stewardship and Engagement at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, works to create programs and community partnerships that support stewardship, volunteerism, recreation, conservation and community science efforts. Yakuta, who also serves on the California Landscape Stewardship Network’s JEDI Roundtable and on the board of TOGETHER Bay Area, has written extensively for the National Recreation and Parks Association, the Children & Nature Network, the Center for Humans and Nature, and Bay Nature, and was recently a recipient of Bay Nature’s 2024 Local Community Hero Award.
Jessica Sloan
Volunteer Program Supervisor | East Bay Regional Park District
Jessica Sloan draws on her academic background in Geography and her passion for parks, conservation, and stewardship in her work as the Volunteer Program Supervisor for the East Bay Regional Park District for the last 4 years. She previously spent 6 years with the National Park Service.
Kate Golden
Digital Editor | Bay Nature
Kate Golden is digital editor of Bay Nature, a nonprofit that connects Bay Area residents with nature through environmental journalism. She leads BN's Wild Billions reporting project, exploring the local impact of transformational federal money for nature. She has a background in investigative environmental and data reporting. Her work has appeared in Sierra, The Atlantic, Hakai, the Washington Post and on KQED. She's also a sailor, swimmer, angler, and artist: obsessed with all things water-related.
The Black Hive, a cohort of Black Climate Justice experts who draw from their collective experience and knowledge to assess how climate change and ecological destruction impact Black communities in the U.S. and across the Global Black Diaspora, are also at the heart of the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL). In this session some leading activists and leaders affiliated with the Hive will share their insights about Black futures in climate and environmental justice struggles, as well as discuss the Parable of the Movement campaign, inspired by the legacy of the late visionary author Octavia Butler. Hosted by Aya de Leon, climate author/publisher, lecturer at UC Berkeley; Devin Murphy, Mayor Emeritus in Pinole, CA; The Reverend Michael Malcom, Executive Director of Alabama Interfaith Power and Light and an ordained United Church of Christ Minister.
March 30th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | The Marsh Theater
Panelists
Aya de Leon
Author and Activist
Aya de León, Berkeley’s current Poet Laureate, who has published ten novels and teaches creative writing UC Berkeley, co-founded Fighting Chance Books to provide a forum for writers who want to tell the story of how we can still save our planet. Aya and her work have been featured in a wide range of prominent publications, including The NY Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Ebony, and Def Poetry. Her social justice activism has spanned four decades, including working on climate, race, gender, harm reduction, and anti-nuclear issues. In 2022, she organized a groundbreaking online conference: “Black Literature vs. the Climate Emergency.”.
Devin Murphy
Mayor Emeritus | Pinole, CA
Devin T. Murphy, a collaborative leader who dedicates his efforts to constructing a regenerative economy fostering prosperity while preserving natural systems and promoting a just, inclusive democracy, has 10+ years’ experience in environmental and civic advocacy. He has worked with Sol Community Village, Communities for a Better Environment, and The Black Hive@Movement, and currently serves on the City Council and as Mayor Emeritus in Pinole, CA, as well as on the boards for MCE Clean Energy, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the West Contra Costa Transit Authority (WestCAT).
The Reverend Michael Malcom
Executive Director | Alabama Interfaith Power and Light
The Reverend Michael Malcom, M.Div., MBA, Executive Director of Alabama Interfaith Power and Light and an ordained United Church of Christ Minister, is: the former Senior Pastor of Rush Memorial Congregational UCC in Atlanta, GA; founder of the Environmental Justice non-profit, The People’s Justice Council; Environmental Justice Minister for the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ; and a board member for the Southeast Climate and Energy Network.
Written, Produced & Directed by Darrell Hillaire & Beth Pielert; executive-produced by the Lummi-led non-profit, Children of the Setting Sun Productions, and Vision Maker Media. (62-minutes)
Inspired by the late Chexanexwh Larry Kinley, a Lummi fisherman and tribal leader who worked to protect wild salmon and promote tribal sovereignty, Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life follows two Lummi families as they fish sockeye while navigating climate change, wildfire smoke, and a depleting fishery. In these critical times, Larry asks: “Who Are We Without Salmon?” Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People shows the resilience and adaptive nature of the salmon and the people. It is a spiritual reflection on a lifeway centered on respect and gratitude since time immemorial.
There will be a 30-minute Q+A period after the screening with the film’s directors, Darell Hillaire and Beth Pielert.
March 30th | 7:00 pm to 8:40 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Darrell Hillaire
Executive Director | Children of the Setting Sun Productions
Darrell Hillaire, a member of Lummi Nation and former Lummi Nation Council Member for 15 years, founded and directed the Lummi Youth Academy for 15 years and is the Executive Director of Children of the Setting Sun Productions for whom he has written and produced many multi-media storytelling projects, including theatrical works, videos and The Friends and Relatives podcast series. He currently leads the Salmon People Project, a multi-faceted strategy to help save salmon and restore rivers.
Beth Pielert
Founder | Good Film Works
Beth Pielert, a producer/director/writer of television and documentary films, founded Good Film Works in 2001 and has been with Children of the Setting Sun Productions since 2018, co-directing and co-writing Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life. Pielert’s many other documentaries include: Out of the Poison Tree, a PBS documentary about survivors of the Cambodian Genocide; and the award-winning films, The Corporation, and Claiming the Title: Gay Olympics on Trial. Under the Good Film Works umbrella, Pielert has produced, directed, and edited documentary films for multiple Bay Area nonprofits and arts organizations helping to raise over 1 million dollars to improve public schools in underserved communities and help eradicate homelessness.
