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Celebrating 'Mother Nature'!
As part of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we got together at the Hillyer Art Space to talk about the value of creativity (creative sector) in addressing environmental issues.
When: Wednesday April 28th, 2010 6:00 - 8:30 pm
Where: Hillyer Art Space, International Arts & Artists, 9 Hillyer Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
Program:
Guest Speaker, Dr. Kristin M. Lamoureux, Director, International Institute of Tourism Studies, School of Business, The George Washington University
Panel: "Rejuvenating Communities with Creativity: A Dialogue around the Arts, Environment, and Sustainable Living"
- Sandra Leibowitz Earley, AIA, LEED AP from Sustainable Design Consulting, LLC
- Dr. Jamie Reaser, Environmental Consultant
- Jen Athanas, Recycle Fashion Designer
During this event we had a fundraiser to support the local Anacostia Watershed Society. Raffle prizes from wine tasting at Gadino Cellars to a visit to the Luray Caverns, and more were offered. To learn more about the projects that Anacostia Watershed Society is leading and support their causes please visit Anacostia Watershed Society (anacostiaws.org)
At the event we also (re)Presented eco'arts - a mobile collage of Arts for Global Development that displays the images of artworks and creative initiatives of over 60 architects, designers, high-school art teachers, professional and emerging artists from around the world working with photography, various recycled materials, wood, plastic, acrylic paint, ink, 3D installations, and more. The project was first launched as part of the 2006 UN World Environment Day commemoration event.
Bio Statements:
Guest Speaker:
Dr. Kristin M. Lamoureux, Director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies, George Washington University
Kristin Lamoureux is the Director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies at the George Washington University, as well as an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, specializing in destination management, volunteer tourism, sustainable and niche tourism development. Currently, her duties include the oversight of all of the Institute's activities including the Professional Education Program and all grants/contracts such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance.
Additionally, she is involved in several projects focusing on tourism in developing countries including Mali, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Bulgaria and Jordan. Dr. Lamoureux has served as a consultant for USAID, the World Bank, the UN World Tourism Organization, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Ecotourism Society, and Conservation International, among others. Her primary focus areas include sustainable tourism development, destination management and tourism workforce development. She has recently been quoted in several articles pertaining to her work in volunteer tourism including Time Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler the Globe and Mail Newspaper and the Washington Times.
Dr. Lamoureux began her education in Ecuador where she lived for several years. She has an A.S. from La Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, a B.S. from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island, a M.T.A. (Master of Tourism Administration) and a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a focus on Strategic Management and Sustainable Tourism from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Panelists:
Sandra Leibowitz Earley, Architect
Sandra Leibowitz Earley is founder and Principal of Sustainable Design Consulting (SDC) a prolific consulting and training firm, operating from offices in Richmond, Virgina and Washington, DC. SDC is dedicated to advancing green building design, consulting, operations and maintenance throughout the mid-Atlantic region and beyond.
A registered architect, Sandra draws from 17 years of advanced experience with hundreds of sustainable design projects and dozens of organizational programs to serve building owners, developer, architects, builders and facility managers with expert technical consulting and process management for projects of varying size and complexity.
Sandra has authored numerous articles and guidance documents on sustainable design and development subjects. Her book, Ecological Design and Buildings Schools: Green Guide to Educational Opportunities in the United States and Canada, explores the current trends and many forms of green building education.
Sandra currently serves on the Board of Directors of EarthCraft Virginia, an organization expanding green residential development in Virginia. She is also a past Director of the James River Green Building Council and has served on the U.S. Green Building Council's Education Steering Committee and Education Core Committee for Professional Development.
Sandra holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon, and is a LEED Accredited Professional with specialization in Building Design and Construction.
Dr. Jamie K. Reaser, Environmental Consultant
Jamie K. Reaser has long had a passion for nature, the arts, and sustainable living. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a Bachelor's of Science in Field Biology (an interdisciplinary program in Biology, Geology, and Anthropology) and a minor in Studio Art and, under the auspices of world-renowned population biologist Dr. Paul Ehrlich, earned a Doctorate in Biology (with an emphasis on conservation ecology) from Stanford University. Recognizing that conservation can only be achieved by motivating and empowering people, Jamie has also undertaken intensive study in the fields of leadership development, communication psychology, ecopsychology, conflict transformation, and group facilitation. She holds Master Practitioner and Senior Trainer certification in Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP; study of human excellence).
Currently an environmental consultant (Congruence, LLC), Jamie has worked around the world as a biologist, international policy negotiator, environmental educator, and wilderness rites-of-passage guide. She has written or edited more than 100 publications, including four books for popular audiences: Bring Back the Birds: What You Can Do to Save Threatened Species (Stackpole Press, 1985), Courting the Wild: Love Affairs with the Land (Hiraeth Press 2008), Courting the Wild: Love Affairs with Reptiles and Amphibians (Hiraeth Press, Spring 2009), and Huntley Meadows: A Naturalist's Journal in Verse (Hiraeth Press, Summer 2010). Her photographs, illustrations, and poems appear in books, magazines, and calendars.
Jamie lives on 85 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, alongside Shenandoah National Park. She is in the process of converting a rickety old hunting lodge into a "green" homestead/retreat center and enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, writing, photography, and painting, as well as the company of the animals of Ravens Ridge Farm: eight goats, six cats, one very high-energy dog, and lots of wildlife.
Jen Athanas, Fashion Designer
Like many other creative people, Jen began crafting and making 'stuff' at an early age. She started to sew in order to make clothes for her dolls. While these first attempts were rough, she continued to progress while a teenager. With the encouragement from her grandmother, a seamstress, and her mother, also a crafter, she made clothing for herself, her sisters and friends. Along the way, she started to make her own jewelry, work with polymer clay, crochet, paint and do printmaking, among other endeavors.
During her extended higher education, she has studied a variety of arts, including photography, textile design, weaving and quilting. She has a B.A. in fashion design from Marymount University in Arlington, VA. Through her design course work, she developed a style and feel that she continues to polish. She has been able to incorporate many techniques into her functional art fashion accessory line. Jen continues to push herself and her art into new directions.
Artist Statement: "My inspiration springs from the textiles I create clothing and accessories with. The colors, textures and fibers help give rise to the shapes and silhouettes that I produce. In addition to traditional flat fabric, I utilize recycled matter from different sources, such as used clothing and vintage house wares. I love the idea of taking materials from 'trash' and making them into 'usable art'. It challenges and motivates me to find another life for old pieces. The final designs fuse the new and old into something unique.
Fashion accessories for the art and earth minded individual. Hand crafted from recycled, reclaimed, vintage and new fabric."
This event was organized by Arts for Global Development, Inc. in collaboration with the American Turkish Association, Washington DC and supported by Equals Three Communications, Inc.
