[00:00:10] Dominique: Hello. Welcome to our episode of Green Champions.

[00:00:13] Adam: Thanks for joining us in a conversation with real people sharing sustainability success stories.

[00:00:17] Dominique: From entrepreneurs to artists, scientists to activists, this podcast is a platform for green Champions to share their stories and plant some new ideas. I'm Dominique.

[00:00:27] Adam: I'm Adam. Today we're excited to introduce our second miniseries. In this mini series, we're partnering with the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, which celebrates collaborative climate solutions in the Midwest region of the United States.

[00:00:40] Dominique: In this miniseries, you're gonna join us in virtually attending this annual summit and meeting a few of the about 100 speakers and key storytellers from this year's event. Today we're joined by Charlie Gonzalez, the event Manager for Green Umbrella, and the lead organizer for the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit. Today we're talking about how MRSS, the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit brings together leaders to accelerate sustainability across the Midwest. Thanks for joining us, Charlie,

[00:01:08] Charlie: Thanks so much for having me.

[00:01:09] Dominique: So Charlie, we met and got to talk through how this podcast series was gonna be so fun as a way to, you know, bring the MRSS event into a new platform. 

What is the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit?

[00:01:21] Dominique: But before getting into kinda what we're doing with this series, can you tell us what is the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit and what makes it so special?

[00:01:28] Charlie: Sure. Well, maybe I'll take a quick step back and say that Green Umbrella is a nonprofit in the greater Cincinnati region. That's been around for over 25 years, and we function as the regional Climate Collaborative for Greater Cincinnati, which means that we bring organizations together to collaborate across sectors, to create meaningful change in our region, to make it a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable place for our generation and for future generations.

And so as part of that work, last year we hosted over a hundred different events from workshops to networking events, webinars to in-person conferences like this one that we're gonna be talking about today. This is our biggest annual event. It's been happening for 12 years. This will be the 12th year, and it's really grown substantially over that time. 

One of the things that makes it really special is that it attracts such a diverse audience. I hear this every year at the conference where, where attendees are telling me like, "Wow, I've made such really impactful connections." I had one of our partners last year tell me that their husband was also at the event, which never happens because they work in different sectors. So I think that, that anecdote just speaks to the fact that we're really bringing together such a wide range of folks. From government leaders, corporate business leaders, small entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, community residents, and who are passionate about their neighborhoods and different issues. And I think that that creating a container for all those types of connections is what really makes the event powerful. 

The power of the event is in the what emerges when all these different voices and, and, and ideas come together. 

[00:03:04] Adam: So, so maybe what are some the major themes or highlights that attendees can look forward to this year?

[00:03:10] Charlie: So another thing that makes the events so powerful is that it has such a wide range of topics that are covered. You know, things from environmental justice to green workforce development, urban agriculture to corporate sustainability.

Circular economy and waste to clean energy, finance, electrification, and high performing buildings. So there's really something for everybody, depending on whatever it is that you are passionate about or the field that you work in.

[00:03:37] Adam: How do you balance all these important topics?

[00:03:39] Charlie: Well that's actually one of the hardest parts of our job on the planning side, is to make sure that we're building off of the connections in our network. To really make sure that we're highlighting as many different diverse voices as possible. We flipped the model on this a few years back and we turned it into a very participatory event where we put out a call for proposals each year. And that has really created so much enthusiasm and engagement where we get over a hundred proposals each year and we have a very difficult job to sift through all of them and have really thoughtful conversations about, 'cause we wish we could have, you know, have everybody come. But we have limited space, obviously, at the conference for the, for, for the speakers. So when we're doing that planning work and reviewing all the proposals, we're really thinking thoughtfully about how do we make sure that we're covering all these different bases so that everybody in the room can see themselves in one of the panels.

[00:04:30] Adam: I love that idea of, of being able to see yourself in the panels and be inspired by what other people are doing.

[00:04:35] Charlie: Exactly. Even, even on each of the panels, we try to make it so that each so that they have different perspectives that are coming together. So it's not all architects, for example, it's somebody that lives in that building or someone that you know if it's a bus project, like is there someone that rides that bus? You know, not only someone that works on the planning side. So I think we try to really make it so that each session is engaging for different audience segments as well.

[00:04:58] Dominique: And I, I love what you said earlier about, you know, that husband- wife that get that got to go to the event together and they work in different industries. I think that's a really great like mental image for the way you bring people together and have such a broad scope of the word sustainability which obviously is so imperative for us to really get things moving and to get to know other sides of like this very important puzzle. 

And we're really excited to do our panel this year. So we'll do a, a live podcast recording at the event. And I've seen the openness of your planning in the way that I've been able to invite folks, like the way that I've found myself thinking of so many people that I know that I think should be there.

The Vision and Theme of MRSS

[00:05:35] Dominique: Whereas, some other events you're like, "Oh, well, probably not of interest to you, or maybe it's outta your scope." But can you share the vision and like what guides MRSS, so you have this really broad, very welcoming atmosphere for so many industries, but like what is really core to your vision and what's your theme for this year?

[00:05:52] Charlie: Well, some of the things that are really core to the work that we do are about collaboration centering equity and, and being solution oriented, right? We hear so much we're bombarded every day with negative news and things that are really like, you know, it's important to stay informed, but we've never had this amount of information like instantaneously bombarding us every day. 

And so that can be a lot, I think, for us to be navigating as people on the planet. And so I think the way that we tell stories is so important. Everything at its foundation is a story. And so this year's theme, I'm really excited centers around the power of storytelling and how the stories that we tell are so vital to inspiring change in shaping our future.

One of the things I'm excited about is our main plenary panel is gonna bring together storytellers from across the media landscape, and they're gonna explore how storytelling can be harnessed as a catalyst for bridging divides and for creating the type of world that we want to create.

Not just how do we, you know, create less bad but how can we create and inspire? How do the stories we tell created in something that inspires us to come together and want to have joy around the work that we're doing?

[00:07:01] Adam: I love that. What's your hope for attendees to walk away from the conference with?

[00:07:05] Charlie: So I hope that people who walk away feeling refreshed, you know, and revitalized in the work, like in the work that they're doing. The summit really serves as this spark for connecting and learning together and celebrating and deepening our resolve. And it's a powerful opportunity for us to be coming together, especially at a time when we need community more than ever.

And the energy in the building is so powerful. Seeing like hundreds of passionate people making these impactful connections and connections create positive ripples in the world in ways that we can't even imagine. So I think, for people to, to, to walk away remembering that the global challenge, the challenges that we face as a global society, even though they can feel overwhelming, we have to remind ourselves that the change doesn't only come from the top down.

We have the power to be agents of positive change in our own lives, and we do that every day. We each do our part to make little positive ripples in our own lives and communities, then that's how we can create a better world together.

[00:08:01] Dominique: Genuinely, you are giving me little goose goosebumps today hearing your perspective. So thank you Charlie. And I think this is so needed right now, like needless to say, and I know we've heard a lot of your speakers. They're gonna share that as well. As we showcase different speakers from the event in the coming episodes. A lot of them are echoing a similar sentiment of like, focusing on what we can do and like remembering that like we can do something. Like we do have a say and we do have an impact to have and I am really grateful for you sharing that with all of us.

And for creating an atmosphere for that. I know you've worked so hard as a team to put this on. 

How to Get Involved with MRSS and Green Umbrella

[00:08:36] Dominique: For listeners who are hearing about MRSS for the first time, can you share how they can get involved and potentially you know, join in on, on June 5th?

[00:08:45] Charlie: Certainly. Well, if you go to midwestsustainabilitysummit.org, you can learn a lot more about the event. You can read about our a hundred speakers, all the 20 different breakout sessions. And there, and you can find out more about how to register. We also have an economic inclusion policy where if anybody had, if the cost to attend is prohibitive, we have options for you.

And I think that's really, really your first step is if you wanna jump in and come that day, you're gonna become part of this movement, part of this community. It's a welcoming space, you know, like, everybody's welcome and I think that you're gonna have a great day.

Another opportunity is to, is if you wanna just get on Green Umbrella's email list, we have a really phenomenal newsletter that goes out every other week and it has highlights and sustainability stories. Success stories from all the organizations that are part of our network as well as green job opportunities and event listings.

So there's lots and lots of ways for you to get involved, hear positive stories, and get involved in your local community.

[00:09:46] Adam: Now, for you personally, like what's one story, a moment from a past summit that stuck with you? Or changed you?

[00:09:52] Charlie: Well, it's funny, when I first moved to Cincinnati 10 years ago. I immediately started getting involved in, like seeing what's out there, how can I get, you know, start connecting and networking in the, in this space around sustainability and climate work. And I found that Green Umbrella and the Midwest Sustainability Summit, and I went to the event and when I was there, I started talking with some of the organizers and people and, and saying like, "Oh, I have some great ideas. What if we do it?" 

This is such a great event. We could add these different ways to enhance the event. And then before you know it, I ended up like being on the programming team, the planning team for the event before I even worked at Green Umbrella.

So I think that's a success story in, in and of itself, my own personal success story of how just putting yourself out there and networking and, and connecting with people and sharing, you know, not being afraid to share your own ideas and get involved. Can help you, lead you down a path where it becomes part of your career or something that even if it's not, even if you don't want it to be your career, it's something that you can have this, this outlet for your passion in the world.

[00:10:55] Dominique: That's honestly two really good points I love, like, and we hear this a lot with our green champions guests. I think of them finding their way into something that they're really passionate about by just like showing up and volunteering their time or ideas. love that you really found yourself here because you were passionate and like spoke up.

I think that's just very amazing, and then the second piece I really like about that is that showcases how collaborative and open-minded, the green umbrella culture is. And, and the fact that there's a lot of like, " Oh, wow, you wanna make this better? Like here's a space for you."

So I, I love that on two fronts. I think it speaks a lot to the sustainability community. I think it speaks a lot to Green Umbrella. 

Green Umbrella's Mission and Programs

[00:11:32] Dominique: And I'm just curious, can you share more about the Green umbrella team? How long has Green Umbrella been around? What else has Green Umbrella do together? What are they up to?

[00:11:39] Charlie: Oh, we are up to a lot.

[00:11:41] Dominique: Yeah.

[00:11:42] Charlie: I know we only have a limited amount of time, so I will try to be succinct with this one, but so Green Umbrella has been around for over 25 years. It first started as a group of residents that got together who were passionate about protecting green space and getting folks out into nature. And it's really evolved through several different chapters over the time, over that the past 25 years.

In 2010, we adopted the collective impact model and hired the first staff member. And the collective impact model is this framework for cross-sector collaboration to create systems change. Like how do we come together around a shared vision and Green umbrella, you know, found its role as the backbone organization to facilitate that collaboration, to keep it moving forward, to create the metrics and the communication and facilitate like how are we working together, you know?

And so over the next decade we incubated different programs that were then staffed programs at Green Umbrella and we have that work in different areas of sustainability, right? Like at the beginning we talked about how sustainability is this everything touches sustainability from buildings to the food that we eat, et cetera, right?

So, we have programs that work in each of those different areas. So we have a program that works in the building sector and helps building owners and property managers reduce their footprint and make their building more efficient. We have a program that works with schools and helps make sure that all the kids in our region have equitable out access to outdoor learning and recreation and environmental education.

We have a program that literally builds like plants orchards in communities, and teaches the residents to be the caretakers of those orchards. And we have a program that works with across the food system and brings partners together who are producing our food, transforming it, serving it, rescuing it.

How are we doing that, like in a holistic way to build our local food system up to be more, more robust? And we also, we have a program that protects green space. The original focus of, of the Green Umbrella when it was first started. And so they bring conservation partners together to say, "What are we prioritizing? How do we develop tools to make it so that we know which parcels of land to prioritize both in suburban and rural areas, but also in urban communities so that we can have little pockets of parks and, and trees. 

And then lastly, I'll say recently a few years ago, we sort of repackaged all of the resources and the work that we're doing in a holistic way to make it so that when we go into a new community, when a community invites us in and they say, "We wanna get started on our sustainability journey. We don't know where to start. We don't have a climate plan, we don't have an energy plan."

We started working with local governments and communities to really bridge those gaps and to say, "We have a full suite of in-house programming and a network of resources and partners that you can tap into and no matter where you are at, you can get started on this journey and we can help you along the way."

And so I think that's been this late newest phase of Green Umbrella has been how can we bring this full suite of resources to the communities that we serve.

[00:14:38] Adam: Love that. 

[00:14:39] Dominique: Wow, that's incredible. How many of you are there?

[00:14:42] Charlie: There's 16 full-time staff members currently, and we have two positions currently posted.

[00:14:47] Dominique: That is really, really incredible. Thank you for the work that you do, and thank you for sharing that 'cause I think it's also really awesome to see the team behind this event. So thank you.

[00:14:55] Charlie: Certainly. Thanks so much. I really appreciate the opportunity. Appreciate what you guys are doing. And I love that this partnership, this miniseries is gonna build and culminate with you guys having a session, a live podcast recorded session at the summit. So I'm really excited about that.

[00:15:09] Adam: Oh, we, we love that. And we've had a chance to speak some of the panelists so far, and it's just fun seeing the kind of breadth of experience that they're, they're bringing. One thing I really love about it is it's not just about Cincinnati. You're really connecting with the larger Midwest. 

The Role of the Midwest in Sustainability

[00:15:22] Adam: I am curious from your perspective, what role the Midwest plays in the larger sustainability movement?

[00:15:28] Charlie: Sure. I think that's a great question. Most of Green Umbrella's work is centered in Greater Cincinnati, but this event really does focus more broadly on how can we, we learn from each other and make, build connections across the Midwest. And I see the Midwest as a place where people will be moving to in the years to come as other regions deal with droughts and wildfires and sea level rise.

Cities across the Midwest, like Cincinnati are taking great strides to innovate and to invest in more sustainable and resilient infrastructure and to create more community engagement so that the residents and community leaders are the ones driving the change that they wanna see in their own neighborhoods. So I think like becoming a welcoming place, laying the groundwork for us to be a resilient place despite the challenges that we face, will really help position us for a potential population influx.

[00:16:17] Dominique: I think a good question to close this out is what's something that you wish people understood more about sustainability that they often don't?

Understanding Sustainability and Climate Change

[00:16:25] Charlie: Well, I know one of the challenges in the sustainability world, and this goes back to the storytelling, how do we tell us the story is that when people think of climate change, the image that has often been ingrained , in our psyche is a polar bear on a melting ice cap. And while that might be true, I think it's hard for the average person to see how that relates to their everyday life. And, you know, they, people are struggling. They have all sorts of stresses and things that they need to do to put food on their table, get their kids to school, go to work, come home. 

Every people have so many things that they're dealing with that what we really need to be doing a better job of is connecting with people where they're at so that they understand like that climate issues are the kitchen table issues. Climate issues are affecting the asthma rates in our communities. They're affecting their access to local food. They're affecting the price of food. They're like all these different things. It's affecting the price of their energy bill, you know? Everything in our lives is connected to sustainability.

It's really about how can we think about what we're doing and the impact it has. How can we think about it in a different way so that it's not just sort of an extractive way of being a consumer. But how can we be an active participant in the world that we want to create through the lens of sustainability and the principles of nature.

[00:17:48] Dominique: That was so well said. I cannot wait to clip that and put that on socials. So thank you, Charlie. I am, I'm so, so, so glad you joined us to kick off the season. I'm so glad we got to give you a microphone also and share the meaning behind the event. So thank you so much for taking the time to do this with us. I think all listeners are gonna benefit from this and I think you've just said it better than Adam and I could.

So I, I really appreciate you doing this for us.

[00:18:18] Charlie: Well, thank you to both of you. I love the podcast and I really appreciate what you're doing and it's been a pleasure to be a part of it.

[00:18:24] Dominique: Once again, for our listeners, can you just share how they can find out about the conference?

[00:18:28] Charlie: Sure, just go to midwest and you'll be able to find all the information about the summit, the speakers, the sessions, and how to register.

[00:18:38] Adam: Fantastic. 

[00:18:39] Charlie: So, hey, but before we wrap up, can you tell us a little bit about the indigenous keynote?

Sure. Yeah. I'm really excited that this year we are doing an even better job of centering indigenous voices. 

[00:18:51] Dominique: This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Lila June Johnston. She's an indigenous scholar, author, and musician. And I'm really excited that we're centering indigenous voices this year. In addition to this powerful keynote, we're going to have an inspiring breakout session that's focused on stories of indigenous resilience and leadership. 

[00:19:09] Charlie: For generations and generations, indigenous people have been champions of climate action and environmental stewardship. And indigenous knowledge has been proven to be vital in combating climate change, environmental degradation, and habitat loss. Unfortunately, indigenous peoples receive less than 1% of our climate funding, and they're far too often excluded from policy decisions. And I just think we really need to be centering their voices and their perspectives when we're talking about how do we approach our relationship with nature and how do we develop solutions to the challenges that we face.

[00:19:43] Adam: I am really excited to hear that at the event and actually sit in on those panels. Thank you again for joining us. As always, our guests have found a unique way to champion sustainability. We are here to put real names and stories behind the idea that no matter your background, career or interests, you really can contribute in the fight against climate change.

[00:19:59] Dominique: You can find our episodes and reach us at thegreenchampions.com. If you wanna stay in the loop, give us a review and follow us on your favorite podcast platform.

[00:20:06] Adam: Our music is by Zane Dweik. Special thanks to Green Umbrella, hosts of the annual Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit. And thank you to listening to Green Champions. We're excited to dive into our miniseries. We're excited to dive into our miniseries with these great panelists speaking at the conference in our next episode.