Earth Talks

EARTH TALKS 2024 Speakers and Presentations

Keynote Speaker Jessyn Farrell

Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) works to reduce pollution, build community resilience to climate change, increase access to greenspace, and ensure healthy air and waterways for every resident of Seattle. We prioritize those currently and historically harmed by racial, economic, and environmental injustices. The City of Seattle recently passed the Building Emission Performance Standard (BEPS) law, which will require 4,000 of Seattle’s largest buildings to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Through BEPS, Seattle is leading the nation and taking one of the most impactful actions possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Come learn how the City of Seattle is tackling the climate crisis and dive into what that means for Seattle’s buildings.

Jessyn Farrell, J.D., is a leader in building public consensus on difficult issues related to the environment, housing, transportation, and the economy.   A long-time environmental advocate, Jessyn’s career has spanned the public, private, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors as a state legislator from the 46th District, Executive Director of Transportation Choices and most recently as the Director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) for the City of Seattle.  As a legislator, Jessyn passed ground-breaking legislation on oil-by-rail safety, affordable housing near transit centers, education supports for low-income and homeless youth, protections for pregnant workers and restrictions to cell-phone use while driving.  As Director of OSE, Jessyn leads efforts to reduce climate pollution and ensure a clean and healthy environment for all residents of Seattle.  She has three kids, a dog, two cats and is working on her first book.

Sophia Cofinas is a third-year Public Affairs and International Studies double major with a minor in Spanish. She works at the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture as the Communications and Programming Assistant, and has been there since her first year. That work has aligned with the Laudato Si Action Platform work and goals and she has thoroughly enjoyed working in the sustainability realm during her time at SU. She is also involved in Student Government, serving as the Senate Chair for the 2023-24 term. She is looking forward to this Earth Talks 2024 and facilitating such meaningful programming!

Spoken word: "To be Hungry and Privileged

To be Hungry and Privileged is a spoken word piece that comments on the issue of food justice at Seattle University by sharing the stories of two current students. 

Joseph Mukanda is an international student from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) studying at Seattle University. He is pursuing a double major in Business Marketing and Business Analytics and a Minor in French. In addition to his studies, he also works as a community ambassador for BIPOC students on-campus at the MOSAIC Center. Joseph has a strong interest in photography and enjoys traveling to different countries to experience diverse cultures. 

Rithikaa Prakash is a third-year computer science student from Sammamish Washington.

Cleaning Stormwater in the Center of the Universe

This presentation explores the issue of stormwater pollution surrounding Lake Union, where hundreds of catch basins and outfalls channel untreated stormwater laden with heavy metals and toxic chemicals directly into the lake. Clean Lake Union worked with an array of diverse community partners including the City of Seattle, Salmon Safe, The Nature Conservancy, the State of Washington, and more to develop a bioswale system to address the challenge. The completed projects treat approximately five million gallons of polluted stormwater annually, ensuring cleaner water for all, particularly benefiting the endangered salmon species that migrate through Lake Union on their way to spawning streams. Discover how each of the four phases of this 5-year endeavor employs its own distinctive, outside-the-box approach to enhance water quality for our beloved ecosystem.

Mark Grey is the Founder and President of Clean Lake Union, Partner at HessCallahanGrey Group, and Principal at Stephen C. Grey & Associates, LLC. Mark has 25+ years of experience developing deep green, speculative commercial buildings and is the visionary founder of Clean Lake Union (CLU), a nonprofit organization tackling Seattle's most pressing environmental issue: untreated stormwater runoff.

Jeremy S. Febus is the Principal of KPFF in Seattle, an engineering firm that works in civil and structural engineering while improving the regional transportation infrastructure. With over 25 years of experience, Jeremy Febus has worked extensively with public institutions and agencies, private landowners, real estate professionals, and land developers in the study, entitlement, and development of complex properties throughout the Puget Sound region. Jeremy has a particular passion for green stormwater infrastructure and restorative infrastructure not just “doing better” going forward, but unwinding and correcting past infrastructure and especially stormwater mistakes wherever we can.

STARS as a Living Lab: Applied Learning about Sustainability Reporting, Assurance, and Usage

Truly moving the needle on sustainability goals involves measuring inputs, assessing processes, and considering impact, not just ticking boxes. In Winter 2024, graduate students in a sustainability-focused accounting course developed literacy in sustainability ethics, reporting, and governance by applying the ‘in4Mation’ framework – Motivation,  Measurement, Management, and Monitoring – to improve SU’s sustainability report (STARS), which reflects Seattle University’s progress towards its Laudato Si Action Platform (LSAP) promise of sustainable value creation. I utilized the Ignatian Pedagogical  Approach as milestone touchpoints for this term-long project. Each student was assigned a unique subsection in the SU STARS report largely based on which resonates with them personally. Students explored past reports (Context), data-visualized performance trends and assessed the 2021 internal review (Experience), brainstormed continuous improvement opportunities (Reflection), assessed the 2024 external assurance (Action), and fine-tuned their recommendations to align with evolving reporting standards (Evaluation). At least one student will share their experience and insights.

Valentina Zamora's research examines accounting as an instrument of individual agency, corporate accountability, and social responsibility. She is published in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Business Ethics, Auditing: A Journal of Theory and Practice, Journal of Management Accounting Research, Behavioral Research in Accounting, and Issues in Accounting Education. She has served on the Editorial Board of Auditing: A Journal of Theory and Practice since 2014. Prior to entering academia, she worked in the Japanese Tax and Audit Practice of KPMG LLP in New York City and in the Office of International Education and Exchange at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Dena Ingraham completed a B.Sc. in Political Science and a M.A. in Human Rights. She is currently pursuing a M.A. in Public Administration (MPA) and an Accounting Certificate at Seattle U. Dena is passionate about the intersection between Business and Human Rights. Her professional experience includes work in Sustainable Development, Human Rights Advocacy, Accounting and Administration in the public and private sector. In her free time, she loves reading, traveling, learning about different cultures and spending time outdoors.

Mira Chang is originally from South Korea, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting. Prior to pursuing her degree at Seattle University, she gained three years of experience at a small local tax firm in Washington. Currently, Mira is passionately working towards becoming an auditor. In her personal life, Mira finds joy in paddle boarding, swimming, and hiking during the summer and skiing in the winter.

Beyond Reusable Bags: Modifying your Information Consumption Habits to Fight the Climate Crisis

Many consumers have changed products and services they use due to concerns about climate change: using reusable bags, carpooling or taking public transit, adopting meatless Mondays, avoiding fast fashion.  What many of us might not realize is the way we consume information can also have a profound effect on climate concerns. The volume of information we consume is amazing, and we aren't too picky about what we consume.  Most information online is very low-quality.  The passive consumption and spread of low-quality, climate-related information deteriorates public trust in scientific experts and erodes public support for meaningful climate action. Reflect on your own information consumption habits and learn how you can be better informed and engaged with information you encounter online.  

Jennifer Bodley is a Librarian at Seattle University. Jennifer has experience providing business, legal, education, biological, and medical research in corporate and academic environments.  As a Seattle University librarian, she supports students at bachelor, master and doctoral levels across a variety of programs. Her aims are building critical information consumers and creators, and empowering students to amplify their own voice.

International "Improve Cookstove Programs"

Ruby Valla's capstone is on International "Improve Cookstove Programs", these programs disseminate cookstoves that are more fuel efficient and create less indoor air pollution in communities, usually in the Global South, that cook on open fires. These programs have consistently low adoption rates due to a variety of reasons including cultural traditions, food preparation techniques, heating, lighting, and more. My literature review examines socio-cultural perspectives of cookstoves in the communities that are disseminated in alongside analysis of stove use measurement methods and program location. This project applies to SU because we purchase Improved Cookstove carbon offsets. Understanding the benefits and shortcomings of these programs is vital. 

Ruby Valla is a  fourth-year Environmental Studies Major specializing in Politics, Policy, and Justice. 

Public Participation and Social Movements in Advancing Environmental Policy and Justice

Advances in environmental policy are closely intertwined with public participation and social movements. Participation takes many forms, ranging from signing petitions to comments on regulations to lobbying to large-scale protests, with a wide range of effectiveness. Relating findings from a recent scholarly work, Dr. Armstrong will discuss the role of engaged people, activism, and social movements in achieving environmental gains. From the first Earth Day in 1970 to today, a fundamental lesson from environmental policy is that challenges to status quo systems, as are necessary to address issues like climate change and environmental justice, require substantial and sustained social movement participation.

 John H. Armstrong holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz (2020), focusing on local government climate change policymaking. He received his B.A. from Cornell University with a double major in Biology and History.

Dr. Armstrong studies how counties, cities, and towns can enact effective climate change and sustainability policies. His research examines several aspects of policymaking processes, including politics, local control, stakeholders, and the transition from modest to ambitious policy actions. As part of this research, he studies environmental equity and social justice issues related to climate policies and community energy transitions. Additionally, Dr. Armstrong studies sustainability policy more broadly and governance related to climate change mitigation programs.

Food Insecurity 

Last year, we served over 4700 Seattle Households with food, and we have already surpassed that number this year. The rising cost of food and the cost of living for our staff have also increased. We have gone from a 6,000 per month food budget in 2021 to a 15,000 per month budget in 2024. 

As Byrd Barr Place’s impact director, Tiffany Kelly-Gray works closely with the CEO and management team to develop and implement the organization’s fund development strategy, cultivating trusting relationships among existing and new investors. She also leads advocacy initiatives, including community engagement and research, to advance community-based solutions that will foster equitable opportunity with Black Washingtonians and other people whom society marginalizes. In addition, Tiffany manages marketing and communications at Byrd Barr Place.

A dedicated changemaker, Tiffany leverages extensive leadership experience in finance, banking, equity and inclusion, small business management and UX design. She relies heavily on her queer, Black-lived experience and small business owner lens to partner with community in pioneering enhanced structures, workflows and processes. She serves on the boards of the Bertschi School, The Northwest School and The Central Area Collaborative. Outside of work, Tiffany’s favorite times are spent with her daughter, her partner and her pups. She loves being in the forest, beside a river with a fire blazing while reading a book, and enjoying a bourbon neat.