Women Leading Solutions

on the Frontline of Climate Change - D.C.

April 29th, 2017 Washington, DC following the People’s Climate March

Presented by the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International

A dynamic gathering with worldwide women leaders joined in solidarity to speak out against

environmental and social injustice, draw attention to root causes of the climate crisis, and present the diverse array of visions and strategies with which they are working to shape a healthy

and equitable world.

Angela Adrar (Executive Director, Climate Justice Alliance) Angela Adrar, a Latina immigrant from Colombia who grew up in the United States, has been a leader and outspoken advocate for powerful and grounded social movements for decades - from legacy organizations such as the Rural Coalition, La Via Campesina North America, the US Food Sovereignty Alliance, and most recently as the Co-Chair of the Building Equity and Alignment for Impact Initiative. Angela has introduced and advocated for internal frameworks that enable feedback loops for both national/International decision-making and local representation as well as, gender, and racial equity that embraces a diversity of contributions, while fostering trust and

reciprocity for collective work. Through her previous work on the Collective Leadership with La Via Campesina North America (LVC-NA) region as a representative of the Rural Coalition, she has collectively developed strategies that advocate for a stronger civil society voice on food sovereignty and in negotiations that represented the Global south in the North. Angela is growing the movement with her two young kids and partner, has a deep respect for Mother Earth and is an avid seedkeeper. She holds a Masters Degree of Organizational Management, a BA in International Relations from San Francisco State University.

Tara Houska (Tribal attorney, National Campaigns Director of Honor the Earth, and former advisor on Native American affairs to Bernie Sanders) Tara Houska (Anishinaabe of Couchiching First Nation) is a tribal attorney based in Washington, D.C., the National Campaigns Director of Honor the Earth, and a former advisor on Native American affairs to Bernie Sanders. She advocates on behalf of tribal nations at the local and federal levels on a range of issues impacting indigenous peoples. She recently spent over six months living and working in North Dakota fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline. She is a co-founder of Not Your Mascots, a non-profit committed to educating the public about the harms of stereotyping and

promoting positive representation of Native Americans in the public sphere.

May Boeve (Executive Director, 350.org) Co-founder and executive director of international climate change campaign 350.org, May Boeve has spoken about the challenges of climate change around the world and across the US. 350.org’s creative communications, organizing and mass mobilizations culminated in the most widespread day of political action in history, on October 24, 2009,

with more than 5,200 events in 181 countries working together to convey the urgency of tackling the climate crisis. Prior to her involvement with 350.org, May co-founded and helped lead the Step It Up 2007 campaign, which brought together more then 200 partner organizations to change the debate

about US global warming policy. May received the Brower Youth Award in 2006 and is the co-author of Fight Global Warming Now.

Rhonda Hamilton (Ward 6 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and Buzzard Point Community Leader)

Rhonda Hamilton received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of the District of Columbia and her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Southeastern University. Born and raised in DC, she completed Syphax Elementary, Jefferson Academy and Duke Ellington High School.

A community activist, she has spent the past 10 years working to help residents become more informed and find their voice. Once considered a shy and quiet young lady, she is now a force to be reckoned with in her role as Ward 6 Advisory

Neighborhood Commissioner. Rhonda is also the president of Syphax Gardens Resident Council which is a public housing property. She is tireless in her efforts to improve the quality of life for SW residents and is currently a leader in addressing environmental issues that have negatively impacted the southwest community. Her work takes her door to door, informing and educating the community about hazards and avenues to take corrective action.

Rhonda continues to work with low to moderate income residents to make sure that the issue of their health and other basic needs are not overlooked. She is determined to bring environmental justice concerns front stage and center so that residents do not continue to suffer in silence. Rhonda resides in Syphax with her mother, Gloria Hamilton and serves as a mentor for her siblings, nieces and nephews. She credits her success to her mother and other strong women in the community, in particular Dr. Beryl Rice, a former president of SWNA.

Alina Saba (Limbu Peoples, Nepal Policy Center, Nepal) Alina Saba is a young Limbu indigenous woman from the Eastern part of Nepal, who is passionate about climate justice and Indigenous Peoples’ issues. She holds a master’s degree in sociology and wrote her thesis on the “Transformation of the Indigenous Movement from Social to Political after Jana Andolan-II”. She is currently associated with the National Indigenous Women’s Forum (NIWF) and the Nepal Policy Center (NPC).

Alina has participated in various national, regional, and international movements advancing the rights of indigenous people and climate justice. She was selected as a panelist at the 2014 United Nations Climate Summit in New York City among 500 applicants, where she spoke on the panel “Voices from Climate Front Lines”. Alina also participated in the Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru and Paris. She is a founding board member of the Nepal Policy Center, a youth led policy think tank based in Kathmandu, and an active member of Kirat Yakthum Chumlung, an indigenous organization of the Limbu community of Nepal. She works for the advocacy of indigenous women’s rights on the national, regional and international level.

Pennie Opal Plant (Founding Member, Idle No More SF Bay and Movement Rights) Pennie Opal Plant is of Yaqui, Mexican, English, Dutch, Choctaw, Cherokee and Algonquin Ancestry and is co-founder of Movement Rights. Pennie has been an activist for over 30 years on anti-nuclear, environmental and indigenous rights. She has been a lecturer of Democracy School with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund since 2005, promoting a rights-based strategy for confronting

corporate power and creating real democracy from the grassroots. Born in the shadow of the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, CA she has been a leader in her community fighting for justice following the explosion of that facility in 2012. She is a founding member of Idle No More San Francisco Bay, through which she led ‘Healing Walks’ through the refinery corridors, and she is a founding member of the Bay Area Rights of Nature Alliance. She has been involved in promoting the Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth. She is also the founder of Gathering Tribes, a native gallery, and continues to live in Richmond with her husband, native actor and artist Michael Horse.

Leila Salazar Lopez (Executive Director, Amazon Watch) Leila Salazar Lopez is the Executive Director of Amazon Watch. Prior to leading Amazon Watch as Executive Director, Leila Salazar Lopez served as Program Director, overseeing the organization's campaigns to defend the Amazon and advance indigenous rights. Her 15+ years of experience working to defend the world's rainforests includes grassroots organizing and managing international advocacy campaigns as Campaign Director of Rainforest Action Network's

Agribusiness campaign, Organizer for initial Amazon Watch Clean Up Ecuador campaign, and Organizer at Global Exchange. She is a graduate of both the University of California at Santa Barbara and Green Corps. Leila lives in San Francisco, CA where she is active in her community. She's a proud Chicana-Latina and mother of two.

Sally Coxe (President and Co-Founder, Bonobo Conservation Initiative) Sally Jewell Coxe is president and co-founder of the Bonobo Conservation Initiative. Known as “Mama Bonobo,” Sally has worked tirelessly for over 20 years to protect bonobos, preserve the Congo rainforest, and empower Congolese communities as leaders in conservation. Currently based in Washington, DC, Sally spends extensive time in the Congo, directing BCI’s field activities and building relationships with Congolese partners. Respect for indigenous wisdom and culture is central to BCI’s philosophy. Focusing on partnership with the people who share the land with bonobos has helped to establish a new, holistic paradigm for wildlife and rainforest protection. Under Sally’s leadership, BCI collaborates with partner organizations, the DRC

government, and local communities to manifest their common vision for the Bonobo Peace Forest. Sally became fascinated with bonobos while Senior Copywriter at the National Geographic Society. Her devotion to the planet as a living being, and her service-centered life have deep spiritual roots. Beyond bonobos, Sally loves music, yoga, poetry, hiking and the arts.

Cherri Foytlin (State Director, Bold Louisiana) Cherri Foytlin is an indigenous writer, organizer, advocate, activist, photographer, speaker, and mother of six who lives in south Louisiana. She is of Dine, African-American and Latina descent. Cherri is the author of Spill It! The Truth About the Deep Water Horizon Oil Rig Explosion, and regularly contributes

to www.BridgetheGulfProject.org. In the Spring of 2011 she walked to Washington D.C. from New Orleans (1,243 miles) to call for action to stop the BP Deepwater Drilling Disaster, and has taken direct action in support of human and ecological health of Gulf Coast citizens and communities. She is a Senior Fellow for the Center for Earth Ethics, and a signer of the indigenous Women of the Americas - Defenders of Mother Earth Treaty.

Victoria Barrett (Youth Plaintiff with Our Children's Trust)

Victoria Barrett is an 18 year old climate change and human rights activist, and a plaintiff in the current Our Children's Trust climate change lawsuit against President Trump, the federal government and fossil fuel industry for their role in violating the rights of young people in pursuit of life, liberty and property. Victoria lives on low-lying land, which is threatened by rising sea levels and more

frequent storm surges, and has felt firsthand climate impacts in the form of Hurricane Sandy, when her home lost power and her school and local transport shut down. Victoria is also a Fellow with the Alliance for Climate Education, and traveled to Paris to attend and speak at the COP21 UN Conference on Climate Change. After marching in solidarity with more than 400,000 people at the People’s Climate March in New York City, she organized her peers in local frontline climate campaigns, met with the Minister of Environment and Energy for the Maldives, and met with former U.S. astronaut, Kathryn D. Sullivan, who now serves as the Administrator for NOAA. Most recently, she spoke at the United

Nations headquarters in New York City for the High-Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. She cares deeply about climate change, justice, and human rights, especially regarding the ways climate change affects young people like her.

Osprey Orielle Lake (Executive Director, Women's Earth & Climate Action Network, USA) Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International. She works nationally and internationally with grassroots and Indigenous leaders, policy-makers and scientists to promote climate justice, resilient communities, and a just transition to a clean energy future. Osprey is Co-chair of International Advocacy for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and the visionary behind the International Women's Earth and

Climate Summit, which brought together 100 women leaders from around the world to draft and implement a Women's Climate Action Agenda. She teaches international climate trainings and directs WECAN’s advocacy work in areas such as Women for Forests, Rights of Nature and UN Forums. Osprey is the author of the award-winning book, Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature.