I started on the accelrate77 project as a volunteer in 2012 and have continued the work through it’s offspring, the Chicago Sustainability Leaders Network (CSLN). The theory is that sustainability is accelerated in a bottom-up fashion when driven by practical action, expanded imagination, and greater organizational capacities among local groups. Read more program overview.
Faith & Sustainability Forum 2015
I was the main organizer of the Faith & Sustainability Forum where over 85 participants from communities across the Chicagoland area gathered at the ICA GreenRise to meet like-minds and share approaches on faith based sustainability projects. Eco-Justice/PolicyUrban Ag/Native PlantsEnergySpiritSharing Approaches That Work Tracks Event activities included: Hearing upcoming opportunities to increase sustainability in faith communitiesSeeing…
ICA GreenRise Solar Launch
On Wednesday, September 24, ICA GreenRise celebrated the launch of 485 solar panels. We organized the event, ‘GreenRise Goes Live,’ included over 30 Uptown organizations, local food trucks, and the Old Town School of Music’s jam band. This event was a more localized version of the Sharing Approaches that Work Conference, gathering Uptown organizations to…
The Future of Chicago’s Energy: Building Community Energy Strategies
This forum looked to bridge the gap in dialogue between grassroots community based organizations, resource providers, and policy makers. The day began with an imaginal exercise around energy. Participants then broke up into three different tracks: reduce, reinvent, and transform. Each track engaged participants through panels, ignite sessions, and facilitated dialogue around those three key…
(Sharing Approaches that Work) Share Fair 2012
The culmination of 18 months of exploring and uncovering sustainability initiatives was a Share Fair event that aimed to both showcase and connect initiatives, organizations, and individuals from each of the 77 communities. In this day-long event at Truman College, participants were able to network, learn about local and city-wide resources available to them, and…
accelerate77 Map
The accelerate77.net/map was built using Google Fusion Tables. This free technology allowed for collaborative data entry and maintenance. The original team wanted to host on GIS, which while an extremely sophisticated tool, it also has a steep learning curve. Google Fusion Tables was the best option for a small, collaboratively run nonprofit. I presented this…
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