BIPOC Networking at GreenBiz’24 - Feb 2024
Our BIPOC networking session at GreenBiz’24 in Phoenix. What a great crew of people!
We are still buzzing from the Guided Networking for BIPOC Professionals session at GreenBiz'24! When Heather Clancy Dylan Siegler and Nethra Rajendran first proposed that we facilitate the session, it was an interesting challenge, as reluctant networkers ourselves. We thought about creating a space away from talking about where we work and went to school, and instead, focused on who we are as people. Here's the questions that framed our discussions with each other:
Who are you? Where are you and your ancestors from?
What called you into the world of sustainability? What was/were the moment(s) that led you into it?
How do your ancestors show up in how you approach sustainability?
What is something you are proud of achieving or doing this past year in sustainability? Why?
The stories we heard ran the gamut from joyful, empowering, funny, and maddening, but they brought all the feels in cultivating relationships with one another. We want to thank everyone who shared their fascinating stories with the group (please tag anyone I missed!)! John Kim Desta A. Raines Ranjith Annepu Wawa Gatheru Aurora Fernández Noemí Jiménez Ronak Shah Jenny Roberts Bryan Lewis Courtney Sakai, APR Nene Folorunso Amna Khan Marcene Mitchell Neil Yeoh Charisse Dean Karina Abou-Chakra Farhana Morales (she/her/hers) Nick Rojas Jacob Kennedy Debbie Namugayi, MA, LEED AP William Walker VI Trace Allen Sheri D. Reid, CSM, MFBA Joyce Wang Taylor Price Mayowa Sanusi, MPH Neil Yeoh Paula Zaretzky
Faiza Asifuddin
Thanks also to Michael Kobori (he/him) for his advocacy and pep talk! Looking forward to what we might create for next year!