CLU team assisting with eco-conference
Professor, students involved in huge L.A. youth event
Political science professor Haco Hoang helped assemble the slate of presenters as chair of the conference’s Program Content Committee.
Photo: Brian Stethem
(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Dec. 10, 2008) A California Lutheran University professor and several students are helping to organize the 2008 Environmental Youth Conference scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 13, in Los Angeles.
Senior Kayla Barnett of Santa Cruz is the Education Program Intern for the “Get Your Green On! Slow Climate Change” conference, which will draw about 5,000 students to the Los Angeles Convention Center to learn what young people can do to address environmental problems. Barnett worked with political science professor Haco Hoang, chair of the conference’s Program Content Committee and a staff member of Million Trees Los Angeles, to help assemble the slate of presenters. Hoang, of Topanga, is the director of CLU’s International Studies program, which provides students with opportunities to promote social change and address global issues in Los Angeles.
Seven CLU students will moderate a panel of young speakers who will share the projects related to eco-consumption, urban forestry and water conservation that they have spearheaded. The panelists will include a 16-year-old who organizes fashion shows featuring clothing made by students from recycled materials, the 13-year-old president of the Tree Musketeers, and high school students who have tackled projects addressing water pollution.
The panel moderators are Joelle Cortez of Placentia, Jenna Finch of Camarillo, Jessica Kolstad of Granada Hills, Melissa Harbison of Colorado Springs, Katie Nichols of Arvada, Colo., Emily Westfal of Fort Collins, Colo., and Duncan McDaniel of Basalt, Colo. CLU students also moderated last year’s panel.
Alec Loorz, the Ventura teen who founded Kids-vs-Global Warming, will be the conference’s keynote speaker. Young eco-artists and more than 100 youth-oriented environmental organizations will also participate in the conference, which is presented by the City of Los Angeles.
The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free for youths 12 to 21. For more information, go to http://www.milliontreesla.org.