Harvesting Natural Resources: The State of Innovation and Current Threats to Quality of Life: Current Events Urban Resilience

A Ticco Virtual Conference Event

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 - 12:00pm EDT

The ways that we harvest, process, and distribute natural resources are heavy contributors to our collective climate burden - not just the use of the product itself. In this webinar we heard from a number of practitioners who are working on-the-ground in communities which hold a substantial reserve of these resources (and therefore face the strong industry presence that go along with it.)

Moderator: Meera Bhat, the Nature Conservancy
In her role with the Nature Conservancy, Meera Bhat is responsible for the development of urban conservation programs in cities across the United States. Meera came to the Conservancy from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health where she worked as a program manager, researching the ecology of infectious diseases in diverse settings such as South America, Western and Sub-Saharan Africa, the southwestern United States and Manhattan. She has been an advocate for urban agriculture and community access to vacant land in New York City since 2010, working with organizations such as the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust, Prospect Farm, Five Borough Farm, and 596 Acres. Meera holds a BS in Mathematics and Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan and an MS in Computational Biology from New York University, and is pursuing an MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University.

Panelist: Cate Mingoya, Groundwork USA
In her role with Groundwork USA, Cate Mingoya provides equitable development technical assistance for those looking to transform brownfields into community assets. Cate also leads Groundwork USA’s Climate Safe Neighborhoods partnership, a nine-
city grassroots community organizing project to reduce heat and flooding risk in neighborhoods with histories of race-based housing discrimination Originally from Queens, New York, Cate earned her B.A. in Biology from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and returned east to earn a Master of City Planning from MIT. She lives with her husband, toddler, and cat (Gorby) in Massachusetts and loves coffee, bike rides, brass bands, and container gardening.

Panelist: Gabriela Medina, City of Los Angeles
As District Director to Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, Gabriela works to grow partnerships and ensures the communities of Watts, Harbor Gateway, Harbor City, Wilmington, and San Pedro have access to city resources, directly advancing the opportunities of residents. She oversees initiatives addressing homelessness in the District, specifically A Bridge Home. Gabriela was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, and majored in Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a proud daughter of immigrant parents from Mexico and El Salvador.

Panelist: Dennis Gleason, City of Los Angeles
In his role as Policy Director for Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, Dennis advises the Councilman on all motions, resolutions, reports, and ordinances that come before the full City Council and the policy committees in which Councilman Buscaino is a member: Trade, Travel & Tourism, Public Works, Public Safety, Economic Development, and Ad Hoc on 2028 Summer Olympics. Prior to joining the Councilman's office, he served as press secretary for Councilman (and former LAPD Chief) Bernard C. Parks. Dennis holds a BA in Political Science and Communication Studies from Virginia Tech, and is a longtime resident of Hollywood.

This webinar was recorded on September 29, 2020 during Current Events - Urban Resilience, a virtual conference hosted by Ticco with support from Island Press. To learn more about this event visit go-ticco.co/ce-retreat. For additional information about Ticco and events like this one visit go-ticco.co.