Theme: Climate Countdown

As part of TED Countdown, which is a worldwide movement to find ways to shift, more rapidly, to a world with net zero greenhouse emissions and tackle the climate crisis, TEDxCherryCreek will hold a Countdown event on the global launch date, October 10, 2020.

Eugenia Rawls Courtyard Theatre Denver
855LawrenceSt.
Denver, Colorado, 80204
United States

Cristal Cisneros

Doctoral Candidate at the University of Colorado Denver. Dissertation focus- Critical Race Theory, Environmental Racism/Environmental Injustice, YPAR (youth participatory action research)

Originally from Gary Indiana, a town with a history of environmental injustice. Cristal is first generation Mexican and loves nature! She is currently working on her doctorate in Education focusing on environmental racism and environmental injustice and its impact on students of color. As one of ten siblings who grew up harvesting the beautiful brown earth to feed not only their large family but also their hearts. Nature is medicina Environmental justice es en mi sangre. From the ancient Azteca days, Madre tierra days, the pre-Conquest days, our goddess tonantzin days, maker of moon and stars days, my ancestors worshiped her days. Developing an environmental justice curriculum for youth of color is not the only solution. Because, Rigoberta Mechu who in her last words stated “Our Mother Earth – militarized, fenced-in, poisoned, a place where basic rights are systematically violated – demands that we take action.”

Daisy Madera

Student Activist

My name is Daisy Madera. I am currently a senior at KNDLA. I am from Denver Colorado and I am a first generation Mexican. The outdoors have always been a big part of my life and they have always advocated for the preservation of the environment. Looking into the future, I would like to join the medical field and continue to spend my free time in the outdoors. Hiking and playing soccer are my favorite activities outdoors but building snowmen and having snowball fights are definitely better in the winter. Environmental racism is something that I did not know much of before and now that I have more knowledge of it, I will want to educate kids and other people in the future about the next steps we can take on making it better.

Darcy Kitching

Transportation Planner and Researcher

Darcy Kitching is a transportation planner and researcher focused on the intersection of transportation, housing, and education in the lives of young people and their families. She believes that walking is the best way to understand places and the people who live there. In 2015, Darcy joined the member-owner team of the Denver-based Walk2Connect Cooperative, and she began leading grassroots walking events and community engagement walks with a variety of partners. Through Walk2Connect, she worked for five years as a consultant to the City of Boulder (Colorado) GO Boulder program, developing the Boulder Walks community and working with the city’s Pedestrian Action Committee. In 2020, Darcy authored her first trail guide, The Best Urban Hikes: Boulder, published by the Colorado Mountain Club Press.

Grace Rink

Executive Director of the Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency

Grace Rink, a leader in the sustainability field with nearly two decades of experience working on climate issues, is the first Executive Director of the Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency for the city and county of Denver, Colorado.

Hanna Linstadt

emergency medicine physician

Hanna Linstadt, MD is a practicing emergency medicine physician and the Living Closer Foundation Fellow in Climate Change and Health Science Policy at the University of Colorado Department of Emergency Medicine. She earned her undergraduate degree at UCLA where she studied ecology and evolutionary biology as well as international policy. She attended medical school at New York Medical College, and completed residency training in emergency medicine at Stanford University. During residency, she became interested in the connection between climate change and human health and how the health care system contributes to our changing climate. As the Living Closer Foundation Fellow in Climate Change and Health Science Policy, she is studying the relationship between climate change and health and learning how to best impact policy. She also currently works clinically in the emergency department, where she sees impacts of climate change first-hand.

Ilana Braverman

Director of Outreach

Ilana is the Director of Outreach for Better Food Foundation where she’s focused on the nexus of climate change and food choices. Ilana leads the DefaultVeg campaign, where she consults with leading universities, businesses, and conferences on how to use behavioral nudges to help them reimagine the way they serve food. Previous to her current role she worked for the Jewish animal advocacy organization, Shamayim. Ilana holds a Master’s degree in Animals and Public Policy from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, with a focus in Human Dimensions from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Jazmine Pace

Student Activist

Jazmine Lillie Pace,“Jazzy” is leading by example at East High school, earning the Spanish Biliteracy Seal of literacy. She is in the audiovisual club, honors choir and president of the greenhouse club. She served on the Young Philanthropist foundation and Young Americans Bank Boards. Jazz’ys activist roots began as a toddler marching and honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and continued with the presidential election 2016 women’s march, annual Pride Parade and Juneteenth. Leveraging her vocalist singing voice in activism and speaking out on environmental justice and local policy initiatives. She led a #BlackLivesMovement neighborhood protest. Her servant leadership includes WizKid’s tutoring underserved kids and working with the Denver rescue mission and an internship at Denver Parks and Recreation and The Denver City GreenHouse. She hopes to be a student at a Historically Black College/University as well as conduct research in Botany at any higher education institutions.

Jennifer Bousselot

Assistant Professor

Jennifer Bousselot is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado State University. She specializes in green roof research on native species, plant drought tolerance, integration with solar panels, and rooftop agrivoltaics. Jen is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Living Architecture, a longtime member of the Research Committee for Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), and Board Member of GRHC. Jen co-coordinates the Colorado Regional Center for Excellence in Living Architecture designated by GRHC. She was a technical advisor for the 2017 Green Roof Ordinance and is on the Green Building Ordinance Technical Advisory Committee for the City of Denver. Jen has co-authored 15 publications since 2010 with most related to green roofs, local foods, and native plants. Jen has co-authored a book called Common Southwestern Native Plants and is contributing to multiple chapters in the upcoming book Ecoregional Green Roofs.

Jennifer Riley-Chetwynd

Co-director One World One Water Center, MSU Denver and Denver Botanic Gardens

Jennifer Riley-Chetwynd has worked on water issues locally, nationally and internationally. The Director of Marketing and Social Responsibility at Denver Botanic Gardens, where she drives sustainability-oriented programming, partnerships and communications. She is the Co-Director of the One World One Water (OWOW) Center, a joint initiative of the Gardens and Metropolitan State University of Denver. Prior to coming to the Gardens in 2011, Jennifer worked for Rain Bird, where she spearheaded the company's global CSR initiatives. A board member of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, has served on the board of the American Public Gardens Association and was the co-organizer for the 2011 International Water Forum at the United Nations. She has an MBA from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Jonathan Rogers

Renewable Energy Specialist

Jonathan Rogers is the Renewable Energy Specialist for the City and County of Denver. He is responsible for the city's efforts to transition to a 100% renewable electricity system by 2030. Mr. Rogers leads Denver’s advocacy at the public utilities commission and coordinates Denver's Energy Future Collaboration with Xcel Energy. He works with stakeholders across city agencies to develop and implement renewable-energy focused policies, programs, and projects that advance Denver’s clean energy and community empowerment objectives. Before joining Denver, Mr. Rogers was Program Director of Energy Systems Analysis and Integration at Energetics Incorporated, advising the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. National Laboratories, and state and local governments on efforts to achieve an affordable and equitable energy transition. Mr. Rogers holds both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Lesly Baesens

Food Waste Recovery Program Administrator, Denver Department of Public Health & Environment

Lesly is deeply passionate about sustainability and believes even small individual changes can result in major collective impact. As the Food Waste Recovery Program Administrator for the City of Denver’s Department of Public Health & Environment, Lesly works with residents, city staff, food banks and pantries to ensure that food never ends up in landfills but is instead eaten, redistributed or composted. When the COVID pandemic hit, Lesly applied this ‘no food waste’ philosophy to tackling the immediate hunger needs of Denverites affected by the economic shut down by connecting emergency food providers with supplies and food to keep them operating in the face of increased demand. Lesly has made appearances on Denver ABC7 and on Denver 8 TV, and was featured on PBS Newshour “Waste Not, Want Not” series. She has also participated in the Green Team Academy podcast and was a speaker at Mayor Michael Hancock’s Sustainable Denver Summit and at ICLEI’s Resilient Cities Global Forum, Germany.

Megan Patterson

Founder / Head of School

Megan Patterson is the Founder and Head of School at Worldming School, an outdoor-based, non-profit independent school in Denver. While working on her graduate degree, Megan discovered the outdoor-based model of learning and development. After teaching in public school settings all over the world for several years and conducting extensive research on the outdoor-based model of education, she knew this was the type of learning environment she wanted for children in Denver, including her own son whom she saw thriving in an outdoor environment. In 2015, Megan opened Worldmind as a child and caregiver outdoor-based enrichment program. This fall, Megan is expanding Worldmind to include an elementary school. Megan holds a B.A. in Communication and an M.S. in Ecological Teaching and Learning.

Michael Hancock

Mayor

Michael B. Hancock is the Mayor of the City and County of Denver, Colorado.

Ryan Spies

Water Resources Scientist

Ryan Spies is a Water Resources Scientist with Lynker, LLC in Boulder, Colorado. Ryan specializes in hydro-data analysis and climate-informed impact assessments. Ryan recently led a team of scientists, engineers, and economists on a first of its kind project for the state of Colorado to quantify economic impacts from future climate conditions and population growth. Ryan also enjoys creating interactive data visualizations to communicate environmental data. Having worked for both the public and private sectors, Ryan has conducted flood modeling studies throughout the United States. Ryan is actively involved with projects applying remote sensing applications and sustainable water resources planning. One of Ryan’s biggest passions as a scientist is working with communities and stakeholders to translate complex model outputs into actionable information. Outside of work, Ryan also enjoys fly-fishing, baseball, and hiking in the Rocky Mountains with his wife and daughter.

Sonrisa Lucero

Sustainability Strategist

Sonrisa Lucero is the Sustainability Strategist for the Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency for the City and County of Denver where she facilitates the equitable achievement of the city’s sustainability goals. With over thirteen years of experience, Sonrisa is skilled at building coalitions and guiding diverse stakeholders to advance sustainability and combat climate change. Sonrisa has been a life-long advocate for social justice. She is a founding member of the Colorado Latino Forum, a statewide advocacy group for the rights of Latinx, was an ardent advocate for the legal right of LGBTQIA couples to marry, and served as the Chair of Groundwork Denver, an environmental justice organization. She was recognized as a Shero by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2020, received the 5281 Sustainability Award in 2019, and was included in the Who’s Who in Energy by the Denver Business Journal in 2017. Sonrisa is a graduate of Stanford University and a Denver native.

Sophia Mayott-Guerrero

Environmental Justice Advocate & Strategist

Sophia an environmental policy advocate from the San Luis Valley (SLV), Colorado. She currently works at a long-standing conservation group on the Government Affairs team, focused on environmental justice, and racially just environmental policy and political strategy. She uses her combined experience as a Latina from Alamosa who witnessed firsthand the urgency of climate and racial equity action, as an environmental justice advocate, and as an employee of a white-led conservation organization to bring nuanced perspective on the topic of intersectional priorities in the climate movement.

Xitlaly Avitia

Student Activist

Xitlaly Avitia is a senior at northwest early college in Denver Colorado. Xitlaly is an avid lover of all thing outdoors. She loves to hike and since being in ELK has developed a deeper understanding of the importance of connecting with nature. This summer Xitlaly made a sock in partnership with smart wool which was the highlight of the summer, though giving a TEDx talk might be a close seconds. She is proud of her creation and encourages everyone to check it out. She is looking forward to what the future brings.