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Santa Fe, New Mexico October 7th & 8th, 2005
Teens Creating Sustainable Community
KEYNOTES
Katende Robert, Action for Humanity, Uganda, Africa katende@actionforhumanity.org Katende Robert is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Action for Humanity, a volunteer led youth organization in Uganda, Africa that works with poor rural communities on environmental sustainability, health, and poverty eradication. Katende will share his experience working with the youth of Uganda to develop Action for Humanity and the vision that led them to concentrate efforts for Uganda’s poor rural farmers. Action for Humanity creates model projects based on both indigenous and modern knowledge.
Aqeela Sherrills, Community Self Determination Institute aqeelasherrills@yahoo.com The youngest of 10 siblings raised in Watts, CA, Aqeela has emerged as a guiding force in the development of the next major peace movement for positive social change. In 1989, after seeing 13 friends die in gang wars, Aqeela was inspired with a vision to create peace in his neighborhood. In 1992, Aqeela and his brother Daude successfully brought the neighborhood gangs together for the signing of the historic ‘Peace Treaty’ between the Bloods and the Crips.
PRESENTERS AND FACILITATORS
Concha Garcia Allen Concha is a Sobadora and a licensed massage therapist. She was trained under Guadalupe de la Cruz Rios, a traditional Huichol medicine woman. Concha uses massage, ritual and prayer in her practice. Her traditional health practices include the use of herbs, teas, sweeping with an egg, smudging with fresh herbs, copal or cedar, the use of tobacco, sweat lodge ceremonies and other home remedies.
Alberto A. Amura In Argentina, Alberto organized courses and seminars on Didactic of Natural Sciences and Ecology for educators, encouraging an active role of his students in the promotion of environmental awareness and preservation of the ecology of the land. After immigrating to the US, he moved to Taos, NM and worked as headmaster for the Yaxche Learning Center, a non-profit alternative educational organization. At Yaxche, Alberto also supervised the construction of the new campus’ facilities, and designed the science lab, astronomical observatory, and art studio. Presently he has his own consulting company that focuses on water revitalization, holistic sustainable planning, and education.
Estevan Arellano Estevan is a writer, researcher, farmer, restaurant owner in Embudo, and an advocate for the environment as well as the acequias. He currently is working on a GPS mapping of the acequia and would eventually like to extend the project to the whole Embudo Watershed.
Greg Baker Greg Baker has worked in the environmental sciences area for over 25 years with a major focus on diverting organic waste materials into useful beneficial products for the environment. Greg instructs the New Mexico Compost Facility Operator Certification Class for municipalities and counties in our state, and is the primary instructor for Backyard Composting classes with NMED.
Rachel Balkcom Rachel Balkcom is an educator with Earth Care International. She has almost a decade of experience working with youth to create student-centered, socially beneficial community projects. Rachel currently team-teaches a class at Monte del Sol that integrates culture, ecology, economy, and society. She has sponsored many student projects involving social entrepreneurship, fair trade, social justice, the interaction of diverse cultures, and students educating students.
Charles Bensinger Charles has worked for 20 years to make renewable energy options available to New Mexicans. He played a major role in persuading PNM to build a 204 MW wind farm, and he has successfully moved several pieces of legislation supporting fuel cells, solar and biomass projects in New Mexico. Charles created and operates the first triple-biofuels refueling station in the US which is located in Santa Fe. Presently, Charles is working to build biomass for ethanol production facilities in Northern New Mexico.
Jim Brooks Jim is the owner and president of Soilutions, Inc., the largest organic recycler in Albuquerque. Jim’s business philosophy is ‘the solution is in the problem.’ A big problem is solid waste – over 70 percent of all landfills are organic materials. He has turned this problem into a soilution by recycling yard trimmings and other organics and turning them into usable compost, topsoil, and mulches.
Joan Brown Joan was born on a farm in the Bluestem Grassland of Kansas and since birth has been deeply connected with the natural world. Her early roots on the farm and her Catholic spirituality have inspired her to work with ecology ministry incorporating education, retreats, prayer, and writing. She has a Masters degree in Religion, Philosophy and Cosmology.
Camilla Bustamante Camilla Bustamante, MPH, Ph.D. works as an environmental health consultant in northern New Mexico and is co-Director for the University Center Program at Northern New Mexico College in Española, New Mexico. Dr. Bustamante is a ZERI practitioner, a member of the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission and has 13 years in the field of environmental and occupational health. Her fields of interest are the role of colonialism and sustainability for indigenous cultures, community participation on as variable for risk management, water quality, and epidemiology.
Randy Charles Randy Charles is a member of the Oneida Nation from Oneida of the Thames and Six Nations reserves. Working in the Emergence Program at the Santa Fe Mountain Center, he has been involved in combining outdoor experiential education and youth organizing to empower young people to take action, be activists and be agents of change in their own Native communities.
Steve Cooper Steve is the Director of the Culinary Arts Program at the Santa Fe Community College. He has opened and operated restaurants and catering companies in Texas, New York and New Mexico, with his operations listed among the top 10 Austin Restaurants, the top 50 Manhattan Restaurants and the top 30 in Santa Fe. Chef Cooper has published several books, and is currently working on a cookbook--Cowgirls and Farmwives--Anglo Cooking in the Southwest.
Margo Covington Margo assists businesses and groups of many sizes identify and implement positive actions for their organizations. She helps direct them toward increased efficiencies, increased profits, and reduced risk, while moving towards restoring the environment. Margo is committed to community improvement and economic development, one business and one person at a time.
Vickie Deane
elleborenm@yahoo.com
Daniela Di Piero Daniela Di Piero is the Founder and Executive Director of the Taos Da Vinci Project, a youth-driven organization that leads international service learning trips and that incubates youth-run businesses and social justice projects in Northern New Mexico. Holding a Masters in Teaching from Brown University, Daniela has worked with teens in public schools, charter schools, GED programs, and prisons.
Tom DiRuggiero Tom is the Marketing Director of Whole Foods Market in Santa Fe and has been with Whole Foods for almost 5 years. Tom also was an international tour guide escorting professional groups to the former Soviet Union. He taught general science in Ghana, Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Sarah Dollhausen sarah@trueskool.org Sarah has over five year’s experience working in non-profit youth programming and community activism and organizing. She grew up in hip hop culture as a youth and still is actively involved today. Sarah believes hip hop can be used as a tool to reach, teach, and build foundations for the youth, creating positive social change along the way.
Malka Drucker Rabbi Malka Drucker has written 20 books, seventeen of which are for young people. A frequent lecturer to groups of all ages and backgrounds, Drucker believes that the rescuers offer a role model to inspire and goad each of us to reach the highest moral behavior of which we are capable. Her forthcoming book, Portraits of Jewish-American Heroes (Dutton) will be published in 2006.
Jessie Emerson Jessie is a RN, certified clinical herbalist, and a recent graduate from Prescott College with a degree in Sustainable Community Development. Jessie has her own herbal company, and produces video documentaries that focus on health, culture and sustainability. She teaches herbal and health classes with an emphasis on diabetes prevention. Jessie leads plant meditation groups connecting people and plants for the healing of our Earth. She has studied with Native healers and medicine people as well as with Spanish herbalists.
Ben Garcia-Linke Ben heads up a local band called Toast, along with Cody Ulrich, Miles Toland, and Jackson Mathey. They are all Monte del Sol students.
Heather Gaudet Heather is an organic farmer at in Rio Lucio, New Mexico. She also works for EcoVersity in Santa Fe. She and her husband are currently building their straw bale/adobe home from all natural and recycled materials. They own and operate One Straw Farm, a biodynamic operation growing vegetables, medical herbs and flowers.
Sarah Laeng-Gilliatt Sarah is Executive Director of the Institute for Nonviolent Economics, where she weaves together two decades of work in nonviolence, spiritual activism and economics. The Institute works to counter economic globalization and build strong, local economies. Sarah has studied and worked with people at the forefront of the global economic justice movement, edited several books on nonviolence, and co-coordinated the Northern New Mexico Organic Wheat Project.
Joel Glanzberg Joel has broad experience in environmental design and ecological restoration projects. He worked with and taught permaculture for over 10 years. Joel also has worked as a consultant to the City of Santa Fe on watershed restoration and public education. He is an active author and educator, and is the co-founder and director of the Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute.
Gary Mex Glazner Gary Mex Glazner makes his living as a poet. His poetry performances have been featured on CNN, NPR and underwater on the Bay Area Rapid Transit System. In addition to being a published poet, Gary is a published author of Ears on Fire: Snapshot Essays in a World of Poets and How to Make a Living as a Poet. This past summer, Gary was commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera to create a performance based on the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.
Lisa Goldman Lisa is a petite, energetic Jewish chick who is all about advocacy for gifted learners, media literacy, and activism for all. She has a Master’s Degree in Special Education/Gifted Education and Learning Disabilities from UNM. Lisa also has a dual licensure in regular education (visual arts) and special education. She plays the drums in a local band (they rock!) and she likes cheese.
Sarah Grant Sarah has been involved in small-scale sustainable agriculture in Northern New Mexico since 1982. She was one of the first members of the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission, New Mexico’s organic certifying entity, and has served as the agency’s executive director. Sarah works with the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association as well as the Farm to Table and Cooking with Kids programs that help connect farmers with school cafeterias.
David Griscom David is the Program Manager for Clean Energy for the Regional Development Corporation, which is a non-profit economic development organization. He works on renewable energy project development, and facilitates new renewable energy projects around NM. David is currently working on developing a wind project in Tucumcari that will provide wind power to a school district and a community college. He is also assisting the expansion of biofuel availability in northern NM.
Lynn Hathaway, Ph.D. Since 1989, Lynn has worked for the City of Santa Fe as the children and youth planner, where she manages grants to community programs. For fun, she plays the fiddle, reads and writes poetry and stories, and enjoys working on her xeriscape projects.
Alan Hoffman village@newvillage.com Alan Hoffman started building solar homes in 1977 and moved on to designing and building sustainable communities in 1992. He has published a number of articles on Solar Design and Sustainable Urban Planning. As a long time member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, Allan is at the forefront of the sustainable communities movement.
Richard Jennings Richard Jennings is the principle of Earthwrights Designs. The company’s specialty is planning, design, and project administration for sustainable water management systems. He also has worked as a sound system designer, vegetarian chef, electrician, food manufacturer, and landscape designer. He has received patents in the USA, EU, and Hong Kong for his inventions.
David Kaseman dkaseman@yahoo.com David retired from a business career in 1992. Since then he has worked as a volunteer in various community initiatives in Dallas, Texas and now in Santa Fe. He was board chair of the Wilkinson Center in Dallas in 1997. The center provides clothing, food, jobs, and after-care children’s programs for poor communities in East Dallas. He also was on the board of CARE in 1996, the largest community developmental organization in the world. He is the co-founder of the Santa Fe Alliance.
Ginny McGinn Ginny McGinn is a Deputy Director with Bioneers. She is a gifted organizer, manager and communicator. After years as an entrepreneurial artist and craftsperson, she joined Odwalla as a regional marketing coordinator. During her tenure there, she was promoted to district marketing manager, with responsibilities that included implementing expansion into new territories, as well as managing marketing activities throughout an eight-state region.
Randy Merker Randy is a teacher at Monte del Sol Charter School where students investigate questions they have posed through research and experimentation. He also has been an environmental health scientist who has investigated environmental quality issues and their impact on human health and the environment. Randy believes that the questions posed by youth are often the most profound in our society today.
Mark Mikow Mark Mikow is currently the Senior Institute math and comparative religions teacher at Monte del Sol Charter School. Previously, Mark taught math and physics at Los Alamos High School; math, physics, chemistry, and qigong at Brush Ranch School; and music at Naropa Institute. Mark also has a yoga and meditation mentorship with students at Monte del Sol.
Kevin Moeller Kevin has lead therapeutic outdoor programs with the Santa Fe Mountain Center for five years. He is currently an English teacher at Monte del Sol Charter School. He also is a gardener, a beekeeper, a cook, and rock climber.
Father Richard Murphy Father Richard Murphy is the Rector of St. Bede's Episcopal Church in Santa Fe. He has long been an activist in social justice, reconciliation projects and human rights work. His theology grounds him in the importance of environmental concerns as a steward of his faith.
Mugenyi Naboth Mugenyi is the Programs Manager and Co-founder of Action for Humanity, an NGO based in Uganda. They develop and implement social action initiatives in the areas of environmental protection and poverty eradication using youth volunteers in and out of school.
Thomas Nichols In junior high school, Thomas conceived and implemented a program to preserve the fragile Rio Grande ecosystem by wrapping chicken wire around threatened cottonwood trees to protect them from beavers. The program replaced a policy of killing the animals to save the trees. Initially told by wildlife officials that there was no funding available to try his idea, Thomas solicited donations of materials from local businesses and got his school and community to help him wrap the trees. For his work, Thomas received the Brower Youth Award and the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Thomas is now a busy high school student, and continues his educational work leading a community water conservation project.
Al Padilla During his youth as a native Santa Fean, Al participated at the Club in the 60’s and 70’s. After college, Al was hired as the Executive Director of the then Boys Club at the age of 20. Twenty-two years later, he is the Chief Professional Officer of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Fe.
Steve Peters Steve has been an avid gardener since age 8, while growing up in upstate New York. He has a Master’s degree in horticulture and soils, and worked as a research agronomist at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania. He currently works as the Commercial Seed Manager for Seeds of Change. He purchases seed from a network of about 40 certified organic seed growers, and works closely with the Seeds Of Change research and farm staff trialing new seed varieties.
Aubry Raus In his work as the Director of Applied Learning for Cornerstones Community Partnerships, Aubry currently is directing and delivering pueblo and tribal youth training in vernacular architecture in Acoma, Taos, and Jicarilla Apache at Dulce, NM. He is also working with a Youth Community Corps team restoring and rehabilitating an adobe trading post in southwest Albuquerque. Aubry served in the US coast Guard and in search and rescue during the Viet Nam era.
Bill Robins III Bill has been practicing environmental law for 13 years. During his career, he has handled a wide variety of environmental litigation. Bill currently is lead counsel for the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma in the Tar Creek Superfund Litigation, and also represents a number of ranchers in Southeastern New Mexico in oil field pollution cases.
Randy Sadewic Randy’s personal mission is to create a world that follows the rules of nature by understanding the connection between our daily decisions and living systems. Randy practices sustainable living at work and at home. He works for a renewable energy company designing, and installing renewable energy systems. At home, Randy eats chemical-free food grown by local farmers and works with his wife on reducing the impact of their lifestyle on the environment.
J. Gilbert Sanchez Mr. Sanchez is a member of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, a former Governor, and the Pueblo’s first Director of its Cultural Preservation Office. He is also involved with the Environmental Department oversight/Los Alamos Pueblos Project, and is the Director of Land Use. He currently is involved in addressing issues of injustices specifically surrounding cultural, environmental, political, and social racism.
Kathy Wan Povi Sanchez Kathy is from the San Ildefonso Pueblo (Tewa) in New Mexico. She is an educator, potter and co-director of Tewa Women United, which is an Indigenous women’s organization advocating positive social change.
Ian Sanderson Ian is a Program Coordinator in the Emergence Program at the Santa Fe Mountain Center. Ian is a member of the Mohawk Nation and hails from the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Ian has been involved in Experiential and Outward Bound programs, and currently works with Native youth through the SFMC.
Joe Ray Sandoval joeraysandoval@chicanobuilt.com Joe Ray Sandoval is a multi-media artist, performer, promoter and youth advocate from Santa Fe, NM. He teaches creative writing workshops for both the public and private sectors. Sandoval’s work has been published, exhibited, and performed from New York and Los Angeles to Caracas, Venezuela.
Steve Sandstrom In his work at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Steve has provided environmental education programming for a variety of age levels, from elementary schools to undergraduate courses at Northland College. He has given presentations at high schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota to thousands of students on how to ‘live green’. Steve practices what he teaches. He and his wife Nancy received the Environmental Stewardship Award from the Lake Superior Binational Forum for their commitment to sustainability in the operation of their bed & breakfast inn in Bayfield, Wisconsin.
Miguel Santistevan Miguel is a native of Taos, New Mexico. He has worked as a Youth Development Specialist, Biology teacher, and youth coordinator for the e-Plaza project (www.e-plaza.org). Additionally, Miguel conducts workshops around permaculture and traditional agricultural methods, and owns and operates a small demonstration/experimental farm in Taos called Sol Feliz. Miguel also co-coordinated a community garden in the South Valley of Albuquerque, an experience that was an inspiration to achieve a Master’s in Agriculture Ecology from the University of California, Davis.
Sean Schmidt Sean Schmidt has a degree in behavioral ecology and conservation biology from the University of Washington. Sean has traveled extensively to conduct conservation biology fieldwork, including trips to central Asia to study snow leopards and Cuba to research Sandhill Cranes. Somehow Sean also found himself working at the Seattle-based retailer, Nordstrom, Inc. in many positions, including his final position as Sustainable Business & Development Coordinator. In 2003, Sean co-founded the Sustainable Style Foundation with Rebecca Luke that focuses on sustainable consumption and sustainable design.
Robin Seydel Robin Seydel is a consumer advocate and community organizer. For nearly 20 years she has worked on building the alternative economic system at La Montanita Coop as newspaper editor and membership, community outreach and education coordinator. She is on the Board of Directors of the national Organic Consumers Association and works on a variety of environment and justice issues. She is a registered organic grower of medicinal herbs and has a private, clinical herbal practice.
Joe Snider joe@buildinggreengenerations.com Joe is currently an Intern Architect with Spears Architects in Santa Fe. He studied architecture and historic preservation at the University of Oregon with an emphasis in sustainable design and planning. He also serves on the national committee of the Emerging Green Builders, a U.S. Green Building Council that seeks to engage students and young professionals to carry the current momentum in green building to the next generation of design and building professionals.
Daryl Stanton Daryl is a health care practitioner who became environmentally ill after remodeling her own home, therefore leading her to explore organic materials in search of healthful, yet aesthetically pleasing alternatives. Combining her background in art, health, and ecology, she opened Casa Natura, selling products and designing spaces that foster healthy living while minimizing their impact on the planet.
Lynda Taylor Lynda has served in non-profit environmental communities for more than 25 years for many different groups in New Mexico. In 1994, she was appointed by President Clinton as public member of the US/Mexican Border Environment Cooperation Commission, and served this post for 10 years. Her job was to provide transparent, community supported, sustainable environmental infrastructure projects to border residents. Lynda is currently the Co-Director of SCI/ZERI-NM, an organization that works in low income, tribal, northern New Mexico and border communities.
Matthew Thomas Matthew is currently an Intern Architect and Freelance Designer specializing in sustainable design in Taos, NM. He is a founding member of the USGBC Emerging Green Builders, and for three years has helped create the International Design Competition. This showcase leads efforts in starting Community Design Workshops across the nation.
Karey Thorne Karey is the Education Director for PeaceJam New Mexico. PeaceJam is an international education program built around leading Nobel Peace Prize Laureates who work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills, and wisdom they embody. Karey brought PeaceJam to New Mexico. She works as a teacher at Santa Fe High, and has over 20 years of experience in teaching and youth counseling.
Fransico Uviña As part of his work with Cornerstones, Francisco provides communities with technical expertise about earthen architecture technologies. He is the author of Cornerstones‚ Adobe Architecture Conservation Handbook, and has taught courses in Preservation Technologies at the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture. Mr. Uviña has received many scholarships for international restoration work in places such as Mexico City, Iran and Peru.
Chris Wells Chris is part of a team in a Joseph Bueys / Puppet Government / kindly Robin Hood fashion that has been producing festivals and big warehouse studios of Ecology and Arts action for the past 25 years. He says they feel like a dinosaur at times, but that the kids keep them young.
Chris Wentz Chris is the Director of the Energy Conservation and Management Division (ECMD) of the State of New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. He currently represents New Mexico on the Western Governors’ Association Wind Task Force initiative, Clean and Diversified Energy for the West, and also on the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition.
Eliot White Eliot White is the Co-Founder of True Skool, where he is able to use his love for hip hop culture to encourage others to make positive life choices. He has over 20 yeas experience in graffiti art and hip hop culture. He has completed both legal walls and commissioned pieces working with other artists, individually and partnering with youth and community organizations. Eliot’s ability to connect with youth and youth culture today makes him an empowering mentor for youth and young adults.
Wise Fool New Mexico Wise Fool New Mexico is a nonprofit theatre arts project created and staffed by four women artists of diverse backgrounds (Chicana, Native, Anglo, and Jewish) who are dedicated to art as a means of changing our world. In the folk traditions of storytelling, puppetry, circus arts and public spectacle, Wise Fool creates accessible, highly visual and participatory performances and leads hands on workshops. Wise Fool believes in the power of laughter to heal, of celebration to strengthen community, and of art to build bridges.
E*Vision 2005 Organizers Randi Mehling, Conference Organizer, randim11@earthlink.net Rod Mehling, Conference Organizer, rodmehl@earthlink.net Christina Selby, Program Director, Earth Care International, christina@earthcare.org Taylor Selby, Executive Director, Earth Care International, taylor@earthcare.org
E*Vision 2005 Committees and Organizing Volunteers Art and Decorations Committee: Joan Henderson, Erin English, Heath Blount Audio-Visual and Staging Committee: Tom Knoblach Booth Committee: Marilyn Winter-Tamkin, Joan Henderson, Patricia Callahan Community Outreach and Public Relations Committee: Tom Knoblach, Rachel Balkcom Food Committee: Tanya Story, Melinda Hamilton Program Guide and Sponsorships: Taylor Selby, Christina Selby Registration/Administration Committee: Barbara Byrne Student/Teacher Outreach Committee: Paige Prescott and Kristen Woods Sustainable Curriculum Committee: Christina Selby, Paige Prescott Workshop Committee: Christina Selby, Randi Mehling, and Rod Mehling Video Committee: Deborah Bolt, Dannu Hutwhol, Alex McDonough, Hoku Donovan-Smith General Planning Assistance: Seth Roffman
E*Vision 2005 Earth Care Student Participants Conci Althause – 11th grade, Monte del Sol Chris Bennett – 11th grade, Monte del Sol Ross Condon– 12th grade, Monte del Sol Rene' Estes-Roberts – 11th grade, ATC Molly Thornton – 12th grade, Monte del Sol Kristen Woods – 11th grade, Monte del Sol
A big and heartfelt thanks to all the many volunteers behind the scenes who made E*Vision 2005 a huge success! Special thanks to Tony Gerlicz, Head Learner at Monte del Sol Charter School! |
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For Full Conference Schedule CLICK HERE!
For a Description of the Saturday Event CLICK HERE!
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