Speaker Lineup

Annie Leonard Annie Leonard, world-renowned creator of “The Story of Stuff” – an Internet film illustrating the environmental and social consequences of consumerism – portrays her film’s influence as a worldwide Internet phenomenon that is making change from classrooms to boardrooms.

Brock Doleman is a founding member of Occidental Arts and Ecology Center and the director of their water institute. Dolman will explain the urgency to restore natural habitats and educate communities in preparation for the climate changes that lie ahead.

Andrew Weil M.D. is the nation’s foremost authority on holistic medicine. He is author of numerous books including international bestsellers, Spontaneous Healing and Eight Weeks to Optimum Health. Drawing from his newest book, Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future, scheduled for publication on September 8, 2009, Dr. Weil will illustrate the critical link between human and environmental health, and transforming the healthcare system to heal the planet.

Jason McLennan is the CEO of Cascadia Green Building Council and a leading figure in the green architecture movement. McLennan will show breathtaking examples of building designs that reduce energy by mimicking nature.

Jerome Ringo is the president of the Apollo Alliance, and the first African-American to head a major conservation organization, the National Wildlife Federation. Ringo will stress the imperative of creating fair jobs that are healthy for people and the planet.

Kari Fulton is a Brower Youth Award winner and national campus campaign coordinator for the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative. Fulton will describe how youth in America are fostering a more unified and inclusive environmental movement for the 21st century.

From the Northern Rockies Bioregion and live at the Emerson! These speakers will bring knowledge and experience about the issues and solutions ahead of us within our own bioregion.

Saturday 2:30-3:30pm, Emerson Theater- The Wildness and Spirit of Yellowstone: Inspiring Local Communities Presenter Michael Leach, Executive Director of Yellowstone Country Guardians, has deep roots throughout the Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming region and has worked as a naturalist, fly-fishing guide, and writer based out of Gardiner, Montana. Michael's writing has appeared in Wyoming Wildlife, the Yellowstone Discovery and Distinctly Montana. His work as a Ranger Naturalist, and more recently as the Bear Education Ranger in Yellowstone National Park, inspired his vision to start a Yellowstone based nonprofit. Yellowstone Country Guardians is a grassroots organization working on the ground through its education and outreach programs to inspire a sense of pride and to foster a commitment from local communities to ensure that Yellowstone Country remains a place of hope and wildness for this and future generations.

Friday 7-8pm, Emerson Theater- The Power and Promise of Local Food Neva is an acitivist scholar who focuses on building sustainable, local, and democratic food systems. She has been involved in an array of efforts to strengthen a Montana-based food system by protecting farmland, supporting beginning farmers, creating farm-to-cafeteria programs, doing action research, and more. She will discuss Montana's grassroots movement to transform the food system and its implications for food democracy. Hassanein is an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana.