SSDN‘s Green Minds (Laurel Creech, Catherine Mercier-Baggett)

Katrina Locke, Sustainability Director for Volusia County, Florida shares with the us about the project they are undertaking in the Spring Hill Community with the help of a grant from the Southeast Sustainable Community Fund. The Grant was also able to provide a convening on Race, Equity and Community Resilience facilitated by Government Alliance on Race & Equity and Race Forward.

Alissa Farina @FarinaAlissa from the City of Miami joins us from the Florida Sustainability Directors Annual Meeting. Alissa speaks to her work on Resilience and Resilience Hubs in the City of Miami.

Chris Castro has been making headlines and the silver screen with the work he and his team at the City of Orlando have been accomplishing. Chris joins us for a few minutes to talk about how he arrived in Orlando and how the Mayor of Orlando laid out ambious goals that has Chris thinking globally but still acting locally.

Meg Jamison, Executive Director of the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network , joins the podcast to talk about the power of the network and the SE Sustainable Communities Fund. We also dive into what impacts Covid has had on the network and what opportunities lie ahead.

In this second episode of Green Minds, Catherine Mercier-Baggett (Sandy Springs, GA) discusses what sustainability means in the municipal context with Dr. Lynn Patterson of Three Points Planning and Georgia Tech, and Vanessa King, Network Manager at SSDN. 

Vincent Martinez COO of Architecture 2030 @arch2030 joins us from @USDN 2019 in Detroit. Vincent gives a history of Architecture 2030 and how this has manifested itself into key code proposals to the 2021 ICC Codes

This episode of Green Minds features Michael Dexter, SSDN's new Manager for the Southeast Sustainable Recovery Center (SSRC) which supports communities in their mobilization of COVID-19 relief and economic recovery in innovative ways which yield equitable solutions that make our communities more resilient to future stressors. We talk about the SSRC and how it will be valuable to members and Michael's previous roles in federal and local agencies.

Learn more about the SSRC here.

Hear our interview on Rollins College radio WPRK as we talk along things sustainabile in the City of Winter Park, Florida

This is the first episode of Green Minds hosted by Laurel Creech and features Kris Stenger, the founder and former host of Green Minds Think Alike. We discuss Kris' new position as he leaves City of Winter Park to work as International Code Council's (ICC) Director of Energy.

Kim Cheslak of New Building Institute and Institute for Market Transformation talks about the energy code training provided through Southface as part of a DOE Commercial Building Study. Kim is formerly the Building Official for Washington DC and talks about how her experience in government has really benefited her work at IMT and now NBI.

We are coming to the end of the 2021 ICC Code Change Process as the Code Hearings are underway in Las Vegas. Hear a brief snapshot of how the code development process works.

Kumar Jensen, City of Evanston Sustainability Director joins us from USDN 2019 Conference in Detroit. Kumar shares how equity has led his work in USDN and in Evanston's Climate Plans.

US Green Building Council Florida Chapter hosted President and CEO, Mahesh Ramanujam. Mr. Ramanujam presented the state of USGBC and the advancements made in LEED v4.1.  Mahesh also shared with us livingstandard.org a new initiative to share the stories of the role green buildings play in each person's life. Listening to his presentation leaves me no doubt that great things lie ahead at USGBC. 

An intro and update to the 2020 National Green Building Standard

John R. Seydel, Director of Sustainability for the City of Atlanta joins the podcast from the Southeast Sustainability Directors Annual meeting. 

Maggie Ullman provides the story for the creation of the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network. The direction and passion Maggie has brought to the development of network shines through in this interview. 

Glen Hadwen with the City of Ft. Lauderdale, FL joins us at ssdn2019 to talk about the history of usdn, ssdn, and fsdn. Also Glen shares what is going on in Southeast Florida and great story with Al Gore.

Vanessa Balta Cook joins Kris to discuss her first experience at the #USDN annual meeting in Denver, Colorado

This episode is a three-part series focusing on pioneer practitioners in regenerative design as co-host Catherine Mercier-Baggett and Laurel Creech speak to seven different organizations across the southeast region about regenerative design. These organizations are supported by the Kendeda Fund, an Atlanta-based foundation that invests in transformative leadership and ideas, and creating a more just and equitable world. Learn more about their work at kendedafund.org.

Part One of this three-part series features Dennis Creech, Fund Adviser for Sustainability with the Kendeda Fund, and Shan Arora, Director of the Kendeda Building at Georgia Tech University.

This episode is a dose of laughter straight from our members.  Welcome special co-host for this episode, Dr. Shaleen Miller, and I as we talk about funny moments we've had, and invite two members to share their funniest moments.  Takeaways from this episode, check what other groups have the acronym you're hoping to use before you confirm committee names, search for context clues when talking to someone you don't recognize, Always have a re-usable cup and/or bag on you just in case, and have lemons on hand if you tangle with worms.   

Enjoy! As always, please send topic ideas to robyn.byers@charlottenc.gov.  Have a great one! 

In this short episode, we share the responses we received from SSDN members on what gives them hope to continue working in sustainability. Through our philosophical musings, we come to suggest a "word of the year" for 2024. 

This episode of Green Minds focuses on the sustainability organizational and staffing structures of four different size cities in the SSDN network and both their differences and commonalities: Susannah Troner of Miami-Dade County, FL; Helen Peplowski of the City of Winston-Salem, NC; George Santucci of the Town of Boone, NC; and Rebecca Harvey of Boynton Beach, FL. We discuss their histories, their current staffing, and future growth plans of each of these diverse cities.

The third and last episode of this special series on regenerative design includes three interviews featuring The Sustainability Institute (Charleston, SC), Green Spaces (Chattanooga, TN), and our very own Southeast Sustainability Directors Network. 

These organizations are supported by the Kendeda Fund, an Atlanta-based foundation that invests in transformative leadership and ideas, and creating a more just and equitable world. Learn more about their work at kendedafund.org.

This episode is a short primer for the fall season of the SSDN Green Minds podcast.  We start with host Robyn Byers sharing a quick recap from the SSDN Annual Conference, held in Charlotte last May.  We even reveal who was "A Spy" for the Charlotte trivia game ;).  There's a short review of what's coming up for the fall episodes and we close out with quotes from you, our network, captured from the conference of your favorite bits.   Enjoy jumping back in this fall and we can't wait to continue sharing.   Email any topic ideas to robyn.byers@charlottenc.gov.   Thank you!  

Related Links: 

Innovation Barn: https://www.envisioncharlotte.com/innovation-barn/

This episode of Green Minds Podcast features the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) - why they are important and how municipalities can engage. First podcast co-host Laurel Creech speaks with Anne Livingston, SSDN Director of Policy Programs, about her knowledge of IRPs. Then we focus on GA and Georgia Power's IRP process that concluded in July 2022 with guests Alicia Brown, City of Savannah's Clearn Energy Program Manager, and John R. Seydel, City of Atlanta Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer.

Tune into this episode as Green Minds Co-hosts Catherine Mercier-Baggett and Laurel Creech as we talk with five SSDN cities to hear about their accomplishments in 2021: Fulton County, GA; Winston-Salem, NC; Orange County, FL; Durham, NC; and Chapel Hill, NC.

For more headlines and stories from SSDN's members in 2021, check out our year-end newsletter (plus our archives!) and latest blog post on our website.

MaryPat Baldauf (Columbia, SC) nominated the session hosted by Tobin Freid (Durham County, NC) and KatieRose Levin (Cary, NC) as her favorite highlight of SSDN's 2022 annual meeting. The peer learning session was on Addressing Urban Heat Islands and Heat Mitigation Strategies - an appropriate topic with summer unofficially starting with Memorial Day in the Southeast.

Resource mentioned in this episode: 

• UHI Mapping Initiative (Columbia): https://cpac.columbiasc.gov/urban-heat-island-mapping-initiative/
• Extreme Heat and UHI (Durham County): https://www.dconc.gov/county-departments/departments-a-e/engineering-and-environmental-services/sustainability-office/climate-resilience/extreme-heat/-fsiteid-1#!/
• Cool Roadways Partnership: https://globalcoolcities.org/cool-roadways-partnership/
• Tree Equity Score (American Forests): https://treeequityscore.org/

This episode of Green Minds is focused on City Scale's recent report The State of U.S. Local Climate Action Planning, a collaborative reflection of a group of local climate practitioners. Through a series of conversations in 2019, climate practitioners across the country came to a shared recognition that local climate action planning had reached an inflection point. Guests Michael Armstrong, Katherine Gajewski, and Ariella Maron, of City Scale, bring their local government expertise to this enlightening and much-needed discussion.

The availability of food, fresh and nutritious food in particular, is naturally a primordial preoccupation for communities. Some local governments are taking initiatives to facilitate the production and distribution of food, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable areas.

This episode hosted by Catherine Mercier-Baggett looks at the work conducted in the cities of Atlanta (GA) and Winston-Salem (NC). J. Olu Baiyewu and Moriah Gendy, both municipal employees dedicated to increasing food resilience and security in their respective cities, graciously share their experience. 

Atlanta's AgLanta: https://www.aglanta.org/

Winston-Salem's Think Orange Program: https://www.cityofws.org/3050/Think-Orange-Food-Resilience-Campaign 

Michael Dexter and Chris Barber, both with SSDN's Southeast Sustainable Recovery Center, explain the basics of the Justice40 Initiative, aimed at distributing at least 40% of federal investments to disadvantaged communities. They also present an interactive mapping tool developed for SSDN's members that compares the various set of criteria that can define disadvantaged communities. 

SSDN's Justice40 Web App: https://uvalibrary.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9973040fb53f4d0faa91e42f4aca364d note this map will be moved to a different address soon - do not bookmark!

White House: Justice40 Initiative | The White House

Columbia University Capstone Report:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DXhzk3Ys54pifVr_PyxulgQHktGseTJQ/view?usp=sharing 

Is your organization struggling to access federal funding? Michael Dexter and Nick Deffley with the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network present the Inflation Reduction Act and the assistance services provided by the Local Infrastructure Hub. 

Links mentioned in this episode

SSDN's Grant Opportunity Database: https://www.southeastsdn.org/programs/ssdns-federal-programs/southeast-sustainable-recovery-center-ssrc/

SSDN's Local Infrastructure Hub: https://www.southeastsdn.org/programs/ssdns-federal-programs/local-infrastructure-hub-cohorts/ 

LIH Factsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wqpwul1xK-7Uo9LI1KYQbCdiRR-wY9H-/view?usp=sharing 

The first 2022 episode of Green Minds explores the making of the latest canopy study for the City of Sandy Springs (GA) with Bridget Lawlor, GIS Manager. She is followed by Dr. Kendra Abkowitz, Chief Sustainability and Resilience Officer with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (TN), who discusses the latest efforts in Metro Nashville to preserve and increase the tree canopy. 

Sandy Springs' urban canopy resources

Root Nashville initiative

Free canopy assessment and planning tools: i-Tree

This is the second episode of three-part series focusing on pioneer practitioners in regenerative design. Co-hosts Catherine Mercier-Baggett and Laurel Creech speak to different organizations across the southeast region about regenerative design. These organizations are supported by the Kendeda Fund, an Atlanta-based foundation that invests in transformative leadership and ideas, and creating a more just and equitable world. Learn more about their work at kendedafund.org.

Part two features the Southface Institute and the Greenbuilt Alliance. 

This episode is a longer one - I just couldn't cut it down any more than just shy of an hour.  Settle in and get ready for a packed episode where co-host Jessica Reid (Sustainability Analyst, City of Raleigh, NC and author of Planet Now) and I chat with Anthony Flaccavento (Rural Urban Bridge Initiative - RUBI) on how we can better communicate about sustainability.  Enjoy this candid episode full of tips!

As always, please send topic ideas to robyn.byers@charlottenc.gov.  Have a great one!  Rural Urban Bridge Initiative

Join us for this half hour dedicated to trees and urban heat in an urban setting.  We are joined by Dr. Vivek Shandas with Portland State University, Victoria Aguilar - Asst. City Arborist for the City of Charlotte, and Erin Oliverio - Division Manager with the City of Charlotte's Landscape Management team.   Thank you!

Related Links:

Charlotte's Renew Brew

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story

SSDN's Green Minds rebooted! We welcome a new co-host, Dr. Robyn Byers (Sustainability and Resilience Manager, Charlotte, NC), and we are slightly changing the format of the podcast to be more engaging.

In this conversation, we speak with Laura Thomas, Director of the Office of Sustainability for Richmond, VA, about the recently adopted Climate Equity Action Plan 2030.

Also mentioned in this episode: Charlotte's Strategic Energy Action Plan

On this episode of Green Minds, co-host Laurel Creech talks with two cities who received SSDN's Community Collaboration Catalyst Micro Grants aimed at providing small pots of funding to local governments to overcome barriers to systemic inequities alongside dedicated community partner organizations. Learn how the cities of Richmond, VA & Nashville, TN leveraged collaborative partnerships to work innovatively impact community-led and equitable approaches to sustainability. This SSDN grant was made possible with support from The Kresge Foundation,

This episode of the Green Minds Podcast is hosted by Laurel Creech (Nashville, TN) and features food waste awareness and mitigation in recognition of April being Earth Month and many states and cities recognizing the month as Food Waste Awareness Month. This episode kicks off with NRDC's Darby Hoover and Nashville's Linda Breggin on a national food waste perspective then we visit the cities of Asheville, NC; Hollywood, NC; and Orlando, FL on how these Southeast cities impactful initiatives are reducing food waste.

The IPCC is releasing its sixth round of reports (AR6), confirming that we must control our impact on climate. Dr. Jairo Garcia, author of the Atlanta Climate Action Plan and instructor at Georgia Tech, explains what is the IPCC and why their findings are critical for local governments. Nell Boyle, Sustainability & Outreach Coordinator for the City of Roanoke, VA, reveals how the IPCC report release makes a difference in her work. 

IPCC AR6 - Summary for Policymakers

Sustainability spans across a multitude of disciplines, and the variety of individual backgrounds of sustainability professionals are a reflection of this reality. 

In this episode, we visit with Casi Callaway (Mobile, AL), Glen Hadwen (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Lennie Massanelli (Little Rock, AR) and George Santucci (Town of Boone, NC) to discuss their unique paths.