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Lois DeBacker to moderate panel on advancing climate justice at CMF’s 50th Annual Conference

Environment

How should we think about one of the fundamental challenges of our lifetime — climate change?

The Council of Michigan Foundations will kick off its 50th Annual Conference main stage programming with an engaging and impactful dialogue on the climate justice movement featuring New York Times bestselling author Bill McKibben, Inaugural Director of the Tishman Center of Social Justice and the Environment at the University of Michigan Michelle Martinez, and Senior Director for Environmental Justice of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Jalonne L. White-Newsome, Ph.D., who is also a former senior program officer of The Kresge Foundation.

Lois DeBacker, managing director of Kresge’s Environment Program, will serve as the moderator.

This is the first time in the history of the CMF conference where climate change has been the focus of the main stage program. The panelists are a group of climate and climate justice leaders who will discuss the urgency of addressing climate change, examine the relationships between climate change and racial injustice and explore the federal administration’s response to these critical issues.

McKibben, Martinez, White-Newsome and DeBacker will unpack how climate justice relates to philanthropy’s work in areas such as health, economic and workforce development, housing, education and more. They will also explore opportunities for philanthropy to be changemakers in this space and provide actionable ideas to support the progress that is urgently needed.

Register today for CMF’s 50th Annual Conference taking place November 14-16 in Grand Rapids.