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Webinar: Higher Education Institutions: Partners in Social & Economic Community Resilience

October 28, 2020 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT

Free

This webinar is is brought to you by the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) with support from Second Nature and the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP).

There is an urgent need for higher education to address issues of climate adaptation specifically and resilience readiness generally. Higher education needs to prepare its own campuses and communities, and also has an important role to play partnering with communities locally and around the globe to build resilience, especially those communities whose populations are most vulnerable. Higher education institutions and associations have a unique and important opportunity to help higher education create more climate adaptation and resilience readiness within our sector and within human societies across the country and the globe.

The adaptive and resilient higher education institution is designed to reduce unnecessary human suffering, save resources and money and help reduce pollution and climate change. Since it can be difficult to plan and take action for adaptation and resilience choices, this webinar will highlight domestic examples on a campus and with community partners to show how higher education research and applied projects can produce positive community outcomes.

The webinar will consist of:

Very quick overview of the need for and benefits of adaptation and resilience planning and action
Real world examples from higher education in partnership with other sectors (government, campus, communities)
Resources for planning, operationalization and continuous improvement

Target audiences include staff from the following areas: academics and students, planning; facilities; security; business and finance; procurement; housing; student affairs; counseling; auxiliary services; food and catering; and sustainability offices.

For members: watch on demand For members: archived webinars on demand Upcoming webinars

Presenters

Details

	Tim Carter, President, Second Nature Tim Carter is the president of Second Nature, a national non-profit with a mission to accelerate climate action in, and through, higher education. As president, Dr. Carter provides strategic leadership for the organization, including a focus on decarbonization activity and climate leadership of the 400+ schools in Second Nature’s Climate Leadership Network and University Climate Change Coalition, the launch of climate resilience, carbon pricing, and large-scale renewable energy initiatives, advocating for climate policy at the state and federal levels, and cross-sector climate activity through the We Are Still In campaign. Prior to Second Nature, Dr. Carter was the founding director of Butler University’s Center for Urban Ecology (CUE). Dr. Carter received his Ph.D. in Ecology with distinction from the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia (UGA) and completed his B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He lives in Cambridge, MA with his wife Katy and three children and is an avid coffee home-roaster.
	Beth Gibbons, Executive Director of American Society of Adaptation Professionals As ASAP’s mission-driven leader, Beth strengthens the emerging nonprofit organization by nurturing relationships -including relationships with the ASAP Board of Directors, funders and partners in the field – always keeping her finger on the pulse of trends and opportunities to grow and strengthen the adaptation field. Beth strategically and mindfully leads ASAP toward future growth, while always keeping the mission close to heart. Beth loves connecting about adaptation and finding ways for members to make connections or advance their own careers. Her passion for the field is contagious and members should feel free to contact her, but always at the risk of finding themselves running out to start a new member group or host an event after being inspired.
	Ben Newton, Environmental Sustainability Director, Central Community College in Nebraska Benjamin has been the Environmental Sustainability Director at Central Community College (CCC) since August 2016. He oversees all CCC campus sustainability projects and manages an office of one full time staff and currently eight student interns. Some major projects and initiatives at CCC include a 1.7 MW wind turbine, pollinator gardens on all 3 campuses, an e-badge in environmental stewardship, a plastic bag recycling program in partnership with TREX, bike share, composting, Sustainability Leadership Presentation Series (SLPS), Earth Week on all campuses, America Recycles Day, and volunteer events. Ben has worked on federal, state, and non-profit grants and was a water quality consultant for Gettler Ryan Inc. throughout California, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska from 2000-2008.
	Susan Spierre Clark, Director of the Sustainable Urban Environments Initiative, University at Buffalo Susan Spierre Clark, PhD, is the director of the Sustainable Urban Environments Initiative for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). In this position, Clark collaborates with faculty and sustainability professionals across the university to develop an integrative and multi-disciplinary approach to guide the College’s sustainability efforts. This includes developing and integrating sustainability education across CAS, facilitating and supporting multi-disciplinary and collaborative research efforts, community outreach and stakeholder engagement, as well as planning sustainability related activities and events for faculty, students, and the public