Agenda

9:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration Hotel Lobby

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Welcome Reception Mt. Evans

Heavy hors d’oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.

7:00 pm Dinner Off-site

Participants have a per diem allowance to spend on dinner at local restaurants.

7:00 am – 8:30 am Breakfast Mt. Elbert A

*The Office of Alumni Affairs Outreach Team will conduct alumni interviews in Grays Peak A at this time. Please meet them in Grays Peak A if you would like to share your story.

9:00 am – 9:20 am Welcome Remarks and Introductions Mt. Evans

• Paul Garr, U.S. Alumni Coordinator, Office of Alumni Affairs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State

• Payge Jennings, U.S. Alumni Coordinator, Office of Alumni Affairs, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State

9:20 am - 9:30 am Welcome Remarks from Assistant Secretary Lee Satterfield Mt. Evans

Assistant Secretary of State Lee Satterfield, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, created a short welcome video for the seminar.

9:30 am – 10:30 am Global Action to Mitigate Climate Change: Outcomes from the 26th Annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)

Mt. Evans

• Lily Bermel, Special Assistant, Office of Global Change, U.S. Department of State (virtual presentation)

• Participant Q&A

10:30 am – 10:50 am Networking Break Mt. Evans Pre-Function Area

*The Office of Alumni Affairs Outreach Team will conduct alumni interviews in Grays Peak A at this time. Please meet them in Grays Peak A if you would like to share your story.

10:50 am – 12:15 pm Examining the Impact of Climate Change on Underserved and Minority Communities Mt. Evans

Panelists will address how and why climate change disproportionately affects specific communities in the United States. Presenters will share strategies on how to promote sustainable environmental justice.

Moderator: Susan Sterett, Fulbright Specialist Program

Presenters:

• Kehan DeSousa, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program

• Sumi Mehta, U.S. Speaker Program

• Mahrinah Shije, Professional Fellows Program

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Lunch Offsite

Participants will have per diem to purchase lunch at local restaurants.

1:15 pm – 1:45 pm The Network Effect: ExchangeAlumni Mt. Evans

Presenter: Paul Garr

1:45 pm – 2:15 pm Alumni TIES Small Grants Program Mt. Evans

Presenter: Jessica Mead, Senior Program Officer, World Learning

2:15 pm – 3:30 pm Creating Partners for Community Action Mt. Evans

During this interactive activity, participants will gather in small groups based on themes of interest for community projects and engage in one-on-one consultations. Participants will build partnerships, share ideas, address challenges, and brainstorm solutions.

Facilitator: Payge Jennings

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Networking Break Mt. Evans Pre-Function Area

* The Office of Alumni Affairs Outreach Team will conduct alumni interviews in Grays Peak A at this time. Please meet them in Grays Peak A if you would like to share your story.

4:00 pm – 5:15 pm Developing Curricula for Youth Environmental Education and Outreach Programs Mt. Evans

Panelists will share strategies and best practices on how to engage youth in climate activism and education, emphasizing the need to invest in environmental education today to transform tomorrow.

Moderator: Tiphani Davis, Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program

Presenters:

• Mohammad Ali, Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program

• Lizoon Nahar, International Leaders in Education Program

• James Schnell, Fulbright Specialist Program

5:15 pm – 5:30 pm Daily Closing and Announcements Mt. Evans

Facilitator: Paul Garr

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm No-Host Local Alumni Networking Reception Wynkoop Brewing Company

Meet local exchange alumni from Colorado and members of WorldDenver!

7:00 am – 8:30 am Breakfast Mt. Elbert A

* The Office of Alumni Affairs Outreach Team will conduct alumni interviews in Grays Peak A at this time. Please meet them in Grays Peak A if you would like to share your story.

8:45 am - 9:00 am Opening and Announcements Mt. Evans

• Payge Jennings

9:00 am – 10:30 am Virtual Meeting with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Mt. Evans

• “Energy Systems Integration” Virtual Tour

• “Cold Climate Housing Research Authority” Virtual Tour

• Q&A Session with Presenters

10:30 am –11:00 am Networking Break Mt. Evans Pre-Function Area

*The Office of Alumni Affairs Outreach Team will conduct alumni interviews in Grays Peak A at this time. Please meet them in Grays Peak A if you would like to share your story.

11:00 am –12:00 pm Free Time

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch Offsite

Participants will have per diem to purchase lunch at local restaurants.

1:00 pm – 2:15 pm Going Green: Sustainable Living and Practices Mt. Evans

Panelists will discuss various methods of “green” living and environmentally friendly practices that foster continued social and economic optimization.

Moderator: Michael Donatti, Fulbright U.S. Student Program

Presenters:

• Charlotte Cherry, National Security Language Initiative for Youth

• Kathryn Kutzner, Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange

• Pamela Joslyn, Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program

2:15 pm – 3:30 pm Environmental Equity: Improving Access and Reducing Risks for All Communities

Participants will join a small group based on interest. Facilitators will lead the small group and share successful programs that work toward environmental equity for all.

• Mapping Your Story for Climate Action Mt. Evans

This session will focus on thinking and identifying the challenges and issues of capturing and telling a story. Participants will engage in discussion on various technologies used to collect and share community stories in response to climate disasters.

Facilitator: Saurav Dhakal, Professional Fellows Program

• Climate Literacy: Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Coastal Communities Grays Peak A

Sustainable tourism is often touted as the economic solution for coastal communities seeking to simultaneously protect the environment and promote livelihoods. Complications arise because of the difficulties in identifying sustainable tourism opportunities and scaling them up. This session focuses on these complexities, seeking ways to ensure that the tourism efforts promoted are economically and ecologically sustainable for the host communities.

Facilitator: Brittany Davis, Fulbright U.S. Student Program

• Food Insecurity in Indigenous Communities Grays Peak B

The United Nations Sustainability Goal 2 is Zero Hunger by achieving food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture. This begs the question, who is suffering from food insecurity, and what can be done to address it? This session invites participants to explore food insecurity among Indigenous populations. Participants will explore the dynamics of food security and discuss how historic marginalization has fostered food insecurity and sustains it through colonizing structures and policies.

Facilitator: Maria Lawrence, Fulbright-Hays Program

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Networking Break Mt. Evans Pre-Function Area

*The Office of Alumni Affairs Outreach Team will conduct alumni interviews in Grays Peak A at this time. Please meet them in Grays Peak A if you would like to share your story.

4:00 pm – 5:15 pm Tools and Resources for Healthy Communities

Participants will join a small group based on interest. Facilitators will share their experience and knowledge on using technology to cultivate eco-friendly communities.

• The Adoption and Use of Green Innovation Metrics in Environmental Sustainability Mt. Evans

The small group discussion on The Adoption and Use of Green Innovation Metrics seeks to break concepts such as "environmental sustainability" and "green innovation" into digestible, comparable analyses that capture technology-specific on-the-ground effort. Through an interactive game, participants will be introduced to the various global standards that define environmentally sustainable technologies. Participants will also be given snippets of datasets to learn how to gauge technological effort by geography and technology type.

Facilitator: Laura Shupp, Fulbright U.S. Student Program

• Building Greenspace Connectivity in Steep Topography Grays Peak A

Steep topography in Appalachia poses challenges for community development, complicating urban planning. However, along riparian corridors, it also preserves greenspace to buffer urban areas from landslides and flooding hazards. Participants will discuss how Morgantown, West Virginia’s topography creates abundant outdoor recreation potential, offering an alternative to an economy based on natural resource extraction and improved greenspace activity.

Facilitator: Vaike Haas, Fulbright U.S. Student Program

• Using Geospatial Tools as a Method of Community Engagement and Policy Change Grays Peak B

In this workshop, the facilitator will share examples of using geospatial tools and methods to collect, asses, and communicate knowledge of people and places to influence policy change. Community engagement is essential to identify and capture local knowledge that helps engage and inform community members. Participants will engage in a discussion about opportunities to incorporate participatory mapping approaches as powerful tools for initiating policy change in their own communities.

Facilitator: Steven Steinberg, Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

5:15 pm – 5:30 pm Daily Closing Mt. Evans

Facilitator: Payge Jennings

6:00 pm Dinner Off-site

Participants have a per diem allowance to spend on dinner at local restaurants.

7:00 am – 8:30 am Breakfast Mt. Elbert A

* The Office of Alumni Affairs Outreach Team will conduct alumni interviews in Grays Peak A at this time. Please meet them in Grays Peak A if you would like to share your story.

9:00 am – 11:00 am Meetings with Local Organizations

Participants will visit one of the following organizations based on their interests.

• Spirit of the Sun (Bus will depart at 8:45 am): https://www.spiritofthesun.org/

• Blue Star Recyclers (Bus will depart at 8:45 am): http://www.bluestarrecyclers.org/

• Colorado Energy Office (Walking group will depart at 8:45 am): https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch Offsite

Participants will have per diem to purchase lunch at local restaurants.

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Community-Driven Development: Assessing Needs and Managing Projects Mt. Evans

Panelists will share the skills and tactics required for developing successful community projects, from stakeholder engagement to implementation to monitoring and evaluation.

Moderator: Wayne Feiden, Professional Fellows Program

Presenters:

• Torran Anderson, Fulbright Roving Scholar Program

• Lauri Elliott, U.S. Speaker Program

• Bob Fest, Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm Next Steps for Creating Equitable, Healthy, and Sustainable Communities Mt. Evans

Participants will meet in small groups based on industry or interests (developed during the first day) to design community action plans that address the intersection of environmental policy, economic development, and diversity and inclusion with the goal of pursuing a greener future for the country.

Facilitator: Samira Omarshah, Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) and Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Alumni Coordinator, Office of Alumni Affairs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Networking Break Mt. Evans Pre-Function Area

* The Office of Alumni Affairs Outreach Team will conduct alumni interviews in Grays Peak A at this time. Please meet them in Grays Peak A if you would like to share your story.

4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Seminar Reflection Mt. Evans

Facilitators: Paul Garr, Payge Jennings, and Samira Omarshah

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Closing Dinner Earl's Kitchen & Bar

Hosted by the U.S. Department of State

7:00 am – 8:30 am Breakfast Mt. Elbert A

7:00 am – 5:00 pm Departures

11:00 am Hotel Check Out Time

Below are local Earth Day activities taking place in the Denver area.

Transportation will not be provided.

Earth Day Park Restoration & Cleanup

The Underdog Family is partnering with Denver Parks & Recreation for our Second Annual Park Restoration & Clean Up volunteer event at Hirshorn Park! Come celebrate Mother Earth and all her glory by putting on your work gloves and closed-toed shoes and giving back to our beautiful community. We'll be picking up trash, painting, and raking mulch so come ready to get dirty! The volunteering portion will last 1-2 hours, and the rest of the time will be for food, friends, music, and good vibes. Hours: 4pm to 7pm; Location: 3000 Tejon Street, Denver, CO 80211

Earth Day at Colorado Mills

Colorado Mills is excited to announce that the Denver Botanic Gardens will be consulting with the property team to create a 1,000 sq. ft. pollinator garden at the property. Landscape design and pollinator species selection will be reveled on Earth Day 2022. Planting will begin in 2023. In addition, pollinator garden selfie stations will be on display for guests to interact with. The selfie stations were created by local artist in residence at 40 West Arts, Jessica Lee Perry. Colorado Mills will also be giving out pollinator seeds (while supplies last) and information about pollinator gardens from the City of Lakewood and the Denver Botanic Gardens. Colorado Mills retailers will also have material on display showcasing their sustainability initiatives. Location: Colorado Mills, 14500 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood, CO 80401

Plogging for Denver: Let's Keep Denver's Park Clean!

Traverse Fitness and Strength in the City are hosting a night of giving back to the community by cleaning up one of our local parks! We will provide gloves and trash bags. Meet at Kentucky and Downing to collect supplies and walk or jog around the park and nearby neighborhoods while collecting trash. We will have refreshments at the park for after! Family, friends, and dogs are welcome. Hours: 5pm to 7pm; Location: Wash Park in front of St. John’s Church (700 South Franklin Street, Denver, CO 80209)