Breaking Green Ceilings
73 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago -Breaking Green Ceilings spotlights passionate environmentalists we don’t often hear from or hear enough from including those from underrepresented groups - Disabled, Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Join eco-nerd, Sapna Mulki, for your weekly installment of Breaking Green Ceilings and learn about the journeys of success, failure, challenges overcome, and aspirations of our eco-warriors. Breaking Green Ceilings features interviews with inspiring environmentalists like Bill Tripp Director of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy at Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources, Dr. Ingrid Waldron, author of There's Something in the Water, Isaias Hernandez of QueerBrownVegan, and Dr. Mariaelena Huambachano, a native Peruvian Indigenous scholar, and more!
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Episodes
EP 22: Stories From a Black Ecologist and Aspiring Hunter
July 14, 2020 11:11 - 1 hour - 74.4 MBDr. Jonathan Hall is a wildlife ecologist by training with a broad interest in wildlife conservation, human/wildlife interaction, environmental justice, and species movement ecology. Much of his research experience is in the semi-arid environment of Western Rajasthan, India, focusing on the ecological and cultural relationships that exist between human populations and vultures. In addition to research in India he is also interested in understanding landscape and other environmental dynamics ...
EP 21: Finding a Place to Belong
July 07, 2020 12:00 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBBelinda’s environmental journey began when she was growing up in New York. As the first-born child of immigrant parents from south east China, Belinda found herself caught between two worlds. As a young child, she faced discrimination from white peers who saw her as “other” and faced the pressure of her parents’ desire to pursue a “respectable” and economically beneficial career path. To find solace from the pressure and the discrimination, Belinda would seek out the peacefulness of the woo...
EP 20: On Being a Black Feminist Environmental Ethnographer
June 30, 2020 14:59 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBTraveling from New Jersey to North Carolina, Frances was able to experience urban city living as well as life in a rural area surrounded by hog farms. Through that, she and her family remained tight knit as her mother inspired her from all angles. With the house matriarch as a teacher and enthusiastic environmentalist, Frances was able to get the support she needed to obtain a BA in Sociology & Anthropology, Environmental Studies & Science Minor, from Spelman College, and currently working o...
EP 19: Going Rogue: Life After Being an LGBTQ Environmental Educator
June 23, 2020 13:40 - 1 hour - 57 MBGrowing up in Ohio, Katie spent a lot of her childhood outside during the summer months. She spent a year at her grandmother’s house where she immersed herself in nature. Katie was able to take her love and interest for animals and nature into a career. While in attendance at Ohio University, she created her own bachelor’s special studies degree which she used to conduct research around snakes and then salamanders in Kentucky. After graduating, she worked at the OSU Stone Lab as a maintenanc...
EP 18: Unearthing the Lives of Enslaved Africans
June 02, 2020 10:00 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBDr. Justin Dunnavant always had a passion for history and it was only after a study abroad trip to a Mayan site in a rainforest in Belize did he discover his love for archaeology. During that trip he realized that a lot of early history books are written from an archaeological perspective but that balck, indigenous, and people of color were not doing the work. And so, he saw it as an opportunity to bring his background and unique experiences to make a contribution to a profession that lacks ...
EP 17: Securing a Future for Lions in Kenya
May 26, 2020 10:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBDr. Shivani Bhalla is a fourth generation Kenyan Indian who grew up going on safaris with her family, which nurtured her obsessionwith wildlife. Her passion has always been big cats, in particular, Cheetahs. When Dr. Bhalla moved to Samburu to research cheetahs for her master’s project. But she never saw any cheetahs. Instead, she saw lions that tended to be solitary or in pairs, which piqued her interest because she was only familiar with seeing lions in large prides as a child. Dr. Bhall...
EP 16: Being a Voice for Forests in Kenya
May 19, 2020 10:00 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MBJourney Dr. Dr. Walubengo Walubengo is a Kenyan Forest/Natural Resources and Environment Management Specialist with experience in institutional capacity building, project planning, monitoring, evaluation and analysis, and engineering. With an emphasis on managing forests of Kenya, Dr. Walubengo has made huge strides in the realm of forestry, from establishing small, neighborhood forests through individual tree planting, to teaching local communities the importance of forests and empowering t...
EP 15: Fighting Vulture Poisoning in Kenya
May 12, 2020 10:00 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MBAlthough still early in her environmental career, Valerie Nasoita is already making a large impact in conservation efforts towards vultures in Kenya. Originating from the Maasai tribe, Valerie is currently working hands-on as a Vulture Liaison Officer for The Peregrine Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to the global conservation of birds of prey. In many parts of Africa, only 1-2% of previously abundant vulture populations remain today. This is a result of many agricultural producer...
Empowering Youth to Become Advocates for their Environment
May 05, 2020 10:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBSam Dindi has been working in the field of environment conservation for eight years now. As the co-founder of Mazingira Yetu, Sam is engaged in: Environment education and communication Community mobilization and training Ecosystem restoration Trained in sustainability development, tourism and wildlife management, Sam was awarded the Head of States Commendation (HSC) by the Government of Kenya for his exemplary service to the Republic of Kenya. He also received the IUCN-CEC award for his ...
EP 13: Defining Your Own Environmental Activism
April 28, 2020 13:50 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBKristy Drutman is Jewish Filipino American environmental media host, activist, independent consultant and digital media strategist who created the podcast and media series known as Brown Girl Green. Forging her own path through the careers within environmentalism, Kristy is passionate about working at the intersections between media, diversity, and environmentalism and has used that passion to speak in front of thousands about the current climate crisis, facilitate workshops, and work with...
EP 12: Getting People to Care About the Environment
April 21, 2020 12:00 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBAriel Maldonado is a hispanic artist and environmental social media influencer/strategist with nearly 50K followers on instagram. Standing as an example that one does not have to have a nature-oriented childhood or education to become an environmentalist, Ariel did not post her first image on gogreensavegreen until the spring she graduated from college. With a newly developed interest in making budget-friendly environmental choices, she was able to use her lifelong passion of sharing informa...
EP 11: Making Space for Queer People of Color in the Environmental Movement
April 14, 2020 11:38 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBIsaias Hernandez is the founder of the instagram page Queer Brown Vegan, and co-creator of Alluvia Magazine, a “publication highlighting the intersections of decolonized environmentalism through media”. Through his Instagram, Isaias educates his audience about the collegiate jargon associated with environmental topics related to climate change mitigation such as veganism, zero-waste, and environmental justice. His environmental narrative was influenced by his experience of growing up in a l...
EP 10: There's Something In The Water
April 07, 2020 13:10 - 1 hour - 84.4 MBAuthor of the book There is Something in the Water, Dr. Ingrid Waldron is a powerhouse of a community activist and researcher. Using community based participatory research (CBPR) to examine environmental racism in Nova Scotia, Dr. Waldron took on the ENRICH Project in 2012. At first Dr. Waldron was hesitant as she didn’t know much about environmental racism. However, later on she realized that her research in “social, economic, and political inequalities that shape health outcomes in Indigen...
EP 9: The Power of Indigenous Youth Environmental Movements
March 31, 2020 13:37 - 1 hour - 69.1 MBMichael has developed a love for the world through many years of exploring Mother Earth’s beauty, respecting her gifts, and interacting with cultures across the globe. Hailing from the Southwest, Michael’s family is from both the Navajo reservation in northeast Arizona and also northern Colorado. Michael identifies as Dine’ or Navajo and describes himself as an “Urban Indian”, Michael spent all his vacations on the reservation with his grandmother, aunts, and other close family members. This...
EP 8: 29 years of Insights at California State Parks
March 24, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBJack Shu worked for California State Parks for 29 years, mostly as a Park Superintendent. With a great deal of time spent in the Office of Community Involvement, a unique section called Urban Services gave him insight into the value of outdoor recreation and education. “The kind of recreation, like hiking and backpacking, was just one part of the bigger picture of what recreation could provide. It was important for me to learn that and to realize that wilderness and outdoor recreation and...
EP 7: Making Space for Clean Energy and Climate Justice
March 17, 2020 10:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBRaya Salter is an attorney, educator and clean energy law/policy expert, focusing on climate justice. She is a member of the New York State Climate Action Council, which is developing NY’s plan to reach the nation’s leading climate action goals, and a policy organizer with the NY Renews environmental and climate justice coalition. Raya is an experienced advocate, having practiced energy law and regulation in multiple jurisdictions, including New York and Hawaii. In prior roles she was a Sen...
EP 6: The Value of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
March 10, 2020 09:00 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MBParker McMullen Bushman is the Vice President of Community Engagement, Education, and Inclusion at Butterfly Pavilion in Denver, Colorado, where she educates the public on invertebrates and their cultural and environmental importance. Bushman is also the founder of EcoInclusion, “an organization committed to creating healthy and diverse organizational and community ecosystems”. As a woman of color in working in the environmental sector, Bushman noticed that she was often the only one of her...
EP 5: Promoting Diverse Environmental Nonprofit Boards
March 03, 2020 11:00 - 51 minutes - 37.8 MBWhy does once Marine Biologist, Dr. Francisco "Paco" Ollervides, transition from researching the impacts of boat noise on gray whale behavior, to become an Executive Director of Green Leadership Trust? The relationship I had with everyday people while I was collecting this info, the fisherman, the boat captains, and so I saw I was more interested in relating to the everyday person and sharing our knowledge of what we were learning about the whales, instead of writing papers and scientific j...
EP 4: Grassroots Action in River Protection
February 25, 2020 11:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBFred Tutman wanted to make a difference in the world and working in media for over three decades didn’t often feel like he was. He finally found his calling as the Patuxent Riverkeeper - a grassroots movement dedicated to empowering local communities in the watershed with knowledge and tools to protect the Patuxent River in Maryland, USA. Through his experiences as an activist and passionate voice for the protection of the Patuxent River, Fred shares an overarching theme he has observed in ...
EP 1: A Journey Through Academia as a Woman of Color
February 18, 2020 15:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBWith an emphasis on race inclusivity and environmental education in this episode, Dr. Olivia Aguilar is interviewed about her research and personal experiences in the field of environmental academia as a woman of color. Powerful insight is shared between these women as they tackle the topic of mentors, stereotypes, research, and advice. Growing up with little guidance on navigating college, Aguilar had to carve her own path into the world of academia, where people of color often face a mult...
EP 2: Building Smart Environmental Research Collaborations
February 18, 2020 15:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBWhat is Human Ecology? What are Sacred Forests? How can we lessen our carbon footprint without becoming overwhelmed? All of this, and much more, is discussed with University of North Carolina, Asheville Professor, Researcher, and Human Ecologist, Alison Ormsby. Sacred Forests are Dr. Ormsby’s research focus, with publications linked below. These Forests are found in many cultures across the world, serving various purposes, spiritual and otherwise, and tend to be locations for shrines, medita...
EP 3: Water Affordability and Equity in America
February 18, 2020 15:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBWhen asked what advice she has on being a woman of color in a predominantly white business environment, environmental consultant and CEO of her own water consultation firm, Stacey Isaac Berahzer answered: “I like to say that sometimes it's good to not notice that you're a woman, or of color, and pretend that it is not there. The room may be mainly Caucasian, or male, or people older than you, but I think there is an advantage sometimes to pushing all of that to the back of your mind and pre...
Breaking Green Ceilings Podcast - Intro Episode
February 03, 2020 22:00 - 3 minutes - 4.4 MBIn this introduction I share a little bit about myself and why I started the podcast. I’m excited about this new journey that I’m about to embark on because I really think it will help make the environmental movement more inclusive. Throughout this process I have been humbled by the experiences, wisdom, and knowledge that our eco-warriors have willingly shared. It has been an honor and a privilege. I am learning so much and I feel like it is helping me be a better person and professional. I ...