Amplifying Diverse Voices in Environmental Conversations
Our Speakers
Take a look at our speakers, read their bios, check their locations, and scroll down below to select a speaker for your next event!
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Rozina Kanchwala is an energy and environmental professional with extensive global academic and work experience.She is a Fulbright scholar; she spent a year in India studying agrarian distress and then completed her Masters degree in Environment and Sustainable Development at University College London where she did field work in Accra, Ghana.
Rozina uses an intersectional lens to approach environmental issues as she intertwines creativity into her work using various outlets to educate on environmental issues and inspire action.
Recently, Rozina wrote and produced a climate-comedy play called “Love in the Time of Climate Change." Rozina has worked in the solar energy industry for several years doing education and advocacy work with a focus on energy justice. She currently is the Founding Executive Director of Eco.Logic and serves as the Director of Energy Justice Partnerships at the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI).
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Environmental Art and Storytelling
Environmental & Energy Justice
Sustainable Food Systems
Nature and Ecology
Green Jobs & Workforce Development
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Keynote Speaker at “Growing Sustainable Communities” in Dubuque, Iowa, April 2025. Spoke on “Art’s role in the Climate Movement”Keynote Speaker at Climate Ride in Virginia, April 2023. Topic: “Storytelling for Climate Justice”
Workshop presented at Duke University’s Blueprints Conference March 2023. Topic: “Storytelling for Climate Justice”
Panel speaker at University of Michigan Ross Business School Energy Week in December 2022. Session: "Energy Justice: It Takes a Village"
Keynote Speaker for Institute of Ismaili Studies in Sept 2022. Topic: "Climate Change: Impact and Actions"
Panel speaker for Climate Change Working Group's event in June 2022. Topic: "Climate Refugees - The World’s Forgotten Victims”
Founder, Executive Director | Eco.LogicStorytelling Lead | Climate Land LeadersRozina Kanchwala, Chicago, IL
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Ranjani Prabhakar is a climate policy leader, city planner and musician, frequently combining her worlds to advocate for community-driven climate solutions and spur action that heals our relationships to each other and the planet.
She is the songwriter and front-woman of the indie band Lil Idli, a pop outfit that uses the power of music to inspire regenerative climate action and get closer to the question, "what do we owe one another on a warming planet?"
On the policy staff at Earthjustice, Ranjani develops and implements federal legislative and regulatory strategies at the intersection of climate and agriculture, and in advancing equitable climate resilience solutions.
Prior to joining Earthjustice, Ranjani served on the sustainability team at the City of Chicago Mayor's Office, where she worked on various policy initiatives and programs in the energy and mobility spaces. At the Mayor’s Office, Ranjani helped launch the City’s first community solar initiative, renewable energy challenge program, and micro-mobility pilot program.
Prior to her work at the City of Chicago, Ranjani worked as a transportation planner and engineer, focused on building data-driven tools to reduce traffic congestion and emissions, and integrate sustainable mobility solutions.
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Environmental Art and Storytelling
Environmental Policy
Environmental & Energy Justice
Sustainable Food Systems
Sustainable Transportation
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Keynote Speaker at Duke University’s Blueprint Conference 2023
Legislative Director | Earth JusticeFounder, Executive Director | Flame Lily MediaRanjani Prabhakar, Washington, DC
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Surbhi Sarang is a staff attorney with Public Justice’s Food Project. Before joining Public Justice, Surbhi worked on food and agricultural policy as an Associate Attorney at Earthjustice with the Sustainable Food & Farming program.
Previously, she fought for stronger climate and clean air protections at the Environmental Defense Fund and worked alongside communities in NYC on environmental justice campaigns as a fellow at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
Surbhi is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Oberlin College.
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Climate Change / Climate Science
Sustainable Food Systems
Environmental & Energy Justice
Environmental Law
Environmental Policy
Identity in the workplace
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Co-facilitator, “Toward Resilient and Equitable Food Systems,” The Morton Arboretum, virtual (September 20, 2022 to October 11, 2022)
Speaker/Presenter, Staff and Board DEIJ Discussion Group, American Rivers, virtual (July 25, 2022)
Panelist, "AAPI Environmental Leaders on Cultivating a Justice-Focused Movement," Green 2.0, virtual (May 26, 2022)
Guest Lecturer, Margot Pollans' Food Law and Policy Seminar, New York University School of Law, virtual (April 11, 2022)
Sr. Attorney, Clean Power, EDFSurbhi Sarang, Boulder, CO
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Azal Zahir is Founder of AbadTak, a social enterprise for environmental education in Pakistan.
She has worked with various schools, the EU Punjab Access to Justice, Lahore Conservation Society, IEI Pakistan, Adventure Foundation Pakistan and TDF. Enabling her to work with both public and private institutions and with individuals at the grassroots level.
Some notable projects include a IEI x Abadtak Climate Educator Training program created as part of the World Wide Teach, with Bard College and writing a report for the Lahore Conservation Society on the civic society movement for a sustainable city.
As Manager for Cultural Initiatives and Sustainable Development at Beaconhouse (the largest school network in the world), her reach now extends to over 200 schools across the Pakistan.
She specializes in curriculum development, teacher training, mentoring students for applying to green programs, and research.
Azal's philosophy (and practice) for change in human behavior is through healing and understanding ‘self’ in nature. Her belief is that through kindness, empathy and compassion towards oneself, others and nature, the world can begin to heal itself.
Abadtak translates to ‘until eternity’ or ‘until the end’ in the Urdu language. Her goal is to take this healing to the end of time.
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Climate Change / Climate Science
Environmental & Energy Justice,
Environmental Education, Curriculum Development
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Train teachers at Beaconhouse on environmental topics
Conduct townhalls and sessions with students, coordinators and school heads.
Manager, Sustainable Dev & Cultural Initiatives | BeaconhouseAzal Zahir, Lahore, Pakistan
Geologist and Environmental Scientist | Communicator
Sarah Solomon, Maryland, VA
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Sarah Solomon is an environmental science and policy professional with over a decade of experience informing decision-making and collaborating with regulators at all levels of government. Her work has primarily focused on issues of water access and quality, and the protections put in place to safeguard natural resources and public health. A geologist by training, Sarah’s expertise spans the rocky interface of research, communication, and policy development and implementation. Sarah previously worked at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues (AAAS EPI Center). At the EPI Center, her portfolio included environmental and social science projects, including voting technology and election security; oil and gas development; methane emissions and air pollution; policing and criminal justice reform; artificial intelligence; PFAS and drinking water contaminants; and green and nature-based infrastructure. In this role, Sarah worked alongside government agencies, trade organizations and industry, non-profits, advocacy groups, and policymakers to advance environmental and public health and safety goals for all communities. Before joining the AAAS EPI Center, Sarah served as a contractor in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development. She was a member of the author team for the 2016 report, Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States, which was awarded EPA’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service. Sarah graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Geology and received her master’s degree (with distinction) in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University. An engaging public speaker, Sarah has traveled all over the United States to educate decision-makers and the public about the importance of clearly and concisely communicating scientific evidence to inform policy. In her free time, she enjoys browsing bookstores and long walks with her dog. Sarah also serves as a Board Member for the arts-based, environmental education organization, Eco.Logic.
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Climate Change / Climate Science, Environmental or Energy Justice, Nature, Ecology, Environmental Policy, Environmental Art
Founder and Managing Director |New Bayou Living LabsMary C. Palmer, Houston, TX
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Mary C. Palmer is the Founder and Managing Director of New Bayou Living Labs, a Gulf South social enterprise that builds community capacity and brings residents, public agencies, and industry together to solve place-based challenges. Her work centers on one idea: designing systems and experiences so that people usually left out, regardless of age, ability, or resources, can help shape the future of their communities. Over nearly two decades she has worked across clean energy equity, civic engagement, and international community development, including building the Energy Equity and Inclusion function at the Smart Electric Power Alliance and leading community solar and public education at Austin Energy. She is also a writer who uses storytelling to make complex systems feel human. Mary has delivered more than 50 talks, keynotes, and workshops since 2019, was named a Rising Star at the 2023 Women's Energy Summit, and serves on the Coalition for Green Capital's Regional Advisory Council for EPA Region 6. She holds an MBA from St. Edward's University.
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Climate Adaptation & Resilience
Clean Energy
Energy or Environmental Justice
Green Jobs / Workforce Development
Environmental Art, Storytelling, Climate Communications
Direct Action & Advocacy
Sustainable Travel and Tourism
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SEED Internship Workshop, April 2026, 10 https://newbayou.vision/seed-internship-case-study/; 2.Next Gen! Right Now!, Solar Stewards Best Practice Conference, Jan 2026, 100; 3.Cracking the Code: Utility & Regulatory Engagement Workshop at RE+, September 2025, 75
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