037: Our first Leadership and the Environment Panel of Experts: April 3 at NYU, full transcript
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce Leadership in the Environment’s first Panel of Experts and in-person event here in Manhattan, in lower Manhattan. Why? Because leadership and the Leadership and the Environment podcast are about community, about not feeling alone. This feeling that so many people have, “If I act but no one else does, it won’t make a difference.†People are acting, a lot of people are acting and you are not alone.
So first, the logistics. This will be at NYU, at 100 Washington Square East on Scenic Washington Square Park. Oh, you don’t have to write this down because it’s on the web page. So just click to go to the web page, you can find the details there. But again, 100 hundred Washington Square East, room 405, that’s NYU Silver building, it’s April 3, that’s this Tuesday, 6PM to 8PM. It’s free but please register so we know how many people will be there.
Second, the people. These are people who care. These are people who are successful at leadership. They’re not going to lecture you. This is not about science although they know the science. This is not about academic stuff although they know the academic stuff. They will inspire you with their genuine, authentic stories of them acting on their environmental values even in the face of adversity, even when it was difficult. They will also answer your questions so come prepared with questions and comments and things like that. So, who are they?
First, Vincent Stanley has been with Patagonia since 1973. That’s almost as long as I’ve been alive. That’s when the company was just a couple of people with an anvil making climbing equipment. What I love about Patagonia is that they have bet the farm to act on their environmental values several times and always come out ahead. Vincent Stanley has been there in the depths of it from the beginning. And people who know me know I’m not a fan of big corporations like Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft. When I learned about Patagonia’s practices acting on their environmental values, betting the farm, coming out ahead it was the first company I can think of where I said, “I want to work with these guys.†And so, I went to a Patagonia store. They liked what I talked about, about leadership and environment, and one thing led to another, I met Vincent who works at the director level. He’s been there for a very long time. You’ll get to hear his story. Also, his podcast interview will come up soon. I’m going to try to get it up before the event so you can meet him a bit before you see him.
Next, R.J. Khalaf. A former student of mine who has taken the project in my social entrepreneurship class and run with it to get success at a global level while still a student at NYU. He is a Dalai Lama scholar supporting his lead Palestine effort. I cannot believe this guy is 21 years old. A few days after this Panel of Experts he’s going to give his first TEDx talk. He was also named one of the most influential people at NYU. This guy is amazing. You can learn a lot from him. He’s also been a guest on this podcast. I think two of the three conversations I’ve had with him are up, the third will come up soon so click around and listen to the conversations with R.J.
Next, Robin Nagle. She has a TED talk. Go to the site and click to see her TED talk. She studies garbage. If you’ve listened to this podcast, you know how important decreasing garbage is for me and the more you know about it, the more you can do about it. For me garbage and reducing it has become by replacing packaged food with the unpackaged food which is much more delicious to me. Delicious. And that’s what’s motivated this whole podcast. You can see why I’m so thrilled to have Robin involved. Now she is the real deal. I saw her speak and met her after she spoke because as a professor with a TED talk she worked with sanitation crews in New York City to see the flow of garbage, to see how these things work. And she saw it from the inside actually doing sanitation work. Professors don’t have to do this. If she did, it means she cares. She’s got stories to tell, she wrote a book on it. And to me this is the future of education, not just telling people what to do, not just talking about facts but actually going out and doing things and seeing things in person in action.
The event is officially sponsored by NYU. You’ll hear from these people, you’ll meet them, you’ll meet each other. This is about forming a community. This is about creating meaning, value, importance and purpose around acting on the environment. Last before wrapping up, I want to talk about Ben and Ryan who have helped make this event. They’re volunteers who have come out because they like this show and they wanted to make things happen. A couple of weeks ago we had some very successful Leadership and the Environment workshops that they are the impetus to have happened. Always looking for more volunteers. You’ll get to meet them here. I think they’ll tell you that this is a very rewarding thing for them. It’s certainly a rewarding thing for me. I think it will be rewarding for you.
So once again, the logistics. It will be at the NYU Silver building, that’s 100 Washington Square East right off of Scenic Washington Square Park, room 405. It’s free but please register. It’s April 3, that’s a Tuesday from 6PM to 8PM. Looking forward to seeing you there. Come with your questions, come with your comments, come to volunteer, come to hear what other people are doing but come. See you there.
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