Webinar Date:
February 10, 2016, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET

Description:
Colleges and universities are playing a crucial role in protecting wildlife and restoring habitats on and off campus, and students, faculty, administrators, and staff are champions for sustainable environmental practices. Join this webinar to learn more about different approaches to creating naturalized areas to protect and increase the local biodiversity including using long grasses, shrubs, and native trees to support pollinators, salmon, and other wildlife.

Presenters:
Sam Pennington-Vrsek and Jessica Harper, Southern Oregon University
Winner of 2015 Best Case Study from a Four-Year or Graduate Institution with 10,000 or Fewer Full-Time Students

Sam is a full time student in Southern Oregon University’s Innovation and Leadership Program as well as a full-time staff member, the Sustainability and Landscape Maintenance Specialist, with the SOU Landscape Services Department. She served in SOU’s student government, ASSOU, as the Director of Sustainability and was among the first student employees at the SOU Center for Sustainability, the on-campus farm. Sam now sit on the Sustainability Council and is actively involved across campus. She helps students at Southern Oregon University as well as local grassroots organizations gain support, funding, and visibility for their sustainability initiatives.

Joanna Nadeau, Director of Community Programs, Audubon International
As Director of Community Programs, Joanna Nadeau, AICP, oversees the Sustainable Communities and Green Neighborhoods Programs at Audubon International. She has extensive experience coordinating and implementing sustainability programs and over a decade of professional experience working in natural resources conservation, research, policy, and community planning. Her previous work focused on water conservation, river restoration, and wildlife management in the Southwest. She holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental and Healthy Cities Planning and a Water Policy Certificate from the University of Arizona and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Haverford College.

Anna Huttel, Certification Manager, Salmon Safe
As an architect with extensive LEED experience and a volunteer ambassador of the Living Building Challenge, Ms. Huttel has broad experience across the leading certification programs. Working throughout Cascadia, Huttel guides Salmon-Safe program delivery through our Partner Network of collaborating organizations on the West Coast. Prior to joining Salmon-Safe, Huttel led design teams in developing strategies for LEED certification with a focus on engineering-related tactics. In 2010, she was awarded the Alpha Rho Chi Medal by IIT’s College of Architecture for her leadership and service to the profession. Huttel earned a M.Arch. from the Illinois Institute of Technology, a B.A. in Economics and Art History from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and brings a broad knowledge base to implementing conservation strategies.

Amy Dvorak, Senior Director of Sustainability and Communications, Lewis & Clark College
Amy Dvorak is the Senior Director of Sustainability and Communications at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon where she works to integrate sustainability into the life of the three Lewis and Clark schools with the aims of developing cross-school collaborations, broadening relationships with the community, promoting hands-on student learning and communicating the institution’s commitment to sustainability. She earned her BS in Environmental Science and a BA in International Studies in Environmental Science at Oregon State University and Master of Environmental Management at Portland State University.