Christopher Bacon, Jesica S. Fernández, Chad Raphael, Iris Stewart-Frey, Tseming Yang - Conference Organizing Committee 

Julie Sullivan - President of Santa Clara University

Daniel Press - Dean of the College of Arts Sciences

Moderator: Lee Panich - Associate Professor of Anthropology, SCU 

Monica V. Arellano - Vice-Chairwoman, Muwekma Ohlone 

Valentin Lopez - Chairman, Amah Mutsun

Moderator: Margaret Russell, Associate Professor of Law, SCU

Kamillah Ealom - Bayview Hunters Point Community Organizer/Program Coordinator, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice

Roberto Gil - Director of Self-Sufficiency Programs, Sacred Heart Community Service

Matt Holmes - Environmental Justice Outreach Coordinator, Little Manila Rising

Moderator: Jesica S. Fernández, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies, SCU

Keala Uchôa -  Richmond Youth Organizer, Communities for a Better Environment

Janina Turner - Co-director of Environmental Justice, HOPE Collaborative; Elizabeth Esparza - Co-director of Food Justice, HOPE Collaborative 

Marilu Zepeda - Member of Air Quality Movement Building, Latinos United for a New America (LUNA)  Cesar Navarro - Community Organizer, Latinos United for a New America (LUNA)

Alec Castellano - San Joaquin Program Coordinator, Environmental Justice, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton; Evelyn Vega Gonzalez - Program Specialist, Environmental Justice, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton

Najiha Al Asmar - Education Program Manager, Climate Resilient Communities

Moderators: Iris Stewart-Frey - Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU and Clare Pace - Postdoctoral Researcher, Water Equity Science Shop, University of California, Berkeley

The Clear Lake Hitch - How Tribal members Have Led the Fight to Protect a Native Minnow Found Only in Clear Lake
Laurel Firestone - Founder, Community Water Center, State Water Resources Control Board 

Does CV-Salts Address the Needs of Disadvantaged Communities Affected by Nitrate Contamination in the Central Valley?
Marisol Aguilar - Deputy Director, California Rural Legal Assistance; Iris Stewart-Frey - Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU; Nicholas Jensen, California Rural Legal Assistance; Thalea Gastelum, California Rural Legal Assistance 

Advancing Karuk Tribal Sovereignty and Self-Determination through Water Quality
Ron Reed - Karuk tribal member, dipnet fisherman, and cultural biologist for the Karuk Tribe of California; Sibyl Diver - Lecturer, Earth Systems Program and co-lead for the Stanford Environmental Justice Working Group, Stanford University 

Reforming the Water Rights System Rooted in Systematic Discrimination, Exclusion, and Violence against Indigenous Peoples and Communities of Color to More Effectively and Equitably Control the State’s Water Resources
Cintia Cortez - Policy Analyst, Restore the Delta; Kasil Willie, staff attorney, Save California Salmon, and enrolled member of the Paiute Tribe, Stephanie Safdi Clinical Supervising Attorney and Lecturer in Law, Stanford Environmental Law Clinic

Supporting the Human Right to Water to Advance Water Justice in California’s Central Valley and Central Coast
Mikel Irigoyen - Community Solutions Coordinator, Community Water Center; Mayra Hernandez - Community Solutions Advocate, Community Water Center; Clare Pace, UC Berkeley, Water Equity Science Shop

Climate Forecasts for Community-Based Climate Change Adaptation in Smallholder Communities
Raul Diaz - Director, Asociación de Desarrollo Social de Nicaragua (ASDENIC); Allan Baez Morales - Director of Programs and Partnerships, Frugal Innovation Hub, SCU; Iris Stewart-Frey - Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU; Ed Maurer - Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, SCU

Moderator: Christopher Bacon - Associate Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU

Agroecology, Abolitionism and What Grows from a Pandemic 
Maywa Montenegro - Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Cruz

Farmers Learning Diversification for Food Security, Sovereignty and Resilience  
Christopher Bacon - Associate Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU; William Sundstrom - Professor of Economics, SCU; Raul Diaz - Director, Asociación de Desarrollo Social de Nicaragua (ASDENIC)

Connecting Food Pantries and Organized Gardeners for Food Justice in San Jose
Fernando Fernandez Leiva - Organizing Manager, La Mesa Verde; Sofia Rocha - Essential Services Director, Sacred Heart Community Service

Addressing Disparities in Student Food Security and Basic Needs on Campus
Antonio Amore Rojas - Environmental Studies and Management, SCU ‘23; Madeline Pugh, Environmental Studies, SCU ‘23

Discussant: Pedro Walpole - Director, Apu Palamguwan; Director for Research, Environmental Science for Social Change; Coordinator, Ecojesuit

Poster Session

tUrn Laudato Si’ Under a Tree Discussion

Under the 3 trees on the lawn circle near SCDI and the Library

Sponsored by Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship - SCU

Moderator: Chad Raphael, Professor of Communication, SCU

Assessing Extreme Heat Vulnerability for the Unhoused in San Jose
CJ Gabbe - Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Sciences, SCU; Jamie Chang, Assistant Professor, Public Health, SCU; and David Seo - Environmental Science and Public Health, SCU '23

Emergency Preparedness Intervention for People with Mobility Disabilities in the Face of Climate Disaster
Molly King - Assistant Professor of Sociology, SCU; Jocelyn Anaya Galvan - Psychology and Sociology, SCU ‘23

Research-Practice Partnership with Beginning STEM Teachers and their Students in East San Jose Communities
Won Jung Kim - Assistant Professor of Education, SCU; Kathleen Jablon Stoehr - Associate Professor and Chair of Education, SCU

Addressing Threats to Electronics Industry Workers and Communities 
Ted Smith - Coordinator, International Campaign for Responsible Technology; Chad Raphael - Professor of Communication, SCU; Iris Stewart-Frey - Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU

Undergraduate Action Research with Social Enterprises for Social Justice
Jennifer Merritt - Senior Director of Academics, Miller Center  for Social Entrepreneurship, SCU; Andy Lieberman - Senior Director of Efficiency and Learning, Miller Center; Judith Li, Student Fellow ‘23

Assessing climate change and residential displacement risks among low-income households in Coastal California
Ryan Anderson - Assistant Professor of Anthropology, SCU; Grace Urbinato - Anthropology and Religious Studies, SCU ‘25

Sponsored by Haas Center for Public Service - Stanford University

Moderator: Esther Conrad - Research Manager, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University

Effective collaboration between universities and community organizations and leaders can enable powerful contributions in addressing climate and environmental justice. In this panel, representatives of two university-community partnerships, and of two networks of multiple universities and their partners, will explore how existing models have sustained productive relationships between community partners and universities. Panelists will also consider how we can deepen and expand this work. How can networks on different levels engage with each other to leverage EJ work? What more can networks do to further community-based environmental justice work? 

University-Community Partnerships

CommUniversity at San Jose State University
Katherine Cushing - Professor of Environmental Studies, San José State University

Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area (PCJ in the Bay), Stanford University
Alex Wheeler - Program Associate for Environmental Sustainability, Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford University; Caroline Beckman, Resilient Homes Program Manager, Climate Resilient Communities 

Multi-University-Partner Networks

Northern California Environmental Justice Network for Community-University Partnerships in Teaching and Research
Iris Stewart-Frey - Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU; Esther Conrad - Research Manager, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University; Clare Pace - Postdoctoral Researcher, Water Equity Science Shop, University of California, Berkeley; Sibyl Diver - Lecturer, Earth Systems Program and co-lead for the Stanford Environmental Justice Working Group, Stanford University; Katherine Cushing - Professor of Environmental Studies, San José State University

Laudato Si’ Action Planning for Transformation
Anna Johnson - Senior Programs Manager, North America Laudato Si' Movement

 tUrn’s Good Market

Rev. Michael Garanzini, SJ - President, Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities

Veronica Eady - Senior Deputy Executive Officer of Policy & Equity, Bay Area Air Quality Management District; Adjunct Professor of Law, University of California Berkeley School of Law

Christopher Bacon, Iris Stewart-Frey, and Tseming Yang - Conference Organizing Committee

Sponsored by Bay Area Air Quality Management District,  SCU Inclusive Excellence Division, SCU Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Valley Water, and the Windward Fund

The California Drinking Water Tool: Using a GIS-based MappingTool to Inform Advocacy for Safe Drinking Water 

Lead: Clare Pace, UC Berkeley, Water Equity Science Shop; Co-Presenter: Tien Tran, Policy Advocate,  Community Water Center

Location: Heafey Computing Labs 202

This workshop will engage the participants in the mapping capabilities of the Drinking Water Tool. Participants will learn how GIS visualization tools can leverage environmental data to inform policy, and support self-advocacy in impacted communities to improve drinking water quality. Learn how different types of water systems, disadvantaged communities, and contamination line up in the communities of California. This workshop is hands-on and may be attended by people without prior GIS knowledge. 

Introduction to GIS Applications for Environmental & Climate Justice, Session I 

Lead:  Jake Dialessandro, Environmental Studies and Sciences, SCU

Location: Heafey Computing Labs 214

This workshop will introduce the participants to the potential of GIS tools in applications for Environmental Justice. Examples include extreme heat, flooding, water quality and food access, and their impacts on disadvantaged communities. Relevant spatial data from California government agencies and NGOs will be used as case studies to demonstrate the capacity of GIS to be used as a tool for community advocacy. This hands-on workshop is geared toward people without prior GIS knowledge and given in two sessions. If you register for this workshop by April 15, the organizers will contact you about your organization's particular GIS needs. Session II will build on Session I.  

Pilot Training Workshop on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California Code 11135 

Leads: Tseming Yang, Professor of Law, SCU; Stephanie Safdi, Environmental Law Clinic, Stanford University

Presenters: Garrett Clark, Isabel Harris, Max Jones, SCU Law School; Rica Garcia, Kiran Chawla, Jacqueline Maldonado, Stanford Law School

Location: Benson Parlors B and C

This workshop will explore and pilot potential options for how Santa Clara University’s Environmental Justice Initiative can assist communities with effective interventions in the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) process and under California Government Code 11135. Presentations will outline effective interventions in the CEQA process and opportunities under CA Government code 11135, and discuss how to engage effectively with communities and regulators. 

Intergenerational Organizing for Environmental Justice 

Leads:  Gustavo Aguirre, Center on Race Poverty and the Environment; Gustavo Aguirre Jr., Central California Asthma Network

Location: Benson Center - California Mission Room

In this session, you will learn basic organizing concepts and the importance of transferring the lifetime knowledge to new leaders that are continuing to empower communities and helping them have a voice in the decision making process in defining our future. Learn strategies from a leader that has organized farm workers with Cesar Chavez and co-founded frontline environmental justice groups. 

Wholemakers: Empowering Young Adults for Creation Care 

Lead: Teresa Rojo Tsosie, St. Jude Parish and Navajo Nation; Diana Marin, Catholic Climate Covenant; and Anna Johnson, Laudato Si' Movement 

Location: Benson Center - Williman Room

Youth and young adults are concerned about a future threatened by a changing climate and long for a spirituality and ethic of nonviolence that lives in harmony with all members of God’s creation. This workshop will sample the Wholemakers curriculum, a resource for social action directors, parish youth and young adult leaders and others to engage high school youth and young adults college aged and older in Catholic social teaching on climate action. The curriculum includes videos, readings, reflections, prayer, and action steps to mobilize climate action at the local level.

The AJCU Laudato Si’ Commission Inaugural Meeting

Leads: Christopher Bacon, SCU;  Michael Schuck, Loyola University Chicago 

Location: SCDI 2311

In preparation for the 2024 Justice Assembly in Chicago (July 16-19), the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities is convening a 'Laudato Si’ Commission', asking how Jesuit higher education can redouble its response to the environmental and social crisis in alignment with the vision of Pope Francis and his  7-Year Journey Towards Integral Ecology. This Commission is charged with developing concrete university-based action proposals that could be taken up by all Jesuit universities in the U.S. This inaugural in-person and online meeting will allow Commission members to meet one another and begin planning work for the upcoming year.  People who register for the Zoom option will receive a special Zoom link via email by Noon Pacific time on the day of this session.

Introduction to GIS Applications for Environmental & Climate Justice, Session II

Lead: Jake Dialessandro, Environmental Studies and Sciences, SCU

Location: Heafey Computing Labs 214

This workshop will introduce the participants to the potential of GIS tools in applications for Environmental Justice. Examples include extreme heat, flooding, water quality and food access, and their impacts on disadvantaged communities. Relevant spatial data from California government agencies and NGOs will be used as case studies to demonstrate the capacity of GIS to be used as a tool for community advocacy. This hands-on workshop is geared toward people without prior GIS knowledge and given in two sessions. If you register for this workshop by April 15, the organizers will contact you about your organization's particular GIS needs. Session II will build on Session I.

Alliances for Ethical Sourcing on Campus

Lead: Grace Adams - Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance Coordinator, Ignatian Solidarity Network

Location: Benson Center - Mission Room

Learn more about ethical purchasing and how it relates to your campus and community with the Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance (CEPA). The CEPA program, through the Ignatian Solidarity Network and Ethix Merch, provides engagement and educational tools on ethical purchasing and how to bring these practices to your campus and change the way universities purchase. Join us today to discuss how universities have worked to bring ethically-sourced clothing, food, and other policies to their campus and how social entrepreneurship can be used to support the sustainability of our earth and the protection of workers.

Organizing for Ecological Justice in the Catholic Church: Laudato Si Animators

Lead: Anna Johnson, Senior Programs Manager, North America, Laudato Si Movement

Location: Benson Parlors B and C

Are you curious about how our Catholic Church can help us organize towards ecological justice and sustainability? Are you a Laudato Si Animator? Have you been considering becoming one? Join us for this strategic networking session where we will get to know each other, share our community realities, learn from each other and about the opportunities laid out by Laudato Si and the Pope's initiatives, and brainstorm collaborative opportunities and solutions. After all, we know, "Injustice is not invincible" (Laudato Si, 74).

Equity in Water Flows in California for Tribal Communities and Communities of Color: Paths to Meaningful Engagement

Moderators: Clare Pace - Postdoctoral Researcher, Water Equity Science Shop, University of California, Berkeley; Iris Stewart-Frey - Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU; Edgar Garibay, Central Valley Program Director, Tuolumne River Trust

Location: Benson Center - Williman Room

Keynote Presentations: 

Ron Reed - Karuk tribal member, dipnet fisherman, and cultural biologist for the Karuk Tribe of California; Sibyl Diver - Lecturer, Earth Systems Program and co-lead for the Stanford Environmental Justice Working Group, Stanford University

Kasil Willie, staff attorney, Save California Salmon, and enrolled member of the Paiute Tribe, Cintia Cortez - Policy Analyst, Restore the Delta; Sydney Speizman, J.D. candidate, Stanford Law School,  Stephanie Safdi - Clinical Supervising Attorney and Lecturer in Law, Stanford Environmental Law Clinic

We will have two presentations from tribal community leaders and allies on efforts to advocate for water justice and maintain tribal culture, ceremony, and identity in the face of tribal dispossession, and on reforming the water rights system rooted in systematic discrimination and exclusion of Indigenous peoples and communities of color to a system of equity and justice. People who register for the Zoom option will receive a special Zoom link via email by Noon Pacific time on the day of this session.

From Ambition to Action: Mobilizing Food Systems Coalitions for Change

Facilitators: Andie Sobrepeña, Farming Hope; Elias Berbari, Fresh Approach 

Location: Locatelli Student Activity Center

Conveners: South Bay Food Justice Collaborative; Lucy Diekmann, UC Cooperative Extension; Christopher Bacon, Environmental Studies and Sciences, SCU 

Are you interested in strengthening calls to action with your food justice allies? First, Andie Sobrepeña will introduce the Food and Agriculture Action Coalition Toward Sovereignty’s (FAACTS) work in San Francisco, highlighting lessons learned in mobilizing multiple organizations to avoid municipal government cuts to food security funding and strategies for coalition management. Next, we will explore what can be applied to the collective work of the South Bay Food Justice Collaborative. Attendees will do a brief asset mapping exercise to identify strengths and needs, creating an excellent opportunity to discover new cooperative opportunities and deepen existing relationships. People who register for the Zoom option will receive a special Zoom link via email by Noon Pacific time on the day of this session.

Making Change in Higher Education to Advance Sustainability and Justice

Lead: Nancy Tuchman - Founding Dean, School of Sustainability, Loyola University Chicago

Location: SCDI 4010

This session will be organized as a dialogue and an opportunity to share experiences, and strategies. Nancy Tuchman will start as she shares her experiences as a founding Dean for Loyola University Chicago’s School of Environmental Sustainability as well as her support for partnerships to confront the climate emergency and advance justice and sustainability across Catholic higher education.  What are the key obstacles and opportunities for higher ed institutional change at this current moment? How do the experiences in public and private higher differ? What is the potential for cross institutional collaboration to accelerate change?

Locatelli Student Activity Center

Ballet Folklórico de SCU

tUrn Barnless Barn Dance

The Forge Garden, 1051 Sherman St

Welcome 

Christopher Bacon, Jesica S. Fernández, Chad Raphael, Iris Stewart-Frey, Tseming Yang - Conference Organizing Committee 

Reflection on Faith-based Approaches - Laudato Si Movement and Catholic Climate Movement
Pedro Walpole - Director, Apu Palamguwan; Director for Research, Environmental Science for Social Change; Coordinator, Ecojesuit

Moderator: Chad Raphael - Professor of Communication, SCU

Creating a Consultative Laudato Si’ Action Plan 
Lindsey Kalkbrenner - Director, SCU Center for Sustainability; Alison M. Benders - Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Santa Clara University
Yolanda Cieters - Sustainability Manager, Seattle University; Jeanette Rodriguez - Director of the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, Seattle University
Alice Kaswan - University of San Francisco

Faculty Development and Research Support 
Chad Raphael - Professor of Communication; Environmental Justice & the Common Good Initiative; and Center for Sustainability, SCU

Organizing Faculty-Staff Working Groups for Curricular and Institutional Change
Sibyl Diver - Lecturer, Earth Systems Program and co-lead for the Stanford Environmental Justice Working Group, Stanford University; Esther Conrad - Research Manager, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University

Social Entrepreneurship and Action Research 
Karen Runde - Program Director, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, SCU

Creating university-social ministry collaborations
Ector Olivares - Program Manager, Environmental Justice Program, Catholic Charities Stockton

Founding a School of Sustainability
Dr. Nancy Tuchman - Founding Dean, School of Sustainability, Loyola University Chicago

Creating Global Partnerships in Jesuit Higher Education
Michael Schuck - Professor, Department of Theology and The Institute of Environmental Sustainability; Co-Director, International Jesuit Ecology Project, Loyola University Chicago; Laudato Si’ University Pathways

Moderator: Christopher Bacon - Associate Professor of Environmental Studies & Sciences, SCU

Michael Downs - Director of Justice and Kinship, Bishop O'Dowd High School

Diana Marin - Program Manager, Young Adult Mobilization, Catholic Climate Covenant

Grace Adams - Coordinator, Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance, Ignatian Solidarity Network

Anna Johnson - Senior Programs Manager, North America Laudato Si' Movement

Pedro Walpole - Director, Apu Palamguwan; Director for Research, Environmental Science for Social Change; Coordinator, Ecojesuit

Moderator:  Tseming Yang, Professor of Law, SCU

Fred Ferrer - Dean's Executive Professor of  Public Health, College of Arts and Sciences, SCU

Megan Fluke - Executive Director, Green Foothills

Violet Wulf-Saena - Executive Director, Resilient Communities

Pedro Walpole - Director, Apu Palamguwan; Director for Research, Environmental Science for Social Change; Coordinator, Ecojesuit

Khanh Russo - VP of Policy and Innovation, San Francisco Foundation