2024 Kentucky Climate Symposium

cover photos of Kentucky features, such as fields and caves, with the text "Climate is a Kentucky problem. Kentuckians are the solution."

Join us for the inaugural Kentucky Climate Symposium, which will bring together students and experts from higher education, government, industry, media, and communities to share information and resources on climate change.

We'll spend the day in conversation to identify Kentucky’s climate challenges and build towards solutions that will improve climate resilience across the Commonwealth.

The Symposium features moderated panel conversations, networking opportunities, and a student art competition. Attendees will join a multisector, interdisciplinary, statewide community that emphasizes climate change solutions.

REGISTER FOR THE KY CLIMATE SYMPOSIUM

Whatever your area, climate change affects you, and the Kentucky Climate Symposium offers a platform to collaboratively learn, share ideas, and inspire change.

Event Details

Date: September 26, 2024 (8 am to 5 pm)
Location: Harris Ballroom, Gatton Student Center
Lead Organizer: Kentucky Climate Consortium

Programming

Time	Session	Speakers
8 - 8:30	Registration + breakfast	--
8:30 - 9:20	Opening remarks	Dr. Lauren Cagle, Director of the Kentucky Climate Consortium Silas House, Kentuckian and nationally bestselling author, former commentator for NPR’s “All Things Considered," executive producer and one of the subjects of the documentary Hillbilly, winner of the Duggins Prize, the largest award for an LGBT writer in the nation, the 2020 Appalachian of the Year, and recipient of the Artist Award given by Governor Andy Beshear as part of the Governor’s Awards in the Arts
9:20 - 10	Speaker Session 1: Signature Industries	Rebecca McCulley, University of Kentucky Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences Steve Velasco III, Kentucky State Veterinarian, Kentucky Department of Agriculture Alan Fryar, University of Kentucky Professor of Earth and Environmental Science
10 - 10:20	Climate Conversations Networking + Break	--
10:20 - 11	Speaker Session 2: Agriculture	Matt Dixon, University of Kentucky Agricultural Weather Center Meteorologist Lauren Brzozowski, University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of Plant and Soil Science Brooke Gentile, Organic Association of Kentucky Executive Director
11 - 11:20	Climate Conversations Networking + Break	--
11:20 - 12	Speaker Session 3: Just Transition	David Brown Kinloch, President of Appalachian Hydro Associates Judah Schept, Eastern Kentucky University Professor of Justice Studies, author of Coal, Cages, Crisis Daisy Carter, Kentucky Movement Incubation Coordinator Scott McReynolds, Executive Director of the Housing Development Alliance
12 - 1:20	Lunch + keynotes	Keynote talk: Dr. Jerry Brotzge, Western Kentucky University, Kentucky State Climatologist Keynote panel: winners of the Kentucky Climate student art competition
1:20 - 2	Speaker Session 4: Education	Crystal Felima, University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of Anthropology Roberta Burnes, Kentucky Division for Air Quality Environmental Scientist Advisor Jae Sledge, Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition staff Daniel Morgan, Chemistry teacher, Frederick Douglass High School, Fayette County Public School System
2 - 2:30	Networking: Meet an Expert	--
2:30 - 3:10	Speaker Session 5: Extreme Weather and Disaster Preparedness	Misty Skaggs, EKY Mutual Aid co-founder, author of Planted by the Signs Michael Borchers, Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District Hydraulics and Hydrology branch chief Jon Allen, President of the Kentucky Emergency Management Association, Nesbitt Engineering Director of Disaster Recovery Services Shane Holinde, KY Mesonet and Climate Center Outreach Manager
3:10 - 3:30	Climate Conversations Networking + Break	--
3:30 - 4:10	Speaker Session 6: Human Rights & Public Health	Eboni Cochran, Co-Director of Rubbertown Emergency ACTion (REACT) Tony Arnold, University of Louisville Boehl Chair in Property and Land Use Annette Hines, KY Tenants Union Morehead Strategy Team, founding President of the EKY Community Land Trust
4:10 - 5	Closing remarks + Happy Hour	Dr. Lauren E. Cagle, Director of the Kentucky Climate Consortium

Guided networking opportunities include:

Climate Conversations with new acquaintances using the conversational card deck developed by a local team of Lexingtonians and adopted nationally and internationally for activist, educational, and other uses
“Meet an Expert” sessions, inviting attendees to meet and share ideas, resources, and asks with experts from academia, community organizing, and more, including geologists, housing access activists, and municipal policy-makers
A casual happy hour at the end of the day

Event Details

Programming

Sponsors

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