Environmental Justice

Workshop Description: We will do a brief information session about the importance of environmental work and go outside for a trash clean up of the West High School grounds.

Participants can expect: Discussion, Movement, Outside

This workshop is offered: PM, sessions 3 & 4

Content Level: Beginner 

Speaker Bio: This workshop is student-led by leaders of West High School Environmental Club

Workshop Description: With everything in our lives using power, who decides what and who should use the most? Explore energy sources, who governs power use and what we can do to make our homes more efficient.

Participants can expect: Discussion, Problem-solving, Small group work, Q&A

This workshop is offered: AM, sessions 1 & 2

Content Level: Beginner 

Speaker Bios: 

Shannon Stendel - Shannon is a Senior Manager at Slipstream who works to understand how residential and low-income energy efficiency services impact people, energy, and communities. She is passionate about housing affordability, energy burdens, the intersection of health and energy, and has learned a lot about manufactured homes over the years.

Jodie Thill - Jodie works as a Sustainable Design Specialist at Flad Architects helping designers and owners understand the impact of their buildings on the environment. Her interest focuses on healthier materials, embodied carbon, and circularity - striving for ways to end the “take-make-waste” cycle.

Workshop Description: "GreenPrints: Designing for Joy in a Resilient Future” explores how designers can shape environments that thrive amid climate and ecological challenges. Through real-world examples and a hands‑on activity, participants will learn how today's designers integrate resilience, sustainability, and regenerative thinking into architecture and site design. Attendees will leave with new knowledge on how designers can help create a more adaptable, future‑ready world that sparks joy and reconnects us. 

Participants can expect: Discussion, Hands-on Activity, Small group work, Verbal Presentation / Lecture, Q&A

This workshop is offered: AM, sessions 1 & 2 

Content Level: Beginner

Speaker Bios: 

Nancy Valenzuela is a landscape architect whose motto is “design spaces that spark joy.” Her work centers on designing resilient campus and park environments that balance ecological protection with community need. She focuses on nature‑based solutions that have been proven to reduce stress and combat depression all while enhancing habitat and strengthening ecological resilience. Through her work, she helps communities adapt to a changing environment while preserving the health and vitality of their local community and landscape.

Jessica Norskog is an interior designer who advances sustainability in the built environment through thoughtful material selection and healthy interior environments. Working mostly within campus architecture, her design work emphasizes low‑impact, responsibly sourced products that support both environmental stewardship and human well‑being, creating spaces that are beautiful, durable, and aligned with long term sustainability goals.

Meredith Westland is a registered architect and interior designer focused on creating resilient, sustainable healthcare and community spaces that elevate both function and the human experience. Her work integrates evidence‑based design, accessibility, and sustainable materials to support the well-being of patients, staff, and communities. These holistic strategies help organizations build environments that are adaptable, restorative, and future‑focused.

Workshop Description: Have you ever wondered how to increase the chance an environmental justice program is selected for competitive grant funding? Join Dane County's Office of Energy and Climate Change to see how well you can argue your case in a mock grant application where there isn't enough funding for everyone. This workshop will be of particular interest to students who are drawn to sustainability mission-driven work, especially within non-profits or governmental agencies. 

Participants can expect: Discussion, Problem-solving, Small group work, Advocacy / Action, Writing

This workshop is offered: AM, sessions 1 & 2

Content Level: Intermediate 

Speaker Bios: 

Kathy Kuntz: As the Director of the Office of Energy & Climate Change, Kathy aims to make it easy for everyone in Dane County to make choices that help achieve our ambitious climate goals. Kathy has almost 30 years of experience helping businesses and residents adopt sustainable practices. Prior to joining Dane County, Kathy led Cool Choices where she worked with local governments and private businesses on sustainability efforts for about ten years. Before that she led Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy program. Kathy has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, a master’s from UW-Madison, and a reputation for getting results.

Valora Gutierrez: As the Energy Specialist at the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change, Valora advocates for renewables and decarbonization. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she double majored in Environmental Studies and Geography. Previously, she worked at the nonprofit Sustain Dane as the Efficiency Navigator to implement energy efficiency upgrades in low-income multifamily housing.

Workshop Description: What if the way we get around is shaping our future more than we realize? In this interactive program, we’ll break down how our car-centric transportation system affects safety, racial injustices, climate change, land use, and daily life—using Madison as a real-world case study. You’ll step into the system yourself, rethink how streets and neighborhoods are designed, and help imagine a smarter, safer, and cleaner transportation future for Madison.

Participants can expect: Discussion, Hands-on Activity, Problem-solving, Advocacy / Action, Verbal Presentation / Lecture

This workshop is offered: AM, sessions 1 & 2

Content Level: Beginner 

Speaker Bios: 

Cassie Steiner-Bouxa

In their role as the Campaign Coordinator for the Chapter, Cassie Steiner-Bouxa coordinates online and print communications and serves on priority issue campaigns including public lands access, equitable transportation and the beyond coal campaign. They supports volunteers and members of the public in engaging in decision-making processes and grassroots activism. Cassie has a degree in International Studies with an emphasis in Public Diplomacy and minors in Spanish and Peace and Social Justice from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. In their free time, Cassie enjoys reading, crafting and foraging.

Elizabeth Ward

As the Chapter Director, Elizabeth works with the Chapter's Executive Committee to ensure the Chapter is making progress on our goals to ensure everyone has access to clean air, clean water, and our public lands. Elizabeth has the pleasure of working with hundreds of volunteers and leaders across the state. Prior to assuming the role of Chapter Director in December of 2020, Elizabeth directed the Chapter's conservation programs since 2010. She enjoys hiking and biking in Wisconsin's beautiful places.

Workshop Description: This workshop will teach students about: 1) the meaning of environmental justice, 2) the origins of the environmental justice movement and how law has impacted the movement, and 3) the Wisconsin constitutional climate lawsuit, Dunn v. PSC, in which 15 Wisconsin youth (including two West High School students!) are suing the Wisconsin Legislature and Public Service Commission to protect their right to a stable climate. Students will also learn how they can get more engaged with environmental causes in their community, and how they can support the youth plaintiffs in the Dunn v. PSC lawsuit. 

Participants can expect: Discussion, Advocacy / Action, Verbal Presentation / Lecture, Q&A

This workshop is offered: AM, sessions 1 & 2

Content Level: beginner

Speaker Bio: Skylar Harris is the Climate Justice Fellow at Midwest Environmental Advocates, a Madison-based nonprofit environmental law center that combines the power of law with the resolve of communities facing environmental injustice to secure and protect the rights of all people to healthy water, land, and air. Since joining MEA in 2024, Skylar's litigation work has included opposing the construction of the Line 5 Reroute project, a 40-mile oil pipeline that would completely surround the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, as well as a constitutional climate lawsuit in which 15 youth plaintiffs are suing the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and Wisconsin Legislature for violating their right to a stable climate. Skylar earned her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2024, and gained experience in environmental law through clerkships with the U.S. Department of Justice - Environment and Natural Resources Division, Earthjustice's Toxic Exposure & Health program, and Los Angeles Waterkeeper.