TEDxSantaBarbara & CEC Collaborate on the 2021 Making Waves Spring Speaker Series
Kicking off in Earth Month, events offer expert insights on intersecting issues of pandemic, sustainability, creativity, and social justice
Santa Barbara, Calif. (April 9, 2021) — TEDxSantaBarbara and Community Environmental Council (CEC) announce the spring series of Making Waves: Conversations with Influencers and Disruptors, a weekly online broadcast on Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. PT kicking off April 14, 2021.
The series features subject matter experts and change makers from around the world sharing thought-provoking insights on the current Pandemic, along with Sustainability, Creativity, and Social Justice.
The series is broadcast online, and it is free and open to the public. To register for individual events and find more information, visit TEDxSantaBarbara.com.
The first episode of the spring series marks the milestone 50th speaker for the Making Waves series, which launched as a way to keep critical conversations flowing when it became clear that COVID would prevent the annual TEDxSantaBarbara conference from happening in 2020.
Mark Sylvester, TEDxSantaBarbara Executive Producer, noted that the virtual platform has expanded the breadth and diversity of the conversations happening: “Since pivoting to a digital platform due to the global pandemic, we’ve been able to host renowned international speakers who may not have normally been able to travel to Santa Barbara. In turn, this has expanded our reach to engage global audiences on today’s critical issues and enrich our local community with diverse international perspectives.”
The announcement of this Making Waves lineup comes during Earth Month, as CEC gears up to host its Virtual Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival April 22-24 (more details at SBEarthDay.org). Three of CEC’s staff will join the Making Waves line up to speak to ways our community can come together to address today’s most urgent issues.
Michael Chiacos, CEC’s Energy and Climate Program Director, will explore why climate change is the existential challenge of our time, and present straightforward solutions CEC is driving forward to address climate change locally and, in turn, on a global scale.
Jennifer Hernández, CEC’s Energy and Climate Program Associate will provide perspective on local Climate Justice efforts, which recognize that people who have been marginalized by deeply-rooted systems of power, oppression, and inequality are also the hardest hit by climate change.
Allegra Roth, CEC’s Food and Climate Program Manager, will share insights on issues facing the world’s food supply during the pandemic, how this connects with and fuels the climate crisis, and what we can do about it locally.
“The sustainability, social justice, creativity and public health issues lifted up in the Making Waves series are heavily interrelated – we can’t address any one without the others, and it will take a hefty amount of courage and creativity to build solutions,” said Sigrid Wright, CEC’s CEO/Executive Director.
The full current speaker schedule is:
Michael Chiacos: The Path to Carbon Zero – How to Solve the Climate Crisis (Sustainability) – April 14, 2021
Jennifer Hernández: Climate Justice – Essential Practices to Advance Justice and Equity in the Climate Movement (Sustainability) – April 21, 2021
Majora Carter: Stopping the Brain Drain – Strategies for Urban Revitalization (Social Justice) – April 28, 2021
Allegra Roth: Feeding Our Soils, Feeding Ourselves – Making Land Stewardship a Viable Livelihood. (Sustainability) – May 5, 2021
Christopher Ragland: Blending Surf, Sea and Social Justice (Social Justice) – May 12, 2021
Linda Cole: The African Women Rising Project (Social Justice) – May 19, 2021
Stacey McKinnon: The Untold Truths of Acting in Your Client’s Best Interest (Sustainability) – May 26, 2021
Melissa Yamaguchi: Topic to be announced (Sustainability) – June 2, 2021
Melody Stanford Martin: Conflict Transformation and the Lost Art of Healthy Disagreement (Social Justice) – June 9, 2021
For full information and registration for the Making Waves speaker series events, visit TEDxSantaBarbara.com.
About TEDxSantaBarbara
Since 2010, TEDxSantaBarbara has created space for amazing speakers to deliver ideas worth spreading. This year’s Making Waves series of salon-style conversations is empowering individuals to present, learn, and advance ideas into action in lieu of our annual Fall conference in downtown Santa Barbara and monthly small-group experiences, which are postponed until 2021 due to COVID. These ideas creatively and positively impact the Santa Barbara community and the world at large. Organized by husband-and-wife team Mark Sylvester (Executive Producer) and Kymberlee Weil (Speaker Strategist and Curator). All events, virtual and live, are 100% run by volunteers and financed by community partners.
For more information, visit TEDxSantaBarbara.com, like us on Facebook.com/TEDxSantaBarbara, and follow us on Instagram.com/TEDxSantaBarbara.