Programs of the Colorado Climate Network, page 2

Welcome and conference overview: Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan and Stephen Saunders, president of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization

Plenary session: Engaging key communities about climate action
A panel-led discussion on communicating effectively with three key groups: local officials, business people, and community residents.
Moderator: Will Toor, county commissioner of Boulder County
Panelists: 
Jill Locantore, senior planner for Denver Regional Council of Governments Presentation
Michele Weingarden, interim director for Greenprint Denver
Rosemarie Russo, sustainability coordinator for the City of Fort Collins Presentation

Breakout workshops: Case studies of local communications strategies (3 concurrent sessions)
Presentations by local program leaders on messages and methods used and lessons learned in engaging their communities in achieving particular climate action and clean energy goals, followed by open, interactive discussions with workshop attendees.

Workshop 1: Climate action in Fort Collins, particularly the Climate Wise program of voluntary business emission-reduction actions.
Moderator: Karen Hancock, environmental programs supervisor for the City of Aurora
Speakers:
Lucinda Smith, senior environmental planner Presentation, and Kathy Collier, Climate Wise director Presentation, for the City of Fort Collins

Workshop 2: Climate action in the City of Boulder, particularly the vote on authorizing a municipal utility.
Moderator: Mark Ruzzin, policy analyst for Boulder County
Speaker:
Jonathan Koehn, regional sustainability coordinator, for the City of Boulder Presentation

Workshop 3: Park City’s Save Our Snow campaign, a theme-based approach to climate-action messaging.
Moderator: Kristen Bertuglia, sustainability coordinator for the Town of Vail
Speaker:
Seth Jansen, engineer for Brendle Group, consultants to Park City, Utah Presentation

Luncheon and Keynote Speaker
Featuring Mike Nelson, chief meteorologist of KMGH Channel 7, and author of Colorado Weather Almanac. Presentation in two parts: Part One Part Two

Plenary session: Communicating Colorado’s climate vulnerability
A panel-led discussion on how to communicate about Colorado’s unique vulnerabilities to climate change.
Moderator: Stephen Saunders, president of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization Presentation
Speakers:
Tim Sullivan, director of The Nature Conservancy in Colorado Presentation
Brad Udall, director of University of Colorado - NOAA Western Water Assessment

Plenary session: Language choices and techniques for communicating effectively
A panel-led discussion on identifying language choices and general techniques for communicating about climate change and climate action.
Moderator: David Hosansky, head of media relations for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Speakers:
John Calderazzo, Professor of English, Colorado State University, freelance author and co-director of Changing Climates @ CSU Presentation
Scott Denning, Monfort Professor of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University Presentation

Plenary session: Using or avoiding express climate messages
A panel-led discussion about whether, or when, to communicate the case for climate action only in terms of co-benefits (e.g., economic vitality, public health, and quality of life) versus also communicating the case for climate action in climate-change terms.
Moderator: Sam Mamet, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League
Panelists:
Eric Frankowski, associate director of Resource Media, specialist in communications strategies and media outreach campaigns Presentation
Alice Laird, executive director of CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region [Garfield County]) Presentation
Stephen Saunders, president of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization Presentation

Conference Wrap-up: Observations of conference proceedings and potential follow-up actions