Speaker Series Spotlights Environmental Justice Concerns

The Hayward Social and Environmental Justice Speaker Series is co-hosted by the Institute’s Center for the Blue Economy as part of the Hayward Sustainability Speaker Series (supported by the Nancy Eccles and Homer M. Hayward Family Foundation) and the Social and Environmental Justice Speaker Series (supported by the Institute), with additional support from KAZU radio as a media sponsor. The series was developed and coordinated by International Environmental Policy students Rebecca (Rivvy) Eisenberg MAIEP ‘18, Elea Becker Lowe MAIEP ’18, and Molly Shane MAIEP ’18.

“We’re excited to be bringing a number of leading voices in the field of sustainability to Monterey,” said Center for the Blue Economy Director Jason Scorse, also the program chair for the Institute’s International Environmental Policy program. “This is a great opportunity for the broader Monterey area community to join our campus community in examining some of the key issues around sustainability and environmental justice today. There is a real thirst for activism and social equity on campus, and in the broader society, and we wanted to directly address these concerns.”

The series includes sessions on Sustainability Management in Higher Education (March 28), Population and Climate Change (March 29), and Powering Partnerships: A Panel Discussion with Labor and Environmental Advocates Finding Common Ground on California Climate Policy (April 17). Subsequent sessions in April and May will address environmental justice in West Oakland, “blue theology” (faith communities as partners in ocean conversation), negative emissions technologies, strategies for engaging with climate change skeptics, students and social action, ocean acidification policy, women entrepreneurs in agtech, and legal strategies for protecting the water supply from pollution. 

“For the past 10 years we’ve been using our spring speaker series to inspire students and community members, build networking opportunities, and enrich the overall academic experience for our students,” added Scorse. “With the support of the Hayward Family Foundation, we’ve been able to bring a wide spectrum of voices to campus across many fields, geographies, and sectors so that students get exposed to the latest thinking, research, and activism in the sustainability space.”

A full roster of speakers and topics, as well as detailed information about dates, times, venues, and locations, is available at go.miis.edu/hayward.