The Pittsburgh-based Green Building Alliance will host an online Women+ In Green Steadfast and Strong Breakfast Program June 11 from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

For the Women+ in Green community, the words “Steadfast and Strong” capture how women and transgender people have adapted and endured in an unthinkable year. In the U.S., women’s workforce participation is at a 33-year low, and women+ of color feel these impacts more acutely.

These challenges also reinforce the Green Building Alliance's vision that every building and every community will be sustainable so that every person can thrive – and we know that environmental, human, and economic health depend on that vision becoming reality.

Rebuilding our economy and creating a future where all can thrive will require different perspectives, new ideas, and the courage to challenge what we think we know. In order to overcome the challenges ahead, we need all generations to unite for a brighter future.

Speakers for the event include--

-- Keynote: Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile: A groundbreaking international award-winner, Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile has imprints in human rights, education and performing arts. With global experience as a development practitioner, her approach to inclusion and diversification is informed by decoloniality, Feminism, and Disability theory in practice.

She has travelled the world crusading as an ARTivist and development practitioner – operating with corporates, educational institutions and producing stimulating creative work.

Having started in performing arts and sports at a young age, discipline and resilience have served as guiding principles on Katlego’s professional journey.

It is no wonder that she has not only held audience with heads of state, mediated refugee outreach, and consulted on organisational management, but she has also managed lifestyle brands, profiled music legends, and delivered numerous motivational speeches.

Inclusion and appreciation of diversity as mechanisms for holistic growth and change drive her technical approach.  She is as comfortable educating in a boardroom as much as in a studio, or under a tree.

An infectiously bright personality, Katlego is adept at generating thought provoking conversation and building inclusive spaces for communal learning. She is passionate as a vocal advocate for human rights and equality for LGBT+ people globally as Botswana’s first openly trans-identifying public figure.

-- Dr. Shannah Tharp Gilliam: Dr. Shannah Tharp Gilliam is the director of research and evaluation at the Homewood Children’s Village.

As a researcher, program evaluator, non-profit executive, program developer and community advocate, Tharp-Gilliam has nearly 17 years of interdisciplinary and collaborative experience spanning the continuum of the innovation process for rigorous research, effective programs, impactful policymaking and systemic problem-solving. 

Her passion is synthesizing ideas into cohesive strategies that support equity and justice through equipping and connecting residents for action and advocacy.

-- Laleh Gharanjik, LFA, LEED AP BD+C: Laleh is a project manager and estimator at Jendoco Construction Corporation. She holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture-Engineering- Construction Management from Carnegie Mellon University and has worked on several green building projects pursuing various green building rating systems such as LEED, LBC, WELL, etc.

She is passionate about sustainable and regenerative design and construction and has been responsible for technology management and Building Information Modeling (BIM) for several high tech projects. She is the Education Co-Chair at Green Building Alliance Emerging Professionals Committee.

-- Linda Wigington: Linda Wigington is the founder of the Affordable Comfort Conference (now known as the Home Performance Conference) and has been associated with it since its inception in 1986. She served as director, deep energy reduction initiatives until May 2013.

Linda has been a technical consultant for residential utility programs throughout the country. She has served as an advisor for Habitat for Humanity International's Green Team, the Editorial Board of Home Energy magazine, board of directors for the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions. Linda currently serves on the board of directors for Cornerstone Care, Inc., a community health center serving four counties in SW PA.

She received the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's 2002 Champion of Energy Efficiency Award.

-- Sage Pence: Sage Pence (she/her) is an intersectional justice activist, AmeriCorp VISTA alum, & aspiring law student.  Early immersion into the forests and farms of the Midwest secured Sage’s devotion to environmental stewardship.

Those convictions breathed a fierce passion for the intersection of sustainability and equitable justice, leading her to study Political and Environmental Science in undergrad. While there, she established a free store for gently used items as the environmental club President, and received Wittenberg University’s 2017 Lou Loux Sustainability Award.

Upon graduation, Sage worked as an AmeriCorp VISTA for Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions, regenerating neglected agricultural ecosystems to mitigate urban food deserts.

Pittsburgh became home in 2019 when Sage’s passion for sustainability and intersectional justice led her to begin working in immigration law.

Click Here for all the details and to register for this special event.

For more information on programs, initiatives and other upcoming events, visit the Green Building Alliance website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Alliance, Like them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter and visit their YouTube Channel.  Click Here to support their work.

Related Article:

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Network Hosting June 5-6 Women's Camping Adventure

[Posted: May 24, 2021]

5/30/2021