Mainstage Event

The opening program will center our theme of renewal and community featuring:

Piano Performance by Ann DuHamel, Associate Professor of Music, UMN Morris and IonE Fellow

Towards Hope: Two Reflections on the Climate Crisis, by Zach Gulaboff Davis, occupies a space between programmatic and absolute musical dialogue. Charting a narrative from dark-to-light, the contrasting movements invite the listener to contemplate the dire crisis ravaging our planet. The first movement, On Darkness, evokes the somber urgency of immediate action. A ray of hope ushers in the second movement, On Light, hinting that through darkness and perseverance, light can emerge. It is the composer’s wish that these interludes serve as a vessel for meaningful reflection, frosting a renewed sense of hope, purpose, and action.

DuHamel has performed in 18 countries and 37 states, including concerts at Sala Verdi in Milan, Italy; Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York; and Trinity College in Oxford, England. In May of 2023, Ann was awarded a 2023-24 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Musicians. 

Ann’s project “Prayers for a Feverish Planet” responds to the climate crisis with 60 new works for piano. She’s been awarded artist residencies at Tofte Lake Center (MN), Everwood Farmstead Foundation (WI), and Porto Piano Fest (Portugal) for this project, which has received extensive support from the University of Minnesota (Institute for Advanced Study Residential Fellow, Fall 2021; Imagine Fund Special Events Grant; and Grant-In-Aid of Research, Artistry, and Scholarship). She’s been interviewed about the project on Modern Notebook Radio (WSMR) and Minnesota Public Radio’s All Things Considered with Tom Crann, and has performed portions of the project more than 50 times, including as a featured PEDx speaker at the 2023 National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy in Chicago.

Keynote Speech by Rev. Dr. Alika Galloway, Liberty Community Church
“My ongoing work is in the identification and healing of trauma and internalized racism through an interdisciplinary and intersectional lens. I am passionate about planetary health and co-creating a future where the earth is honored as a beloved and revered manifestation of Creators love.”

Pastor Alika is one of the creative visionaries for a community gathering entitled: Healing the Planet – Healing Ourselves where the community joined in conversation about the interrelatedness of healing and the vital importance of healing the earth so that all creation may be healed! An Eco-Womanist Alika is also Co Pastor of Liberty Community Church PCUSA. She holds a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Womanist Ethics and World Religions.

Dr. Galloway is the Editor of the book: Living Waters, Living Stories. A Bush Fellow, Alika serves as the CEO of the Northside Healing Space; a safe place to rest, remember, revive, and resist dehumanization. NHS has its roots in co-creating safe and restorative places for persons engaged in the survival sex trade to heal and recover as well as the community to heal from racialized trauma: she is also the creative founder of the 21st Century Academy, an Out of School Time initiative to assist K-12 grade children to bridge the opportunity gap and dream of a future of wholeness and abundance. Nationally known as a Womanist Scholar and expert in health disparities affecting African American females, she received a Doctorate from Virginia Union University, her dissertation addressed the care and healing of African American persons who identify as female who are victims of sexual violence and the commercial sex trade.

Opportunities throughout the day

Thoughtful touches were created in the day’s activities to bring the community together through topical connections, collective art and more. Opportunities include: 

• Participate in a collective art with other IonE community members.
  In the Ballroom from 12 – 2 p.m., Mosaic on a Stick, a local small business dedicated to bringing art to the community, will be onsite as IonE creates artwork together in the shape of Minnesota.
• Over lunch join a table on one of these 10 topics – or suggest your own day of:
  • Clean Energy 
  • Climate Adaptation Community Engagement 
  • Sustainability Education 
  • Environmental Justice 
  • Food Systems & Agriculture 
  • Art / Humanities Engagement with Science 
  • Personal Science Communication 
  • Public Science Communication 
  • Water
• Need a quiet place to retreat during the afternoon?
  Check out the Renewal Room (110, level one), where you’ll discover a calming and relaxing space with ambient lighting and various lounge options.
• During all afternoon sessions, the main Ballroom will be open for attendee use.

Afternoon Sessions – Which path will you choose?

Choose from three 45-min breakout session blocks. During registration, you will indicate your initial interest in any of the following sessions currently in development. At the Annual Meeting, you can select what’s best for you! 

Advancing UMN Climate Action via Research and Teaching
By coupling the climate goals on UMN campuses with research and teaching, knowledge gaps can be identified, explored, and addressed while building a living laboratory that enriches student and faculty experience. This session will workshop ways to create collaborations and funding opportunities to further the next steps in climate action on campus.

Impact Goals, Lessons Learned, Opportunities Ahead
Engage with grantees and others in the IonE community to discuss lessons learned and opportunities ahead for Impact Goals grants. Panelists will share their experiences applying research in community settings, building strong community partnerships, communicating research to a non-academic audience, and more.

IonE Community Member Talks – 3 separate sessions
Learn about what new and current IonE community members are working on or thinking about in short 5 min presentations. The full list and descriptions of this year’s IonE Community Member Talks will be released at least one week before the event.

Open Mic Session
This casual session focuses on building stronger connections through the joy of knowing more about each other and our work. Everyone is invited to share in the form of a story, skit, video, song, poem etc. Everyone in the space is welcome to share and you are also welcome just to listen and learn.

Pressing Problems in MN: A dialogue
This session will take advantage of the diverse group of attendees to get different perspectives on some of the most pressing sustainability problems in MN. In addition to pre-selected topics curated from stakeholders, interested session attendees looking for input will be contacted prior to the meeting to provide a discussion topic during the session.

IonE Impact Goals: Tips to develop a competitive proposal
Are you considering applying for an IonE Impact Goals grant? Join us to learn the nuts and bolts of what makes a solid proposal. We’ll explore what kinds of projects are a good match for the RFP, cover proposal process basics, and offer tips for interdisciplinary and community-engaged proposals.
This session is open to everyone, and targeted for people who are looking to apply to the 2024 RFP, which is expected to open for applications in January 2024.

​Workshopping Project Ideas​: ​​Crafting compelling Impact Goals projects
We know you have compelling ideas that will drive progress on complex sustainability challenges! This facilitated working session will provide space to generate and build out novel, innovative project ideas, to strengthen strategies for social impact, and to make generative connections with other disciplines.
This session is open to everyone, and targeted for people who are in project ideation stages.

Who’s Participating? 

This list reflects in-person registrations to attend the IonE Annual Meeting on Friday, September 29. Watch for updates every Monday until registration closes based on participant approval.

Thank you to our 2023 Planning Board Members –
Anne Dybsetter, Fred Rose, Kate Nyquist, Kimberly Long, Maggie McKenna, Meg Earnest, Marin Byrne, Shawn Ramberg!