Keynote Speaker
Micaela Iron Shell-Dominguez (She/Her/Hers)
Micaela Iron Shell-Dominguez (She/Her/Hers)
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Micaela Iron Shell-Dominguez is a Sicangu Lakota, Apache, and Xicana woman born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She first, is a MOTHER to a beautiful little human named Liliana Rose, a human rights advocate, a co-founder and adult mentor for the International Indigenous Youth Council 5280, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Womxn from the Mountain, marketing coordinator for Creative Strategies for Change, and last but not least, she is an actor for the Anishinaabe Theatre Exchange. She works hard every day to fight for environmental justice, and social justice for those of us existing today, and for our future generations, but most importantly she works hard to bring women of all backgrounds together in a way that allows them to empower each other and create strong, matriarchal bonds for future generations. Her continued pursuit is to help spread awareness and stop the violence our women and two-spirit people have endured for centuries.
International Indigenous Youth Council | Instagram | Facebook Womxn from the Mountain | Instagram | Facebook |
Summit Poet & Culture Setter
Franklin Cruz (He/They)
Franklin Cruz (He/They)
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Franklin Cruz is a queer latin dancer, poet born in Idaho, raised Texan and polished in Denver. Born from an immigrant family his work has placed him in science museums, environmental spaces, as an emcee and poet for dance & poetry competitions and conferences. They aim for specificity over simplicity, encompassing self love , conservation, immigration and culture.
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Panel Session One
Cultivating Security in an Insecure World:
Addressing the Intersection of Climate Change and Food Justice
Cultivating Security in an Insecure World:
Addressing the Intersection of Climate Change and Food Justice
Climate change and food justice are two significant challenges that pose threats to global food systems and public health. This panel aims to bring together experts from diverse fields to discuss the impact of climate change on food systems, including the effects of extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and changing precipitation patterns on crop yields, food availability, and sustainability of traditional agricultural practices. They will also address the social and economic factors that contribute to food insecurity, such as poverty, inequality, and conflict. By bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds, this panel will provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective on the intersection of climate change and food insecurity and offer practical solutions for cultivating security in an insecure world.
Zephrine (Mitchell) Hanson (She/Her/Hers)
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Zephrine Hanson is the Founder of Hampden Farms, an urban farm business focused on multimedia storytelling, intersectional community engagement and wealth building. She has several intersections as a black woman, farmer, veteran, veteran spouse and mother to inclusive needs teenagers. As a result of her and her family's own wellness journey, she is an autism and mental health advocate. Zephrine collaborates with mission aligned organizations and shares her wins and challenges, encouraging others who are starting their wellness and or entrepreneurial journey. Currently she is focused on connecting underserved communities and underutilized green space to wellness and wealth building for both communities and individuals.
Hampden Farms | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Zephrine Hanson | Instagram |
Roberto Meza (He/Him/His)
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Roberto Meza is a first-generation farmer and local food advocate. Originally from Mexico, Roberto is the co-founder of Emerald Gardens, a year-round greenhouse farm in Bennett, CO and CEO of East Denver Food Hub, a local food supplier based in Denver. His work lies at the intersection of policy, sustainable agriculture, food systems, and environmental stewardship. He is Board President of the National Young Farmers Coalition, board member of Zero Food Print, Co-chair of the Land Access and Policy Committee for Mile High Farmers, and Governor-appointed member of the Colorado Agricultural Commission.
Emerald Gardens | East Denver Food Hub | Instagram | Facebook |
Lydia Parker (She/Her/Hers)
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Lydia Parker is the CEO of Hunters of Color, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering racial equity in hunting and conservation. She is a member of the Kanien’kehá:ka, more commonly known as Mohawk. Lydia is an awarded writer and orator, and leads seminars on Indigenous history and antiracism. She is currently serving on the Department of the Interior's Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council.
Hunters of Color | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook |
Indy Srinath (She/Her/Hers)
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Indy Srinath is a forager, educator, urban farmer, and steward of both her environment and her community. She is currently transforming a small plot of land in Los Angeles to create a mutual aid model demonstration farm. Her work is centered around the amplification of black and brown communities and food insecure regions. She is the host of NatGeo’s “Farm Dreams”.
National Geographic Farm Dreams | LinkedIn | Instagram |
Moderator - Parker McMullen Bushman (She/They)
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Parker McMullen Bushman (aka KWEEN WERK) brings people together in the fight for Environmental Justice and Social Equity. Using social media as a tool this Social Justice Activist is part Fashion Diva, Artist and Educator. KWEEN stands for Keep Widening Environmental Engagement Narratives. Parker has a passion for equity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Their interest in justice, accessibility, and equity issues developed from their personal experiences facing the unequal representation of people of color in environmental organizations and green spaces. Parker tackles these complex issues by addressing them through head on activism and education.
As the Chief Operating Officer of Inclusive Journeys, and founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies. Parker is a dynamic speaker and facilitator that engages organizations in new thinking around what it means to be a diversity change-agent and create dynamic organizational change. Parker’s background in the non-profit leadership, conservation, environmental education and outdoor recreation fields spans over 24+ years. Ecoinclusive | KWEEN WERK | Inclusive Journeys |
Panel Session Two
Exploring Impacts and Opportunities through the Interplay of Nature, Environment, and Public Health
Exploring Impacts and Opportunities through the Interplay of Nature, Environment, and Public Health
From air and water pollution to climate change and urbanization, environmental factors can have a profound impact on the health and well-being of individuals and communities. This panel will examine the social and economic factors that can contribute to environmental health disparities and explore strategies for promoting environmental justice. Speakers will highlight examples of successful interventions and offer insights into practical strategies for promoting healthier and more sustainable communities.
Lubna Ahmed (She/Her/Ella)
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Lubna Ahmed serves as the Manager of the Environmental Justice Advisory Board within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Her dedication lies in community-level work, with a strong commitment to enhancing the sustainable well-being of underprivileged and disproportionately impacted communities. Lubna, originally from Ohio, holds a BA in Psychology from Miami University and a Master’s in Public Health from The George Washington University.
Prior to joining CDPHE's Environmental Justice Program, Lubna's professional journey has seen her contributing to various environmental conservation nonprofits in Washington, D.C., serving as an Environmental Educator with the Peace Corps in Nicaragua, the Director of Environmental Health at WE ACT for Environmental Justice in Harlem, New York, and Director of Water Programs at Groundwork Denver. |
Priya Cook (She/Her/Hers)
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Priya Cook is driven by a vision in which all people and the natural world can thrive. She works at this intersection as Director of Green Schoolyards and Communities at the Children & Nature Network, advancing the Green Schoolyards Action Agenda and supporting locally-led systems change for equitable nature connection. Priya co-led the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative at the National League of Cities for five years, directed front- and backcountry programs at City Kids Wilderness Project, and has been a crew leader, intern, and board member at the Student Conservation Association, after years in public education and policy in Texas, Alaska, and DC. Priya thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2009, and continues her outdoor adventures in the backyard and backcountry with her family. She holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame and an MPP from UT Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs.
Children & Nature Network |
Peter James (He/Him/His)
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Trained in environmental health and epidemiology, Peter James has focused his research on estimating the influence of spatial factors, including exposure to nature, the built environment, air pollution, noise, and socioeconomic factors on health behaviors, mental health, and chronic disease. He has over a decade of experience working with large prospective cohort studies, including the Nurses’ Health Studies, the Framingham Heart Study, and the Southern Community Cohort Study, where he has aided in the creation of many spatial exposure metrics and linked them to health data. He is developing methodologies to assess real-time, high spatio-temporal resolution objective measures of location and behavior by linking smartphone-based global positioning systems (GPS) and wearable device accelerometry data to understand how nature influences health behaviors. Most recently, he is creating novel metrics of nature exposures by applying Deep Learning algorithms to Google Street View imagery.
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Dr. Sara LoTemplio (She/Her/Hers)
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Dr. Sara LoTemplio is an Assistant Professor in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources with Colorado State University (CSU) and is also the director of CSU's Restoring Attention and Affect in Nature (RAAIN) lab, which researches how/if spending time in nature can lead to greater wellbeing outcomes—from increased cognitive control capabilities, to reduced stress, to slower cognitive aging. Dr. LoTemplio uses a variety of behavioral measures as well as psychophysiological measures such as EKG (heartrate) and EEG (brainwaves) in her research. She also co-directs the REI funded Nature Immersion Science and Practice Collective. This new organization will engage in a model of co-creation with local organizations to support program evaluation of current nature and health programming and concurrently advance research in this topic.
RAAIN Lab | LinkedIn | Nature Immersion Science and Practice Collective |
Ian Sharkey (He/Him/His)
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Ian Sharkey is a Black American with a rich family history spanning Africa, the Deep South, and Pennsylvania. His ancestors and immediate family were always on the move due to historical violence and to seek economic success. This legacy of migration has deeply influenced his life.
Ian's academic background in Environmental Sciences and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has driven his passion for blending environmental science with social justice. He creates detailed maps showing how nature and people are connected, aiming to share stories beyond the usual narratives. Through his work, Ian encourages us to rethink our relationship with the environment and each other, fostering new and improved ways of interaction. |
Moderator - Taishya Adams (She/Her/Hers)
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Taishya Adams is a servant leader focused on collective liberation and stewardship through community building, personal transformation, and systems change. Taishya is also the founder and principal of the Mukuyu Collective - an intersectional, interdisciplinary education & environmental company that leverages the reform, reimagination, and re-creation of spaces for individual and collective liberation.
Taishya serves as a board member for Black in Marine Science, the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Business Advisory Council, and the Colorado Natural Areas Council. She recently completed service as a commissioner to Colorado Parks and Wildlife and served on the inaugural Boulder Police Oversight Panel. Mukuyu Collective | LinkedIn |
Zoo Talk with Tim Luethke (He/Him/His)
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Tim Luethke is a biologist based at Denver Zoo. His focus is on grassland ecology and restoration in conservation based bison herds. Particular areas of interest are in maximizing carrying capacity in short grass prairie ecosystems, reintroduction of native dung beetle species, and thoughtful use of integrated pest management practices. Tim will present Thursday's lunch talk on grassland conservation and restoration and how healthy grasslands are essential to building clean air.
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Summit for Action Facilitators
Giselle Arroyo (She/They/Ella/Elle)
Giselle is a social and environmental justice activist, co-stewardess of our beautiful planet, and proud mother of two sweet little ones. They currently work as a Community Organizer with Colorado Rising, a non-profit that works to protect Colorado's health, safety, wildlife, environment and the future of the climate from impacts of oil and gas development. Giselle recently formed a coalition of students and organizers to create an intersectional Youth Summit, being held this October. The goals of the summit are to provide young people an opportunity to learn about sustainable practices and mobilize resources to engage the next generation of leaders in public health, environment justice, and climate advocacy.
Crystal Egli (She/Her)
Crystal is the Co-Founder & CEO of Inclusive Guide and DEI consultant, trainer, and keynote speaker. Having grown up in rural Vermont as an adopted girl of color, Crystal has always been an avid outdoor recreator and fierce advocate for herself and others. She attended film school at Emerson College before pursuing a career in the film industry in Los Angeles. After leaving LA, Crystal began working as a videographer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife where coworkers convinced her to take up hunting. She is now an enthusiastic hunter, Hunter Education instructor, and mentor. Crystal was awarded the 2019 Stephen Kellert award by the AFWA for her outstanding work in advancing outdoor equity.
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Shanyce Billings (She/Her)
Shanyce is the KWEEN WERK Social Media Manager. Her work challenges traditional narratives of what it means to be "outdoorsy" through the research and design of new and engaging digital content that highlights a variety of bodies engaging with outdoor spaces. Shanyce's projects amplify the experiences of BIPOC communities, bodies of size, gender non-conforming bodies, and bodies with disabilities. She is also the Office Assistant for Ecoinclusive Strategies, a Denver-based consulting firm focused on fostering healthy and diverse organizational and community ecosystems. Ecoinclusive works closely with land management agencies, conservancies, and cultural interpretation organizations.
Mark McMullen Bushman (He/Him)
Mark has been an environmental educator for 16+ years and loves educating diverse audiences about nature and science. He attained his Masters degree in Science for Ecological Teaching and Learning and now works as the School Program Manager with Bluff Lake Nature Center. Mark believes that the diversity within human ecosystems is as equally vital to survival as the diversity found within natural ecosystems. He is involved in several change initiatives that increase access to community resources, nature, and the outdoors for all. He believes that communities can be empowered to steward their ecosystems and the environment more broadly when they are eco-literate and have a strong sense of place.
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Casey Bries (They/Them)
Casey is the Environmental Justice & Partnerships Manager with Ecoinclusive and Founder of Systole Consulting. Their 13+ years of public service have centered on the execution of social equity strategies in local government, public land management, and environmental education. Casey approaches this through operationalizing love as an organizational change model. Casey holds a B.S. from the University of Minnesota in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies and is completing a MPA in Environmental Policy and Management at University of Colorado, Denver. Their current research analyzes criteria used to determine the environmental, economic, and social effectiveness of carbon offsets in natural gas emissions reduction.
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