You are invited to the 2023 Climate Change Summit
Hosted by the Bishop’s Commission on Climate Change, Saturday September 16 from 9:30am-2:30pm at St. Paul’s Commons
The Summit will be hosted at St. Paul’s Commons at 840 Echo Park Ave. in Los Angeles. Free parking is available in the garage under the building, accessible from Echo Park Ave. For those using the Metrolink or other train lines that go to Union Station, directions for reaching Echo Park are here.
Coffee and lunch will be provided. (Vegetarian options will be available.)
Resources:
- Resolution Regarding the Diocese of Los Angeles’s Commitment to Engage with the Episcopal Church’s Covenant for the Care of Creation (2022)
- Resolution Regarding the Adoption of Guidelines for the Environmental Reformation of the
Diocese of Los Angeles (2022) - Episcopal Covenant to Care of Creation
- The Dr. Lucy Jones Center
Event Schedule
9:30am – Fellowship and coffee in the Great Hall
10am – Opening meditation and land acknowledgement with Summit Chaplain, Payton Hoegh
10:15am – Welcome by the Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy, Convening Chair of the Bishop’s Commission on Climate Change
10:30am – Morning plenary session and breakout groups with Dr. Lucy Jones
12pm – Lunch break
12:30pm – Video message from Sen. Ben Allen
12:35pm – Climate Change 101 with Kate Varley Alonso
1pm – “Climate Connections” Disaster Resilience Plan and breakout groups with Dr. Lucy Jones
1:30pm – Group discussion faciliated by Lisa Markus
2:15pm – Closing remarks
2:30pm – Adjourn
Dr. Lucy Jones
Dr. Lucy Jones is founder and chief scientist of the nonprofit Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, which supports the application of science in the creation of more resilient communities. With a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Geophysics from MIT, she worked as a seismologist at the US Geological Survey for 33 years where she developed the methodology used for earthquake advisories in the State of California, created the Great ShakeOut drill, encompassing over 60 million participants globally in 2019, served as Science Advisor for Seismic Safety for the Mayor of Los Angeles and wrote over 100 published papers on statistical seismology and integrated disaster scenarios.
Lisa Markus
Lisa Markus has more than 20 years of management consulting experience. Her expertise is in change management, diversity, equity, inclusion, customer experience, and employee engagement. Lisa’s work has helped businesses increase their triple bottom line and bridge the opportunity gap in retirement, financial, food, and energy security. She wrote the book Living a Blessed Life: Walking in Faith, Growing in Wealth and the Diversity Best Practices white paper Creating Inclusion in the Financial Services Industry, which helped at-risk populations increase financial independence by 25% to 70%. Prior to joining E Source, Lisa held strategic positions at DTE Energy, Southern California Edison, and Farmers Insurance. She has an MBA from Michigan State University and is certified in Prosci Change Management and Intercultural Development Inventory.
Kate Varley Alonso
Climate Change Presenter, Climate Advocate, and Sr. Writer/Producer/Director
As a highly creative Sr. writer/producer/director, I’m passionate about storytelling and creating high impact, original pieces. I specialize in short-form and branded content, and am expert at orchestrating projects from concept to completion. My expertise includes creating travel, luxury, lifestyle, culture, history, how-to, tennis, gear, and fitness pieces. And, as a certified member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps., I’m also dedicated to telling stories about eco-innovation, sustainability, product safety, corporate ethics & responsibility, active engagement, planet & resource protection, green investment, and environmental stewardship, all of which have never been more vital!
Seismologist Lucy Jones will share insights at diocesan Climate Change Summit Sept. 16
[The Episcopal News] Distinguished seismologist Lucy Jones – a well-known voice for earthquake science and safety – will deliver the morning plenary presentation at the diocesan Climate Change Summit, a hybrid event set for Saturday, Sept. 16, at St. Paul’s Commons, Echo Park.
Registration is here. All are welcome. Coffee and table conversation starting at 9:30 a.m. will precede the program opening at 10 a.m. Sessions will continue until 2:30 p.m. with a 30-minute break for lunch.
Jones, who is a lay leader at St. James Episcopal Church in South Pasadena, will be joined by afternoon presenters Kate Varley and Lisa Markus, also Episcopalians and climate specialists from local congregations.
“The summit is a great opportunity to bring our diocesan community together to do what we can to address this issue which affects our whole world. It’s not easy work, but it is necessary work,” said the Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy, diocesan canon to the ordinary, who chairs the 30-member commission on behalf of Bishop John Harvey Taylor.
“The church has tremendous potential to make a difference,” McCarthy added. “I firmly believe we can do anything we are called to do when we are working in community and with God’s help. The issue of climate change needs our concerted, intentional, and communal attention.”
The summit has been called in keeping with Diocesan Convention resolutions adopted last November.
The summit program will bring news of Commission partnerships, including the “Climate Connections” disaster resilience plan, now a pilot project, engaging congregations in strategic, collaborative response to crises including earthquakes and heatwaves. Made possible by a grant from Southern California Edison, the program is coordinated by Jones, who co-chairs the Commission’s Disaster Resiliency Subcommittee with Mary Nichols, a lay leader at St. James’, Los Angeles, and former head of the California Air Resources Board.
Box lunches, available for a donation of $12, will be provided during the 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. program. St. Paul’s Commons, the diocese’s administrative and ministry hub, is located at 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles. Free parking is available in the on-site garages.
Further information may be requested from Samantha Wylie, coordinator of Diocesan Convention, by email at swylie@ladiocese.org. For those using the Metrolink or other train lines that go to Union Station, directions for reaching Echo Park are here.