Climate Solutions in Color: Passing the mic to underrepresented climate heroes
Tue, Feb 1, 12 pm CT
Virtual event
In partnership with Project Drawdown
With Project Drawdown’s Matt Scott, McKnight Foundation’s Ben Passer, Tree Pittsburgh’s Clara Kitongo, and Jacqueline Patterson of the Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership
Please note: This event has been moved to a virtual presentation. We will be in contact with current ticket holders with information on how to access the online event.
In light of 2021's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, climate change has been described as "code red for humanity.” The need for solutions and people to bring them to life is clear. Still, far too often, the communities that are most immediately and severely affected by global warming and climate change (including the Black community, communities of color, and other underrepresented groups) are not included in the conversation. How can we "pass the mic" to those who often go unheard and showcase the potential of everyday people – including those who've often been underestimated – to help solve climate change?
As we begin Black History Month, this event focuses on the importance of creating more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just spaces for climate solutions—with an eye toward the past, present, and future. We will launch the Climate Solutions in Color initiative by Project Drawdown by entering into conversation with Black people who are real-world climate heroes, debuting the Drawdown's Neighborhood: Pittsburgh short documentary series, and sharing ways we can all help "pass the mic.”
Ben Passer is the Senior Program Officer for the Midwest Climate & Energy program at the McKnight Foundation. Ben joined the McKnight Foundation in September 2021. Before joining McKnight, he worked at Fresh Energy, a Saint Paul-based independent energy policy nonprofit, where he spearheaded the creation and growth of Fresh Energy’s Energy Access and Equity program and led the organization’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism initiatives. Ben is a licensed attorney and member of the Minnesota Bar.
Matt Scott leads storytelling at Project Drawdown, translating complex, science-based climate solutions to everyday people to spread awareness, shift attitudes, and spark action. His work focuses on “passing the mic” to the underrepresented, underestimated changemakers who’ve often gone unheard. Matt joined Project Drawdown in 2020, following five years creating impact storytelling and engagement initiatives and campaigns alongside partners including Nike, USAID, Pivotal Ventures by Melinda Gates, the Australian Government, and the Obama White House. From 2016 to 2020, he helped engage more than 100,000 people from 150+ countries in the world’s largest global hackathon, NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge, serving as the global community lead and storyteller. In addition, Matt is the founder of Let’s Care, where he’s released the film 20s & Change: San Francisco – honored at the San Francisco Black Film Festival and Las Vegas Queer Film Festival – and interviewed 100+ changemakers to-date. Throughout his career, Matt has reached more than half a billion people in the digital space.
Clara Kitongo is the Program Coordinator for One Tree Per Child at Tree Pittsburgh. The program focuses on reforesting and transforming the landscape of Pittsburgh and adjacent municipalities with the future generation of leaders – elementary and middle school students. This work combines climate action with education. Clara has a BS in Mathematics from Chatham University and MS in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School for Information Systems and Public Policy. When she’s not at work, Clara loves to be outdoors. She loves to take walks in the park and ride her bike on a good summer or fall evening. She is also an in-house musician.
Jacqueline Patterson is the Founder and Executive Director of the Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership. Most recently, Patterson served for 11 years as the Senior Director of Environmental and Climate Justice at the NAACP, Jacqui Patterson, MSW, MPH, has worked on gender justice, racial justice, economic justice, and environmental justice, with organizations including Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, IMA World Health, United for a Fair Economy, ActionAid, Health GAP, and the organization she co-founded, Women of Color United. She serves on the Boards of Directors for the Institute of the Black World, the American Society of Adaptation Professionals, Greenpeace, National Black Workers Center Project, Bill Anderson Fund and the Advisory Boards for the Center for Earth Ethics and the Hive Fund.
