Wednesday, November 6, 6:30 PM EST
Opening Remarks
Jake Pawlak, Deputy Mayor for the City of Pittsburgh and Director for the Office of Management and Budget
Jake Pawlak currently serves as Deputy Mayor for the City of Pittsburgh and Director for the Office of Management and Budget. Prior to joining the Administration, Pawlak served as Mayor Gainey's Transition Director. He has worked at all levels of government, including the Pennsylvania Senate and U.S. Senate. At the local level, he has held senior strategic and policy roles with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Jake is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied Political Science and Economics. He and his family live in Highland Park.
Angela Coleman, Associate Chief, USDA Forest Service
Angela Coleman serves as the Associate Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service. Prior to this assignment, she served as Forest Service Chief of Staff beginning in 2015, where she oversaw the Chief’s Office daily operations and staff, issues management, and Office of Communication and Legislative Affairs programs. She provided senior-level support to the Chief of the agency and the Executive Leadership Team to advance and deliver the agency’s natural resource conservation mission.
Angela has served in numerous leadership roles with the Forest Service, to include Washington Office roles as associate deputy chief of Business Operations, and associate deputy chief of Research and Development. Before that, she served as deputy regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region for national forests located in California and parts of Nevada. She also served for 7 years as regional communications director for the Southern Region in Atlanta. A native of Phenix City, AL, Angela has amassed more than 33 years with the Forest Service. She launched her career as a professional journalist with news media conglomerate Knight-Ridder, serving as a news reporter for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
Angela has served as a member of both the natural resource conservation and communications communities, including the National Wild Turkey Federation and Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists. She is currently a member of the World Forestry Congress. A summa cum laude graduate of Troy University, she completed postgraduate coursework at American University in Washington, DC. She also served as a Senior Executive Fellow for Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In 2010, Angela was sworn in as a member of the Senior Executive Service.
Nurturing the Neighborhood
Gregg Behr
Gregg Behr, executive director of The Grable Foundation since 2006, is a father and children’s advocate. For more than 15 years, he has helped lead Remake Learning—a network of educators, technologists, designers, and makers he founded in 2007—to international renown. Among the foremost examples of learning ecosystems, Remake Learning has turned heads everywhere—from The White House to the World Economic Forum—for its efforts to ignite children's curiosity; encourage creativity; and foster justice, joy, and belonging in schools, libraries, museums, and other sites of learning. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Duke University, Gregg holds honorary degrees from Carlow University and Saint Vincent College. He's an advisor to The Brookings Institution and The Fred Rogers Institute and has been honored by President Obama, the Disruptor Foundation, ISTE, and AASA as an innovator and thought leader.
Ryan Rydzewski
Ryan Rydzewski is an award-winning author and speaker. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, he taught elementary school in south Louisiana before earning an MFA in nonfiction writing from Chatham University. As a science and education reporter, his magazine stories focus on everything from schools to space travel to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and he regularly leads workshops for educators and parents. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Ryan lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Jacqueline, and their son, Russell.
Thursday, November 7, 11:30 AM EST
Healing Our Planet, Healing Ourselves
Dr. Vik Mohan
Dr. Vik Mohan is a practicing doctor, former Director of Community Health at Blue Ventures Conservation, life coach and well-being practitioner. Working with fishing communities in southwest Madagascar he saw how poor health was impacting the community's ability to engage in marine conservation. At the request of partner communities, he led development of Blue Ventures' community health program and integrated it into their fisheries and marine conservation programming. Having witnessed firsthand how this has strengthened community engagement in conservation as well as improved community health, he now focuses on supporting other organizations to replicate this health-environment approach.
Having worked for two decades in conservation, he has seen firsthand the impact that working in the environmental sector can have on the well-being of those working in it. He now works with conservation practitioners, leaders, and teams to ensure that those undertaking this vitally important work continue to thrive.
Friday, November 8, 11:30 AM EST
Building Bridges Between Education and Conservation
Dr. Grethel Aguilar, Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Dr. Grethel Aguilar, born in Costa Rica, assumed office as Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in October 2023. Dr Aguilar brings with her thirty years of experience in conservation and sustainable development, having worked extensively on developing and applying environmental law and policy in collaboration with governments and civil society. In particular, she is deeply passionate about the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities and has pushed for the inclusion of their knowledge and experience in mainstream conservation policy.
Through her work in field projects, Dr Aguilar has helped communities access clean water, advocated environmental justice, assisted Indigenous peoples in obtaining rights to their natural resources, and championed gender equality in environmental governance.
Sean Southey, CEO, Canadian Wildlife Federation
Sean Southey has more than 30 years of experience in international development and communications. He is the CEO of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, one of the largest environmental organizations in Canada working to conserve and inspire the conservation of Canada's wildlife and habitats for the use and enjoyment of all.
With a multi-sectoral background, Sean started his career with five years in the Canadian Ministry of Environment, followed by 12 years working with the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) environment team. His NGO experience was enriched through work with ICLEI (Secretary General), Rare (Vice-President), and ten years as president of PCI Media. Sean has led the development of more than 100 campaigns worldwide, won more than 100 awards for his work, and has literally reached billions of people with life and planet-saving information. In 2016, Sean was elected Chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Commission on Education and Communication (CEC). In this role, he has worked tirelessly to enhance IUCN's use of strategic communications for social change. This has included a lead role in designing and implementing IUCN's #NatureForAll campaign and helping grow and support the work of the CEC and its 1,700 members.
Sean is a dual Canadian and South African citizen and has lived, worked, and traveled in more than 125 countries. He holds an MSC from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from the University of British Columbia, and he has a wonderful daughter, Safia.
Anna Rathmann, Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute USA
Anna Rathmann is the Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute USA. Her experience working with organizations in the international conservation community led her to her current role with JGI as a natural next step in a career focused on bridging science, conservation, education, and storytelling. Anna holds an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in Washington, DC, and is a graduate of Valparaiso University. She currently sits on several nonprofit boards that promote engaging with conservation at all levels of community. Prior to her role at JGI, Anna served as the Director of the Great Plains Conservation Foundation throughout Africa and in several roles at National Geographic. She remains focused on initiatives that serve to protect our amazing planet through research, conservation, exploration, and education.
Saturday, November 9, 12–2:30 PM EST
Awards Luncheon & Plenary Panel
The World We Want: Leading with Heart and Hope
Esteban Gast, Moderator
Esteban Gast is Colombian, was raised in Puerto Rico and Illinois, and currently lives in LA. His work has been called "irreverent but aspirational" by Variety. He is co-host of Identity at Play, a Spotify Original podcast, and host of Comedians Conquering Climate Change. He hosted Hyundai Highways, a travel series using only an electric car. He was the star of Jungletown, a 10-episode TV show airing on VICELAND about his time running an off-the-grid eco-community.
As a writer, he is the co-writer of the book and lyrics for Teacher Of The Year, a comedy musical inspired by his time teaching. The musical was most recently a finalist for the O'Neil and was selected for YALL Fest. He is also the co-writer of Thena, a feature film produced by the creative team from 13 Reasons Why. He travels as a standup comedian, winning Denver's Rise Comedy Festival and being chosen as "Best of the Fest" for the Burbank Comedy Festival. He is currently the Comedian-in-Residence at Generation180 where he helped build the Climate Comedy Cohort and the Climate Cultura programs. His work has been featured in the LA Times, NPR's Science Friday, and ABC's Nightline.
CJ Greco
CJ Greco (they/she) is a nonbinary transwoman, naturalist, activist, and podcaster who has been connecting their communities with nature for most of their life.
In their current role as the teen programs manager at the Lincoln Park Zoo, CJ supports the growth of conservation-minded teens across the city of Chicago. They use education to relate rapidly changing urban environments to local species of urban plants and wildlife. Through their programming, CJ connects families and teen program participants to larger scientific research topics including living wildlife-friend and One Health. CJ works collaboratively across Lincoln Park Zoo's entire Learning Department, as well as with the researchers, scientists, fellow educators, and community partners. CJ previously held two different positions at the zoo: learning exploration coordinator and student & teacher programs facilitator.
Some of CJ's earliest memories were formed by visiting their local zoo, where they began to volunteer when they were just eleven years old.
Outside of work, CJ can be found leading accessible and inclusive nature outings for community organizations like Out in Nature and Chicago Bird Alliance. CJ also co-created, hosts, and produces The Birdy Bunch podcast, where they talk with guests about everything conservation-related, from urban wildlife to queer ecology.
In 2024, NAAEE recognized CJ as an EE 30 Under 30 for their dedication to fostering conservation-minded communities and creating inclusive educational programs.
Jenna Potter
Jenna Potter works as the Environmental Leadership and Awards Programme Manager for the 30 Under 30 Northern Ireland Climate Change Makers Programme at Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful. This independent charity is dedicated to creating a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable Northern Ireland. Jenna’s mission is to educate and inspire local action to create global environmental change. She is excited to meet other like minded people to share ideas and knowledge.
Outside of work Jenna loves to travel and is always looking forward to her next adventure! Jenna loves spending time with family, her rescue dog Flora, and friends, paddleboarding, hiking, and being outdoors in nature.
Jenna is a 2023 CEE-Change Fellow, NAAEE's initiative to support leadership and innovation in civics and environmental education.
Tomás Teicher
Tomás is a passionate advocate for environmental education and youth empowerment in Argentina. In 2020, Tomas co-founded Consciente Colectivo, an organization born from a need for youth to become politically involved in social and environmental issues across the country. Consciente Colectivo’s mission is to build a more just, sovereign, and sustainable Argentina through advocacy, citizen participation, and comprehensive education.
Tomas has extensive experience in education and national and international NGO work, with nearly a decade of involvement in coordinating leadership activities and developing innovative programs for young changemakers. Now living in Barcelona, he's pursuing a Master's in Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability, further deepening his expertise in these critical areas.
In 2023, NAAEE recognized Tomás as an EE 30 Under 30 for his dedication to engaging and interdisciplinary environmental education, and working to equip youth with the knowledge and skills to take meaningful action on socio-environmental issues.
Richard Tusabe
Richard Tusabe is a Ugandan environmental enthusiast and advocate, dedicated to empowering young people in environmental management. He is currently pursuing an MS in Climate Change and Development at Makerere University in Kampala, a new and captivating program in which he is one of the pioneering cohort. He has participated in the development and implementation of a number of projects aimed at nurturing environmentalism in young individuals, especially in schools. In 2020, he was inspired to form Global Initiative for Young Environmental Stewards, a grassroots, youth-oriented nonprofit organization working to engage and inspire children and youth towards positive environmental action.
Hailing from Ssese Islands on Lake Victoria, Richard's upbringing instilled a deep connection to nature and a strong commitment to preserving the environment. Over time, he has come to recognize the urgency of climate change and is now focusing on climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies to address pressing environmental challenges. As such, he actively promotes youth participation in environmental stewardship, firmly believing in their potential to make a significant difference amidst these environmental dilapidations. Richard is also a scholar, see part of his co-authored work here.
Richard is a 2023 CEE-Change Fellow, NAAEE's initiative to support leadership and innovation in civics and environmental education.