Diversity Summit
At the Intersection of Social Justice and Sustainability
January 25-26, 2018
As we learned during events like Flint and Standing Rock, environmental disaster is often caused and exacerbated by deep social inequalities – and vice versa. Right here in the Denver metro area we see residents in Globeville and Swansea struggling to be heard as they speak against a plan to expand I-70 into their neighborhoods.
Whether your passions involve healthy and just food and energy solutions, keeping our water and air free of pollution, or understanding land use and water rights, we must recognize the inequalities around resources and power both globally and locally – even here on our University campus.
Presenters and workshops at the 2018 Diversity Summit will highlight how the causes and impacts of racial injustice and environmental exploitation often stem from the same dominant narratives. Prepare for moments of self-reflection and careful listening, then bring all of your energy and ideas to the afternoon of action.
Because we are stronger in solidarity.
Keynote Speakers 2018
Dorceta Taylor
Taylor says her work is about opening doors for other people by making the environmental movement more diverse. Equity, justice, injustice play out in policy, and in who makes and shapes that policy. To her point, Taylor was also the first black woman to earn a PhD at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in 1991.
Nick Tilsen
Nick Tilsen is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation, and the executive director of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation. On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, he leads the creation of a 34-acre regenerative community, breaking a cycle of poverty and providing an innovative example to other developers.