Welcome Session
10:00 A.m. CT Regional ResiliencE Panel
Bergland Auditorium, Savannah Center -or- Online
Session Descriptions
11:00 a.m. Session 1
TRACK A: Environmental Resilience Institute (Bergland Auditorium or Online)
SESSION TITLE: What’s in Your Community Resilience Toolbox?
DESCRIPTION: IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute offers technical and practical support for Indiana local governments and their partners prepare for climate impacts while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. ERI offers help ranging from mapping climate vulnerabilities to de-mystifying federal funding opportunities, alongside accessing expert consulting. This session will provide an overview of ERI’s current portfolio of tools and resources that support your community.
SPEAKERS: Bill Brown - Assistant Director for Strategy and Engagement, Therese Dorau - Assistant Director for Climate Policy and Implementation
TRACK B: Going Beyond the Regs – IDEM Programs & Incentives (Hawthorne 107)
DESCRIPTION: While IDEM’s primary mission is helping protect Indiana’s citizens and environment through the state’s environmental regulations, the Office of Program Support is a unique office that provides a wide variety of programs and incentives to help Indiana communities and companies go even further with environmental protection. Join a panel of IDEM staff to learn more about opportunities to practice pollution prevention, engage diverse stakeholders, and activate waste diversion efforts.
SPEAKERS: Moderator: Julie L Rhodes, Chief, Pollution Prevention & Compliance Assistance Section
Panel: Missy Shaber, Program Manager - Clean Communities; Rahim Evans, Program Director - Environmental Stakeholder Inclusion (Northwest Region); Deanna Garner, Program Manager - Recycling Market Development Grants
TRACK C: Nature Based Climate Solutions (Hawthorne 104)
SPEAKERS: Kathy Sipple - Earth Charter Indiana; Jim Haniford - Volunteer Coordinator, Shirley Heinze Land Trust; Dr. Virginia Pleasant - Co-Executive Director, Northwest Indiana Food Council
1:30 p.m. SESSION 2
TRACK A: Filling Regional Data Gaps and Drilling into Challenges of Regional CAPS (Bergland Auditorium or Online)
DESCRIPTION: Completing a regional GHG Inventory for 3 counties containing 41 municipalities had a variety of data challenges. This presentation will include publicly available data sources discovered to help fill gaps by the non-participating communities. In addition, challenges and lessons learned during the planning process will be discussed and next steps for Northwest Indiana Climate Action Planning.
SPEAKERS: Kathy Luther, NIRPC
TRACK B: City Councilor Roundtable (Hawthorne 107)
DESCRIPTION: Gathering of city or town councilors and those interested in serving on councils. This will be a time to network, share ideas and challenges, plan for future support needs.
Facilitated by: Jim Poyser, ECI
TRACK C: Food Waste Workshop (Hawthorne 104)
DESCRIPTION: One-third of all food in the United States goes uneaten. EPA estimates that in 2019, about 96 percent of households' wasted food ended up in landfills, combustion facilities, or down the drain to the sewer system. The remainder was composted. Preventing food from going to waste is one of the easiest and most powerful actions you can take to save money and lower your climate change footprint by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and conserving natural resources. Schools, homes and businesses all can play a role in reducing the carbon pollution in our environment. In this session hear from the panel on different ways of reducing methane emission from food waste reducing the environmental food print.
SPEAKERS: Gowri Sundaram is Program Manager at US Composting Council. She is also Resiliency Coordinator, ECI, Fort Wayne. As part of her job with the US Composting Council, she helps compost manufacturers in getting their compost certified through the Seal of Testing Assurance Program. She runs the Conference Education Program for the composting industry's Annual compost conference. She mentors Fort Wayne Youth in climate action, works with local city officials in promoting sustainable Fort Wayne.
YOUTH TRACK: Networking with Student Climate Leaders (Library Conference Center 105)
Facilitated by: Tatjana Rebelle, Earth Charter Indiana
3 p.m. SESSION 3
TRACK A: Inflation Reduction Act Opportunities for Communities (Bergland Auditorium or Online)
DESCRIPTION: An overview of some of the near-term future funding from the Inflation Reduction Act that can support communities in their work to decarbonize and implement their climate action plans.
SPEAKERS: Diana De La Torre - Local Infrastructure Hub, Elevate; Lucas Kappel - Federal Grants, Elevate
TRACK B: Sustainability Commissioners Roundtable (Hawthorne 107)
DESCRIPTION: Join us in learning about sustainability commissions and the relationships with municipalities on implementing climate action plans and other environmental initiatives. We have a panel of existing commissioners, previous commissioners and city employees who are focused on sustainability in Indiana communities. We’ll review a few different case studies and reveal a networking platform.
AGENDA: Case study of developing and running a sustainability commission - Nancy Moldenhauer as the past chair of the Michigan City Sustainability Commission
Case study of developing and running a sustainability office without a commission - Brenda Scott Henry as a representative of the sustainability department of the city of Gary
Case study of partnership between a sustainability commission and city sustainability office - Iris O’Donnell Bellisario as the Vice-Chair of the West Lafayette Go Greener Commission and Halee Griffey as the Resiliency Officer for the city of West Lafayette
SPEAKERS: MICHIGAN CITY (Sustainability Commission Model)
Nancy Moldenhauer, Founding Member of Michigan City Sustainability Commission
GARY (Dedicated Staff Model)
Brenda Scott Henry, City of Gary Director of Office of Sustainability & Environmental Affairs Department
WEST LAFAYETTE (Sustainability Commission + Dedicated Staff Model)
Halee Griffey, Climate Resiliency & Sustainability Officer and Chris Kerlin, Go Greener Commission
YOUTH TRACK: Networking with Student Climate Leaders (Library Conference Center 105)
Facilitated by: Tatjana Rebelle, Earth Charter Indiana
Closing Panel
4:00 P.M. CT A conversation with Mayor Lynch and Mayor Barton
Berland Auditorium or Online
Thank you to our hosts!
CLS8 is only possible because of our title sponsors, to whom we are immensely grateful:
Our thanks to our wonderful sponsors and supporters:
