Idaho Green Expo Speakers

GreenWorks Idaho is proud to present our Speakers for the 2009 Idaho Green Expo!

Here you will find our schedule of Speakers. To get more detailed information about each speaker, their presentation and their bios, click on the Speaker’s name. All Speaker presentations are FREE and will take place in the Summit Auditorium inside the Boise Centre.

Saturday, July 18^th
11:00 am	A Panel of Mayors: Implementing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in Idaho
1:00 pm	Scott Schliebe: The Fate of Polar Bears in a Changing Environment
3:00 pm	Jim Evanoff: Greening Our National Parks…Yellowstone: A Success Story!
5:00 pm	The Idaho Energy Forum: A Panel of members from the Public Utilities Commission, Idaho Power , the Office of Energy Resources and Key Legislators
Sunday, July 19^th
1:00 pm	Judy Wicks: Local Living Economies: Green, Fair and Fun
3:00 pm	David Wann: Simple Prosperity in the New Economy

Saturday, July 18^th 11:00 am	A Panel of Mayors: Implementing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in Idaho
Mayor David Bieter Boise	David H. Bieter was elected Mayor of Boise in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. As mayor, Bieter has dedicated himself to making Boise the most livable city in the country. He created the first municipal ethics commission in Idaho, succeeded in funding three new neighborhood libraries with no tax increase, and has overseen the addition of more than 100 acres of new or developed parklands. Bieter has provided leadership to countywide Blueprint for Good Growth and was the first mayor in Idaho to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, committing Boise to reduce greenhouse emissions.
Mayor Roger Chase Pocatello	Roger W. Chase has served as Mayor of Pocatello since 2002 and is a former State Legislator and City Councilman. After attending the 2006 Sundance Summit sponsored by Robert Redford, Chase became the second mayor in Idaho to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Chase is committed to making “green” a way of doing business and is working to make Pocatello an alternate energy development hub by attracting wind, solar and geothermal companies. Chase challenges employees and citizens to be proactive and do even more. His "little steps" campaign encourages everyone to find simple ways to make a difference on their own.
Mayor Wayne Willich Sun Valley	In May 2008, the City of Sun Valley, the Mayor and the City Council approved a climate protection resolution and general guidelines to address their energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the City committed to reduce their emissions by joining the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign (CCP), a program of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). The ICLEI framework is designed to educate and empower local governments worldwide to take action on climate change. Sun Valley is reducing energy costs and carbon emissions. Mayor Willich supports EcoDrivingUSA.
Mayor Rick Davis Hailey	Mayor Rick Davis has been on the Hailey City Council for 16 years and was elected Mayor in 2007. The Mayor's Climate Protection agreement was signed in 2007 and as a part of that, City staff and citizens formed the Hailey Environmental Leadership Program (H.E.L.P.) which won the Blaine County Environmental Leadership award in 2008. This program has helped reduce the carbon footprint of the city and has saved thousands of dollars in energy consumption.
SCOTT SCHLIEBE Former Polar Bear Project Leader, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Sunday, July 18^th 1pm	The Fate of Polar Bears in a Changing Environment Polar bears are a sentinel species of the Arctic Ecosystem and as such reflect the health and welfare of this natural system. While most of the public will never see a polar bear in the wild almost all people can relate to polar bears and have a personal connection to this incredible animal and its part within our natural heritage. In this presentation Scott Schliebe will review the ecology of the species and how polar bears became perfectly suited as a niche specialist to living in one of the harshest environments in the world. He will also evaluate the threats to the species with an emphasis on the rapidly accelerating changes in the seascape brought about by climate change. The effects of the changing polar bear habitat upon condition, reproduction, survival, and population size will be evaluated with an emphasis upon the projected status of the species. SPEAKER BIO: Scott Schliebe is one of the leading experts on Polar Bears in the United States. Mr. Schliebe is the former Chair of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group and has been responsible for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s polar bear program since 1980. Mr. Schliebe is a primary author of the range-wide status assessment of polar bears which served as the base document for the Proposed Rule to list polar bears as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. Schliebe dedicated efforts toward amending and improving the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and additional efforts to implement provisions for the cooperative management of marine mammals with Alaska Native organizations. Schliebe was the US representative who originated the concept of a bilateral polar bear treaty between the U.S. and Russia and guided its development for more than ten years. Ultimately the governments of the U.S. and Russia signed the treaty and in the U.S. Congressional legislation was signed into law for implementation of the US-Russia Polar Bear Conservation Agreement.
JIM EVANOFF Yellowstone’s "Green Ranger" Environmental Protection Specialist, Yellowstone National Park Saturday, July 18th 3pm	Greening Our National Parks Yellowstone: A Success Story! In 1997, when Yellowstone National Park celebrated its 125th anniversary as the world’s first national park, park staff began thinking forward to the next 125 years and the sustainable efforts that would ensure the preservation and protection of this international treasure. As a result, the concept of the "Greening of Yellowstone" was created. Since that time, the park has made remarkable advances in promoting sustainable practices and advancing sound environmental stewardship initiatives. More importantly, this has been accomplished successfully by fostering a multi -prong approach; collaboration and partnering coupled with a very aggressive education and outreach component to every initiative. The three surrounding states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have been pivotal in the successes of many of these innovative environmental programs. Over the past decade the park has accomplished substantial in-roads to a myriad of environmental stewardship programs that have catapulted the greater Yellowstone region into the national spotlight for the advancement of sustainable practices. The park is revered as the ideal laboratory for spawning environmental initiatives, due to its remoteness, high elevation, severe climate and the unique opportunity to educate over three million national and international visitors, annually. Mr. Evanoff’s presentation will focus on the challenges of collaborating with the surrounding states to ensure success in instituting unique environmental programs. SPEAKER BIO: Jim Evanoff has been with the National Park Service for the past 28 years. His career has involved working in four other National Parks before coming to Yellowstone in 1988. Starting in Curecanti National Recreation area, Colorado, Jim was instrumental in developing the infrastructure for this newly acquired Park unit. Next he moved to Grand Teton National Park and was responsible for preservation of over 100 historic structures within the park. After working there for 3 years, Jim transferred to Arches National Park in southern Utah. The next move was to Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where his responsibilities included the preservation maintenance of the famous four faces. Currently in Yellowstone, Jim identifies and oversees many of the parks sustainability initiatives and environmental programs, in addition to providing guidance to many other national parks for achieving sound environmental stewardship. Jim has been successful in fostering collaboration and partnership opportunities with a myriad of both public and private entities. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin.
The Idaho Energy Forum Saturday, July 18^th 5pm	A Panel of members from the Public Utilities Commission, Idaho Power, the Office of Energy Resources and Key Legislators. Join us for the first ever Idaho Energy Forum featuring a panel of members from the Public Utilities Commission, Idaho Power, the Office of Energy Resources and key legislators who will be working together to implement energy efficiency recommendations as stated in the state of Idaho's 2007 Energy Plan. Hosted by the Snake River Alliance, the event will put constituents and decision makers into the same room with the common goal of building momentum for a clean energy future for Idaho. The forum will also allow time for a Q&A. A guide for grassroots energy action in Idaho will be available and act as a resource to help you hold decision makers accountable.
JUDY WICKS Founder, BALLE Local Food Advocate Entrepreneur, Activist www.judywicks.com Sunday, July 17^th 1pm	Local Living Economies: Green, Fair and Fun Both an entrepreneur and activist, Judy Wicks will tell her story from her early experience living with indigenous people, to starting the White Dog Cafe on the first floor of her house 26 years ago, to co-founding the nationwide Business Alliance for Local Living Economies in 2001. A critical turning point came when Judy realized that running one sustainable business was not enough, that we must work cooperatively to build sustainable systems. From that point, she turned her attention to building local living economies, which support healthy communities and eco-systems, while increasing local self-reliance in the challenging time of climate change and rising oil costs. SPEAKER BIO: Judy is founder of Philadelphia’s 26-year-old White Dog Cafe, and an international leader in the local, living economies movement. She is co-founder and Chair of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), and founder of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and Fair Food, dedicated to building a local food system in the Philadelphia region. She has been a tireless crusader for small business, family farms, fair trade, and social equity and has inspired millions through her appearances on Nightline, MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour, and CNN and through features in New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Fortune Small Business, Washington Post, Whole Earth Magazine, Utne Reader, Yes Magazine, and Fast Company. She has received countless awards for both her business success and her social action, including the International Association of Culinary Professionals Humanitarian Award, James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year, and Philadelphia Sustainability Life Time Achievement Award. She was named one of Inc. Magazine's 25 favorite entrepreneurs and one of Oprah Magazine’s 5 Amazingly Gifted and Giving Food Professionals. Judy was also co-founder of the Free People's Store, now well known as Urban Outfitters.
DAVID WANN Filmmaker and Author of "Simple Prosperity" and co-Author of "Affluenza" www.DaveWann.com Sunday July 19^th 3:00 pm	Simple Prosperity in the New Economy Do you feel overwhelmed by the current economic times? Are you constantly amazed at how much stuff you have but how little time you have to even enjoy it? Are you ready to passionately declare yourself “green’ but secretly hide a giant carbon footprint? Careful, you may suffer from Affluenza. But fear not. David Wann knows exactly how to help. Wann believes that we can recapture a more abundant and sustainable lifestyle without sacrificing everything we love. "Now is the perfect time to take the reins of our runaway culture by basing our economic, political, and technological decisions on timeless core values like fairness, community, sustainability and health," says Wann. By questioning how we define goals like success and progress, Wann will help us envision a new American dream that reduces insecurity, debt and environmental destruction, delivering twice the satisfaction for half the resources. SPEAKER BIO: David Wann is an author, filmmaker, and speaker about the creation of a joyfully moderate way of life that uses fewer resources to yield greater satisfaction. His most recent book, Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle, is a sequel to the best-selling book he coauthored, Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, which is now in 9 languages. He has also produced 20 videos and TV programs, including the award-winning TV documentary "Designing a Great Neighborhood," and "Building Livable Communities," for then-Vice President Al Gore. David is the father of two children, president of the Sustainable Futures Society, and a Fellow of the national Simplicity Forum. He co-designed the cohousing neighborhood where he lives, has taught at the college level, and worked more than a decade as a policy analyst for U.S. EPA.