Annual Meeting 2023

Annual Meeting 2023 Overview

renewal [ri-noo-uhl] noun

1. starting again, especially after a pause
2. the process of improving, bringing about freshness and vigor
3. the act of continuing, such as an official agreement or commitment

The Institute on the Environment Annual Meeting is a place to celebrate the IonE community –
affiliates, students, staff, collaborators, and friends – and refresh and reignite our commitments to
interdisciplinary, evidence-based climate solutions. This fall we’ll gather to start new relationships or reconnect
with one another to propel IonE’s mission – a future where people and planet prosper together – to its next phase.

The opening program centers our theme of renewal and community.

Watch the morning program here:

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Piano Performance

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

“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.