Wednesday, October 11

Frances Kuo
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Kuo’s research has examined links between natural features of the environment and human health, particularly the impacts of urban greenspace on both individual mental health and healthy neighborhood functioning. Her research was cited by Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods.” An enduring theme in Dr. Kuo’s work has been the focus on environment and health in the context of vulnerable populations and settings – e.g., poverty, children, low-income single mothers, and children with AD/HD. Dr. Kuo currently directs the multi-disciplinary Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her background is in cognitive psychology (M.A., University of California, Berkeley) and environmental psychology (Ph.D., University of Michigan).

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Keynote Issues Panel
How Society Addresses Complex Environmental Issues: A Great Lakes Case Study

Nature has developed complex water systems, but ensuring that these systems remain healthy to answer society’s needs brings its own set of intricacies and debates. Multiple governmental jurisdictions have developed to manage water issues, and water rights are a current hot topic among the world’s political leaders. How can environmental educators best serve society in communicating the many aspects of watershed management: ecological, political, and economic? Using the Great Lakes perspective of our conference’s setting, the panel tells the story of water conflicts from the scientific research, government policy, industry, and nonprofit education worlds. A question/answer session follows the panel’s remarks.

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Saturday, October 14

Cheryl Charles
Senior Director, BITS

Dr. Charles offers inspiration and leadership in support of the new campaign to “Leave No Child Inside,” the promise of biophilic design, and a planetary perspective on education for sustainable development. Dr. Charles is Senior Director at BITS, a non-profit consortium of 100 of the largest financial institutions in the United States. She has been in this role in the corporate sector for 10 years. Dr. Charles served as an early leader of Project Learning Tree and Project WILD. She is author of a wide range of publications. Dr. Charles holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington. She and her husband, Bob Samples, are owners of the consulting firm, Hawksong Associates LLC, www.hawksongassociates.com

Saturday, October 14

Will Steger
Polar Explorer, Educator, Writer, and Photographer

Best known for his legendary polar exploration, Steger has traveled tens of thousands of miles by kayak and dogsled over 40 years, leading teams on some of the most significant polar expeditions in history. In 2007 Steger embarks on two expeditions, collectively called “To the Ends of the Earth,” as experiential tools in his Global Warming 101 initiative. Steger received his B.S. in Geology and M.A. in Education at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, and taught science for three years at the secondary level. In 1970, he moved from his birthplace in suburban Minneapolis to the wilderness north of Ely, Minnesota. Sixty-one-year-old Steger has recently formed the Will Steger Foundation, with a personal and professional commitment to foster leadership and cooperation in EE policy.

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