Join Now + There, UNLESS artist Stephanie Cardon, Boston Properties, educators, activists, Boston city officials and climate experts for an intersectional conversation about climate change, environmental justice, and an empowering reminder of the agency we each have to create meaningful change.
Topics will include how the power of art can be harnessed to build community and communicate the urgency of the climate crisis, how we can prepare the next generation, how we can hold corporations accountable, and we’ll look at some of the actions developers and the city of Boston are taking today to support climate justice.
The panel will feature:
Stephanie Cardon - Artist, creator of UNLESS
Stephanie’s work combines and contrasts materials and colors that commonly belong to the realm of construction and infrastructure. Her most recent pieces exist as exercises in building power and resilience through the repetition of fundamentally practical and humble gestures such as sewing, pouring concrete, or crocheting nets. She holds a BA in History and Modern Languages from the University of Oxford, a graduate certificate in Photography from ICP, and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Since 2016, she has been an Assistant Professor in Studio Foundation at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. www.stephaniecardon.comClive Moloney - Visual artist
Originally from Tipperary, Ireland, Clive is a visual artist based in Boston. Moloney completed his MFA in 3D at Mass' College of Art and Design in 2013 and his BFA in sculpture at Limerick School of Art and Design in 2007. His sculpture, "Your Water Footprint", originally installed at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, visually represents the personal water consumption of the artist as well as that of an average person, to raise awareness of water conservation. www.clivemoloney.comBen Myers - Director of Sustainability, Boston Properties
The Boston Properties sustainability program is broadly focused on the economic, social and environmental aspects of BXP's activities, which include the design and construction of new developments and the operation of 50 million square feet of commercial property in Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Oversight of the sustainability program includes enterprise adoption of new technologies and sustainable practices, change management, whole-building approaches to sustainable design, green building policy and operations, development of renewable and energy storage systems, energy conservation measure implementation, sustainability education, communication and public reporting.Marsha Parrilla - Artistic & Executive Director, Danza Organica
Marsha is a dancer, choreographer and was one of seven artists picked by the city of Boston to be a 2018 Artist in Residence (Boston AIR). Through this program, artists, community members and City employees work on projects that help reframe social conversations. These artists explore the ways they can use art and media to improve and bolster City initiatives. Marsha's focus is on climate change, and its impact on marginalized communities. www.danzaorganica.orgTanya Nixon Silberg - Co-Founder & Co-Director, Wee the People
Throughout her professional career, Tanya has spearheaded community efforts that serve young children, Black women, and the elderly. She is Co-Founder & Co-Director of Wee the People, a social justice project for kids aged 4-12., inspiring children to notice injustice and explore traditions of resistance and protest through the arts. Tanya is a recent faculty-in-residence facilitator of Racial Reconciliation and Healing Project (RRHP), a community-based initiative funded by the Kellogg Foundation and based at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital that supports youth ages 15-22 in developing a racial justice framework to combat institutional racism. Tanya also founded Little Sprouts; a family-led program for toddlers at the Arnold Arboretum that built community and a profound love of nature in kids aged 1-3 years old. Tanya is mom to a 6 year old kindergartener who continues to stress the need to "reduce, reuse, recycle" to her family and friends, and wants to be a vet (or a ninja) when she grows up. www.weethepeopleboston.orgKannan Thiruvangadam - Director, Eastie Farm and Director, JP Green School
Kannan is the director of Eastie Farm, an urban farm in East Boston focused on community resiliency, and of JP Green School, a sustainability education program at JP Green House, a passive solar and energy-positive house in Jamaica Plain. He also hosts "What's up Eastie?", a radio show about local issues in a larger context, at Zumix, a youth organization in East Boston. Kannan is also a Climate Ready Boston Leader. He has a technology background, has studied climate science, permaculture, and community engagement, and is passionate about regenerative and sustainable practices in agriculture and urban design. Kannan lives with his partner Rudi in historic Belmont Square in East Boston overlooking the harbor and the beautiful Boston skyline.www.eastiefarm.com | www.jpgreenschool.org | whatsupeastie.com
Müge Undemir - Senior Planner, Boston Planning & Development Agency
Müge graduated from the School of Architecture’s Master of Design for Sustainable Urban Environments (MDes-SUEN) program. Mugzy is currently a Senior Planner at Boston Planning & Development Agency, serving Mattapan, Roxbury, and south of Fields Corner in Dorchester. Mugzy was formerly the Greenovate Boston Program Manager for the City of Boston in the Office of Environment, Energy and Open Space. www.greenovateboston.org
Moderated by Spencer Glendon:
Spencer Glendon is a Senior Fellow at the Woods Hole Research Center, the world's premier climate science research institute. Spencer spent 18 years as a Macroanalyst, Partner, and Director of Investment Research at Wellington Management, an investment management firm with more than $1 trillion in client assets. During that time, he became convinced that climate change would have significant impacts on society and capital markets, yet the risks were under-appreciated within the financial sector. Inspired by the wealth of empirical data behind climate science, and its potential application for informing investment decisions, Spencer has spent the last several years focusing on models in climate science and finance and understanding the gaps between the two disciplines and their practitioners. Spencer earned his Ph.D. and A.M. in economics from Harvard University. In addition, he holds a B.S. in industrial engineering from Northwestern University and was a Fulbright scholar at the Universität zu Köln in Germany. whrc.org