Making Meaning in Your Community
Who is in your community? How can you engage with them at the intersection of their passions and the CSC actions?
CSC builds in community engagement. This is one of the aspects of CSC that compelled Partners for Climate Action to want to support it and create the Local Champions pilot. This can be seen in CSC’s approach with creating the Task Force, as well as specific actions that are public events, collaborations. Today’s session is all about getting inspired by these community organizers we’ve invited.
Round Table Guests: Cedar Young and Shenequa Perry, Youth leaders from Homer NY and Saranac Lake; Brennan Kearney, Dutchess County Legislator and Repair Cafe enthusiast; Emily Vail, Executive Director of Hudson River Watershed Alliance
Recorded April 8, 2021
In Memoriam: Solarize NY and Repair Cafe Founder, John Wackman
Guest Speakers: Cedar Young, Shenequa Perry, Brennan Kearney, and Emily Vail
Cedar Young
Youth Climate Leader, Saranac Lake
Cedar Young is a senior at Saranac Lake High School and is active in the fight against climate change in and out of school. In school, Cedar is the vice president of her environmental club and the founder and president of the Political Activism Club working to educate students of all political viewpoints on the issues affecting American youth. In her community, Cedar has helped plan three Adirondack Youth Climate Summits and spoken at other summits across the state. She is a member of the Saranac Lake Climate Smart Communities Task Force and was an active member when the group achieved bronze certification in September of 2020
Shenequa Perry
CSC Coordinator, Village of Homer NY
The task force originated when Homer students approached the village board about helping facilitate the Climate Smart process. The board responded by asking if those youth would take leadership of Homer’s task force. They agreed, and a unique partnership between the community, government, and young people resulted.
Shenequa schedules meetings, keeps minutes, organizes tasks for Task Force members, and submits documents so the Village can become a certified Climate Smart Community. She is a graduate of Homer Senior High School and is currently working on getting her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology from SUNY ESF. She spends her extra time working with wolves at a local sanctuary and making her school and community more sustainable.
Brennan Kearney
Dutchess County Legislator & Repair Cafe enthusiast
County Legislator Brennan Kearney has been representing Clinton and Rhinebeck since 2019. A member of the Environment and Public Safety Committees, Brennan also actively participates in veterans and mental health issues. A longtime county resident and former Rhinebeck Town Board member, she lives in Rhinebeck with her two children. She also helps organize Rhinebeck's Repair Cafe, hosted at Rhinebeck Town Hall.
Emily Vail
Executive Director, Hudson River Watershed Alliance
Emily Vail has been the executive director of the Hudson River Watershed Alliance since 2019. She served for eight years as the Watershed Outreach Specialist for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program, in collaboration with the NYS Water Resources Institute at Cornell University. Her work has supported community-based watershed groups, municipalities, and other partners throughout the region to improve water quality in the Hudson Valley. Her research has focused on green infrastructure, urban streams, and intersections of art and community engagement. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Vassar College and an MS in Natural Resources from Cornell University.