Search by Date
Thursday, October 10
All parts of the program will take place at Marcelle Athletic Center (MAC). It is #14 on Siena Campus map:
12:30-4:00 PM: "Clean and Just Connections: Your Future Can be Green and Gold”
An event at Marcelle Athletic Center open to Siena students featuring display booths of organizations that seek a societal transformation through:
- advocacy
- solidarity-inspired action
- promotion of eco-literacy/restorative justice
- transition to clean, renewable energy and corresponding, growing job sector
4:40 pm – Opening Symposium Session
Setting the Stage for the Conference: “Why Integral Ecology/Sustainability within Franciscan Colleges and Universities Now?” Katherine L. Meierdiercks, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Siena College and Br. Michael Perry, OFM, Ph.D. Director of Laudato Si’ Center for Integral Ecology
5:10 pm
Interfaith Prayer for Creation
6:15 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm — Keynote address
Keynote Address: U.N. Secretary General António Guterres: “Global Perspectives on the Climate Crisis and Urgency to Act Now"
Respondents:
- James McDonald: Health Commissioner, New York State Department of Health
- Medha Palnati: a Siena graduate, current medical student
- Rev. Kathryn Beilke: Beyond Plastics
A discussion moderated by Vera Eccarius-Kelly, Professor of Political Science at Siena College
8:30 pm — Q&A
Q&A’s moderated by Prof. Vera Eccarius-Kelly
Friday, OCTOBER 11
All parts of the program Until 4:45 PM will take place at Marcelle Athletic Center (MAC). (you can find it as #14 on Siena Campus map: )
7:30-8:45 AM
Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM
Greeting and Opening Prayer
9:05 am — Welcome address
Len Cutler, Professor of Political Science at Siena, introduces Chuck Seifert, President of Siena College, for the welcome address.
9:30 am — Speaker & Q&A
Basil Seggos: former N.Y. State Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, “National and State Responses to Climate Change: Fostering Effective Partnership and Collaboration Between Private and Public Sectors and Civil Society”
A conversation and Q&A’s moderated by a Siena student, Paris DeFilippis '25
10:15 AM
Break
10:30 AM — PANEL
“Climate Change: What is at Stake? Why Should I Care?”
Moderator: Dr. Elaine Houston. She is an Emmy award-winning and two-time Emmy nominated social justice reporter at NBC news in Albany, NY who has just retired after 33 years of her career.
“The Climate Crisis: Impact, Action and Responsibility" - Sena Wazer, a Yale School of the Environment master's student and youth climate advocate.
“War’s Victims: A Look at Human and Ecological Impacts” - Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love (invited) a tenured Associate Professor of International Relations in the Politics Department of The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
“The Business of Business is? Revisiting the Invisible Hand.” Dr. Mary Ellen Mallia, a graduate of Siena and Director of Sustainability at University at Albany.
12:00 PM
Lunch Break
1:30 PM — speaker
Introduction by Br. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM, Laudato Si' Center for Integral Ecology at Siena University
“Integral Ecology: A Franciscan Response to the Cry of the Poor and of The Planet” Br. Cristofer Fernández, OFM Conv. and Gabriela Martinez from Franciscan Action Network
2:15 PM
Break
2:45 PM — Panel
“What Can We Do? Thinking Globally, Acting Locally”
Moderator: Emily Atassi: Siena Class 2025, President of Student Senate. She is currently pursuing three majors at Siena College in Criminal Justice: Human Rights, Political Science: International Relations, and Psychology.
Remarks by Kathy Sheehan, Mayor of Albany, New York.
“Power to the People: Local Citizen-Led Sustainability Initiatives in the Albany Region” Scott Kellogg, Educational Director of the Radix Ecological Sustainability Center
“Becoming an Ecological College: Empowering Students, Transforming the Environment: the Green Initiatives at Siena College” Presenter: Isabelle Rowley, Environmental Studies student at Siena University
“Public Advocacy on Behalf of the Poor and the Planet: Voices from the Grassroots” Presenter: Quron White '25, Neumann University
4:15 PM — SYMPOSIUM WRAP-UP
“Shaping Imagination, Engaging Energies on Behalf of the Environment/Sustainability: Possible Next Steps”
Led by Daniel White, Assistant Professor of Health Studies and Program Coordinator of Health Studies at Siena College. and Sophie Whiteman '22
4:45 PM
Closing Prayer
7:00 PM EVENING PRESENTATION
Location: Roger Bacon Key Auditorium
A series of short plays about climate change, sustainability, and climate justice written by Siena students, alumni, and local playwrights, directed and performed by Siena University students.
Organized by Dr. Krysta Dennis, Associate Professor of Performance