CELEBRATE #UN76 with us! You’re invited to virtually join UNA-Atlanta, Ray C. Anderson Foundation & Drawdown Georgia via Zoom on October 28th at 4:00 P.M. EST, for a celebration of the United Nations' 76th Anniversary. We'll have a conversation on Georgians' state-of-the-art efforts, which deserve to be heard on a national and international level, with a special themed event, UN DAY 2021: Creating a Blueprint for a Better Future: Drawdown Georgia and Local Climate Action.
You can find out more about Project Drawdown here.
You can find out more about Project Drawdown here.
John Lanier, American philanthropist, is passionate about bringing people together to accelerate action toward climate change mitigation efforts. In the above video, he explains WHY he is passionate about climate action. Now, what is your WHY?
John Lanier is committed to working with local partners and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire local inclusiveness and local actions.
We are all here to "KEEP OUR PROMISE" and "UNITE OUR FORCES" to create a better future for everyone in the world.
UNA-Atlanta is honored to feature the Drawdown Georgia Project which is funded by Ray C. Anderson Foundation to create a blueprint for a better future first at home.
Come celebrate this year's UN DAY with us.
#climatechange #unsdgs #unday
#UN76 #unday #unsdgs #climatechangemitigation #climateaction
John Lanier is committed to working with local partners and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire local inclusiveness and local actions.
We are all here to "KEEP OUR PROMISE" and "UNITE OUR FORCES" to create a better future for everyone in the world.
UNA-Atlanta is honored to feature the Drawdown Georgia Project which is funded by Ray C. Anderson Foundation to create a blueprint for a better future first at home.
Come celebrate this year's UN DAY with us.
#climatechange #unsdgs #unday
#UN76 #unday #unsdgs #climatechangemitigation #climateaction
UN Day 2021 Speakers
Honorable Keynote Speaker
Mariyam Midhfa Naeem is the Deputy Chef De Cabinet at the Office of the President of the seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly. She provides strategic direction to the President of the General Assembly in executing his priorities and mandates, in particular for the Sustainable Development thematic cluster. She is also the principal focal point for the Asia Pacific Group. Prior to joining the Office of the President of the General Assembly, Midhfa was a Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, handling the India Division, where she was responsible for advising the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the Maldives-India relationship, overseeing development projects and other collaborations between both countries. She began her career as a Foreign Service Officer in May 2007 and has worked in several roles within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This includes several portfolios within the International Affairs Department, including as head of the United Nations Division, and as the Director of the Foreign Service Institute of the Maldives where she planned and executed several new programs under the Institute’s Action Plan. From 2015 to 2017, Midhfa worked as a Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Maldives to the UN in New York, where she was the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States on sustainable development. She shaped and executed negotiation strategies for Small Island Developing States on sustainable development issues, especially on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction, and the New Urban Agenda. Midhfa has a Master’s in public policy from the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick.
Keynote Speakers
Laura Turner Seydel is a Board member of the United Nations Foundation. She is an international environmental advocate dedicated to creating a healthy and sustainable future for our children. Laura is chairperson of the Captain Planet Foundation and co-founder of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Mothers and Others for Clean Air. Laura serves on the boards of the Turner Foundation, United Nations Foundation, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Turner Endangered Species Fund, Environmental Working Group, League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Children & Nature Network, Waterkeeper Alliance, Project Drawdown and is a Patron of Nature with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
John A. Lanier is the Executive Director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, a Georgia-based private family foundation honoring the legacy of the late Ray C. Anderson. Lanier joined the organization in May 2013 to lead the Foundation that bears his grandfather’s name. Ray was a globally recognized industrialist and pioneer for environmentalism, and Lanier continues his legacy today through Foundation programs that seek to create a brighter, more sustainable world. From 2011 to 2013, Lanier worked in Atlanta as an Associate Attorney in the federal Tax Practice Group of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, now Eversheds Sutherland. Lanier currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Southface Institute, a leading southeastern nonprofit working to advance green building and a regenerative economy. He is author of Mid-Course Correction Revisited, an updated edition of his grandfather’s first book. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law and he holds Bachelor of Arts Degrees in History and Economics from the University of Virginia.
Panelists
Kim Cobb is the Georgia Power Chair and Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech. She is the Director of the Global Change Program at Georgia Tech, and serves as the ADVANCE Professor for diversity, equity, and inclusion for the College of Sciences. In her climate research, she uses observations of past and present climate to advance our understanding of future climate change impacts, with a focus on climate extremes and coastal flood hazards. She received her B.A. from Yale University in 1996, and her Ph.D. in Oceanography from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in 2002. In her research, Kim has sailed on oceanographic cruises and led caving expeditions in the Borneo rainforests. She received a NSF CAREER Award, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and the Hans Oeschger Medal from the European Geosciences Union in 2019. She is a Lead Author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, released in August 2021. As a mother to four, Kim is a strong advocate for women in science, and champions diversity and inclusion in all that she does. She is also devoted to the communication of climate change to the public through media appearances, public speaking, and social media channels, and enjoys frequent exchanges with policymakers about climate impacts and solutions.
Allie Kelly is Executive Director at The Ray, which has developed an 18-mile stretch of interstate in Georgia, where they’re using renewable materials; building clean energy for clean transport; testing road connectivity, improved lighting and signage; and collecting traffic, weather, collision and pollution data to make the roads of the future. Working with Georgia DOT and FHWA, Allie has guided more than a dozen projects from concept to construction on The Ray Highway. The nonprofit organization is now working with more than 24 agencies in 15 states, scaling innovations from the I-85 testbed across the country. Following in the legacy of Ray Anderson, The Ray believes that the technologies exist to make transportation Zero Deaths, Zero Carbon and Zero Waste. Previously, Allie held senior roles at the Georgia Conservancy, and as a Founder and Executive Director at Georgia Watch. Allie serves on the boards of the Fulton Technology and Energy Enhancement Authority as chairman, as incoming chairman of the ASPIRE Center Executive Advisory Board, and as a board member for HUB404.
Cyrus Bhedwar serves as the Energy Efficiency Policy Director for the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance. He has more than fifteen years’ experience working on energy efficiency and sustainability issues at the local, state and regional levels. He currently leads the energy efficiency policy team at SEEA that emphasizes reducing energy insecurity throughout the Southeast by sharing best practice information, convening stakeholders and identifying the challenges and resources essential to making progress.
Shelby Busó is the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Atlanta. In this role, she leads the sustainability team within the Mayor’s Office of One Atlanta. The team is tasked with addressing the energy burden for Atlanta’s residents, implementing the Clean Energy Plan, assessing waste diversion innovation, and increasing food access for the most vulnerable populations. This work touches upon key impact areas within energy efficiency, materials management, urban agriculture, and transportation. Prior to working for the City, Shelby was the Director of Community Advancement and Market Transformation with the US Green Building Council. She managed state-wide initiatives for the USGBC while working regionally on key account management, advocacy, technical support, marketing, and market development. In Atlanta, she has worked for Central Atlanta Progress as the Director of Sustainability and Midtown Alliance as well as The Clean Air Campaign. Shelby holds a Masters of Environmental Law and Policy along with a Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School. She was a Judicial Law Clerk for the United States Federal District Court of Puerto Rico and National President of the International Law Students Association. She completed her undergraduate work in Anthropology, Environmental Studies, and Spanish from Wake Forest University. Shelby is a part of the 2019 Class of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership, is a former member of the Georgia Sierra Club’s Executive Committee and on the Board of Directors for the Community Farmers Markets of Atlanta. She lives in Decatur, Georgia with her husband and three children.
Panel Moderator
Blair Beasley is the director of climate strategies for the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. Her work focuses on supporting Drawdown Georgia, a state-specific climate solutions roadmap.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Blair worked as a consultant for Emory University. In that role, she served as a member of the Georgia Climate Project Leadership Team and on the Research Team for Drawdown Georgia.
Blair spent seven years with the Energy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., including as the project’s acting director. In this role, Blair advised state and federal regulators on policy pathways to reduce carbon emissions. Before joining the Bipartisan Policy Center, she worked at the D.C.-based think tank, Resources for the Future.
Blair holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master in Public Policy from Georgetown University.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Blair worked as a consultant for Emory University. In that role, she served as a member of the Georgia Climate Project Leadership Team and on the Research Team for Drawdown Georgia.
Blair spent seven years with the Energy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., including as the project’s acting director. In this role, Blair advised state and federal regulators on policy pathways to reduce carbon emissions. Before joining the Bipartisan Policy Center, she worked at the D.C.-based think tank, Resources for the Future.
Blair holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master in Public Policy from Georgetown University.
