What Works Now?
Climate Action at Middlebury and Beyond
Nov 13-15, 2025 Middlebury College
As we all make sense of the roles of higher education, activism, and the public and private sectors in taking on the climate crisis at this crucial moment, we know that convening at Middlebury to honor the work of our alumni and communities and chart new paths forward will be a breath of fresh air.
Why now? 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of SNG/SNEG and the origins of 350.org from the original 2005 What Works conference. We have also been educating students in Environmental Studies for 60 years and have been supporting students through the Climate Action Program since 2020.
With a new Middlebury President committed to climate action and the broader landscape of climate movement pushback, it’s time for us to gather together. Let’s learn from our successes, challenges, strategies, and opportunities all while strengthening our approaches in community.
Events include:
- Environmental Studies Colloquium
- SNEG Welcome Meeting in the Chateau (albeit on a Thursday…)
- Themed breakout sessions including a zoom in from COP
- Panels and keynotes
- Hikes and campus tours
- Meals and entertainment
View a detailed event schedule below.
RSVP today! Let us know if you’re interested in attending, and share your memories today.
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What Works Now Conference Schedule
Thursday 11/13
The Orchard at Franklin Environmental Center
Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium: Educating for (Climate) Change
Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar of Environmental Studies,
Jon Isham, Director of the Environmental Studies Program and Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies
Dan Suarez, C.V. Starr Fellow in International Studies and Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Minna Brown ’07, Director of the Middlebury Climate Action Program
As Middlebury faculty, staff, and alumni, we have all sought to support student engagement on climate change - in the classroom, through organizing, and through applied learning. In this, the kickoff event for “What Works Now? Climate Action at Middlebury and Beyond,” we will share some of our experiences of how we have tried to match our teaching and programming to meet the moment and student needs. Jon Isham co-created the learning and convening space for a transformative winter term class coupled with the original 2005 “What Works” conference, driving the need for students to gather as the Sunday Night Group. Bill McKibben sat down around the kitchen table with a group of some of those same motivated students to make climate action a global reality through Step It Up and subsequently 350.org. Dan Suarez came to campus asking questions of pedagogy in the age of climate change and supported students through 2021’s Clifford Symposium and courses like “What is ES Teaching You?” Minna Brown came back to Middlebury after being a part of the early 2000s student group to build the Climate Action Program, dedicated to ensuring that students have pathways to climate action. But what has that meant? What have we learned in these years and how, as educators, do we grapple with our role in supporting students?
Chateau 108
SNEG Welcome Meeting
Join SNEG for a fun and informal gathering where we started to meet 20 years ago!
Friday 11/14
McCardell Bicentennial Hall
Student Action at Middlebury and Beyond: Lunch Panel
Ella Powers ‘27
Isaac Baker ‘14.5
Phil Aroneanu ‘06.5
Students are often the drivers of major change at Middlebury, and this panel will give us the chance to hear from several former and current student leaders about how they approached their time on campus. We’ll hear about the founding of SNEG and 350.org, Divest Midd, and current efforts. Aroneanu and Baker will also share how their time at Middlebury shaped their paths as advocates for clean and just futures.
Lunch served in the Great Hall, Panel hosted in MBH 216
McCardell Bicentennial Hall
Breakouts: Leadership past, present and future
Session 1a: 1-2:15pm
Room 216: International Agreements and Policy
Room 219: Science
Session 1b 2:30-3:45pm
Room 216: Private sector
Room 219: Higher Education
Room 305: Philanthropy and NGO
As we make sense of this moment and where to focus our energies, we will explore where effective change has happened across various sectors, tease out lessons for future work, and make connections to strengthen our next steps.
These breakouts will be dynamic, making space for participant interaction and co-creation.
Wilson Hall
Keynote: Jamie Henn '07 in conversation with President Ian Baucom
From leading chants at COP in Montreal in 2005, to charting the launch of Step It Up and 350.org, to clarifying demands for NOXL, to emphasizing the importance of Fossil Free Media, Jamie Henn has been a driver of strategic grassroots climate action since his time at Middlebury.
In this conversation with President Ian Baucom, Henn will share his experiences of what really does work, as well as an understanding of the forces that shape climate narratives and misinformation.
As Middlebury launches its new Strategic Planning process under the guidance of President Baucom, this conversations offers an opportunity to explore how our institution can operate in service of our community and our planet.
Saturday 11/15
McCardell Bicentennial Hall
Breakouts: Leadership past, present and future
Session 2a: 9-10:15am
Room 216: Community and grassroots
Room 219: Finance
Session 2b: 10:15-11:30
Room 216: Local and Federal Policy
Room 219: Culture, arts, and communication
As we make sense of this moment and where to focus our energies, we will explore where effective change has happened across various sectors, tease out lessons for future work, and make connections to strengthen our next steps.
These breakouts will be dynamic, making space for participant interaction and co-creation.
Atwater Dining Hall
Closing Lunch
Join us for a special community lunch. Together, we’ll pull together the various lessons, insights, and next steps we have explored over the course of the conference.