Climate Summit 2023

To support the work of regional climate action, Climate Action KC hosts an annual Climate Summit to celebrate successes, vision towards the future, and prioritize regional opportunities with the Kansas City metro area community.

The 2023 Climate Summit will focus on what lies ahead in the next 10, 20, 30 years – as Kansas City aims to reach net zero by 2050. Join us for inspiring conversations with elected officials, corporate leaders, climate advocates, and other critical voices across our region. We look forwarding to seeing you there!

Saturday, September 9, 2023 10am - 4:00pm CDT

Rockhurst University
Kansas City, MO. 64110

Tickets are currently SOLD OUT! We’ll update you if additional ticket sales become available. Sign up for the waitlist!

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2023 Info & Tickets
Summit Agenda
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Thank you to all who attended our Climate Action Summit in 2022…
See you again soon!

Climate Action KC welcomes you back to take a look at the goals we have achieved together since our inaugural summit in 2019. The challenges of COVID-19 provided unexpected insights into community behavior, and also what is possible through teamwork. Attendees will learn about the ripple effect that regional climate action can have on worldwide COP26 emission mitigation goals, and hear what national policy-makers who represent our region are doing to help! 

This year’s event, focused on the theme “What Connects Us,” is presented in partnership with the European Union and the International Urban and Regional Cooperation program, and will offer presentations and conversations with members of Congress, mayors, scientists and other critical voices in climate adaptation and resilience. Participants from 19 regions throughout Europe and North America are expected to attend.

Discussions will highlight global climate topics, and local climate action efforts, including the award-winning KC Regional Climate Action Plan, a model framework that municipalities can adopt for guidance on planning with a more sustainable lens (with a regional Net Zero emissions target goal of 2050). 

The day’s events will begin at 10:00 a.m. with interactive exhibits at our free indoor and outdoor Climate Action Expo, and close with a VIP reception immediately following the event. VIP reception will be at the Regnier Center Atrium and Capitol Federal Conference Center. Display your ticket received during check-in to the door attendants to enter the reception. Sustainability tours that include LEED-certified buildings will also be offered. Food truck lunches will be available for purchase at the Eat Local + Organic Expo — also being held that day at the JCCC Fieldhouse!

Climate Action Indoor & Outdoor Expo and LEED & Sustainability Tours

  • 4H Blender Bike
  • A Meal that Counts
  • Drone demonstration
  • Food Cycle KC
  • Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
  • KC Farm School at Gibbs Road
  • KC Stem Alliance
  • Mind Drive demonstration of student-built electric cars
  • Metropolitan Energy Center
  • Musician AY Young’s Entrepreneurial and Sustainability projects (see “Musical Guests” below for more info)
  • Ripple Glass
  • Studio 804 Mobile Demonstration of LEED-certified tiny homes from the Lawrence Community Shelter
  • U.S Green Building Council – Central Plains
  • Black and Veatch
  • Building a Sustainable Earth
  • Building Energy Exchange
  • Climate + Energy Project
  • Groundwork NR
  • Heartland Conservation Alliance
  • IBEW L.U. 124
  • League of Women Voters Johnson County
  • Mid-America Regional Council Environmental Programs
  • Missouri Organics
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • NextEra Energy
  • Rep Sharice Davids Constituent Services
  • The Resilient Activist
  • Sierra Club
  • Willdan
  • Tour A: Campus LEED-certified buildings*
  • Tour B: Campus land use and ecology*
  • Tour C: Campus farm and composting system**

*Tours are free and require pre-registration through this link, and will depart at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. from the Summit Expo (east parking lot by Yardley Hall). Tour registrations are filled on a first-come, first-served basis and are limited to 25 participants per tour.
**Open tour, will meet and depart from the Eat Local + Organic Expo (Campus Fieldhouse – map provided at Expo)

Speakers

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Musical Guests and Performing Artists

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Emcees

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Schedule

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Speakers

Former Mayor, Pittsburgh, PA

Bill Peduto
MO 5th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II
KS 3rd Congressional District

Sharice Davids
City Manager, Kansas City, Missouri

Brian Platt
K-State Distinguished Prof., Soil Microbiology

Dr. Charles Rice
Delegation of the EU to the U.S.

Mercedes García Pérez
Regional Administrator, U.S.EPA, Region 7

Meg McCollister
Regional Administrator, U.S. Dept. of HUD, Region 7

Ulysses “Deke” Clayborn
Treasurer, State of Kansas

Lynn Rogers
Climate Activist

Justice Horn
Mayor of Roeland Park

Mayor Mike Kelly
President of Climate Action KC

Lindsey Constance
News Director, KCUR 89.3

Lisa Rodriguez
Johnson County Community College

Dr. Andy Bowne
Johnson County Community College

Jay Antle
Senior Hydrometeorologist, HDR, Inc.

Mike McMahon, ENV SP
Community Planning Resiliency Lead, HDR, Inc.

Nathalie Beauvais, Int’l. Assoc. AIA, APA, LEED AP
Former Mayor, Pittsburgh, PA

Bill Peduto

Bill Peduto served as mayor of Pittsburgh, PA from 2014 to 2022, after serving 12 years on Pittsburgh’s City Council. Peduto’s tenure included modernizing the city’s systems for permits, licenses and inspections; support for ride-sharing services; and cleaning up Pittsburgh’s Water and Sewer Authority, leading to the lowest lead levels in 25 years. Peduto attended the 2015 COP21 climate talks in Paris resulting in the Paris Agreement. He committed Pittsburgh to reduce citywide emissions, GHG emissions from transportation, and water and energy use by 50% by the year 2030. Other 2030 goals set were to create a fossil-fuel-free City fleet and utilize 100% renewable energy in all city facilities. Under Peduto, the city also set up an inter-departmental Office of Sustainability and Resilience Division, working to keep other city departments to these emissions goals by: Adopting a Climate Action Plan 3.0 (a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions within city limits and operations to lessen Pittsburgh’s contribution to global climate change); Passing a Net Zero Ready Building Ordinance, requiring all new or renovated city government buildings to consume only as much energy as they produce; promote socially-responsible investing by city pensions; distributing 100,000 recycling bins to residents to achieve the city’s waste goals; among other climate-oriented goals.

MO 5th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II

A nine-term U.S. representative, United Methodist pastor and former mayor of Kansas City, Representative Cleaver is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance, and serves on the Committee of Financial Services, the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress as well as the Helsinki Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. A long-time supporter of energy efficiency and weatherization efforts in the metropolitan area, Cleaver’s Green Impact Zone proposal in 2009 expanded job opportunities, training programs and wellness programs to help a 12-block section of the city’s east side recover from the Great Recession.

KS 3rd Congressional District

Sharice Davids

A member of the Congressional Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Representative Davids was a speaker at the inaugural Summit in 2019. Her primary focuses are economic and community development with an emphasis on affordability and accessibility to the middle class. Davids lives in Roeland Park, KS and is a JCCC and UMKC alum with a law degree from Cornell. Davids has been a consistent champion for infrastructure funds for the 3rd District, to pay for stormwater projects that mitigate flooding and provide clean, safe drinking water to homes, schools and Tribal lands in her district and beyond.

City Manager, Kansas City, Missouri

Brian Platt

Brian Platt is the City Manager for the City of Kansas City, MO, leading 4,500 employees delivering essential city services to KCMO’s 508,000 residents. When Platt started work in December of 2020, he was immediately faced with the challenge of fighting a pandemic while delivering basic services with a shrinking budget. He tackled that challenge by finding answers that work for area residents. Platt is also leading efforts on a feasibility study to build the largest city-owned solar farm in the country on thousands of acres at Kansas City International Airport.

K-State Distinguished Prof., Soil Microbiology

Dr. Charles Rice

Charles (Chuck) Rice is a University Distinguished Professor at Kansas State University, teaching soil microbiology for the Department of Agronomy. At KSU, his courses and research focus on soil carbon and nitrogen, soil health, microbial ecology, and climate change impacts on agricultural and grassland ecosystems. He has also authored over 250 publications. Internationally, he served on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to author a report on the subject in 2007 and 2014 and was among the scientists recognized when that work won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. In 2020, Dr. Rice received the honorary title of “National Associate” of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He currently chairs the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources for the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Delegation of the EU to the U.S.

Mercedes García Pérez

Mercedes Garcia and her team are in charge of climate, energy, environment, oceans, transportation and innovation for the EU Delegation. She is a frequent public speaker covering the topic of climate change and policy. Her previous position with European External Action Service mainstreamed human rights policy concerns into EU external policies, including crisis management, migration policy, fundamental rights for human and democratic development, and preparation of EU policy positions on human rights.

Regional Administrator, U.S.EPA, Region 7

Meg McCollister

Meg McCollister leads the regional EPA office with a focus on advisory, management and strategic thinking in areas such as health and social improvement initiatives, business objectives, digital communications strategy, voter and community engagement and more. McCollister has a strong advisory and advocacy background with nearly two decades of experience serving nonprofits, candidates for public office and public policy campaigns, and is a graduate of UMKC School of Law. She has also served on conservation action organizations in Sonoma County, California.

Regional Administrator, U.S. Dept. of HUD, Region 7

Ulysses “Deke” Clayborn

Deke Clayborn was appointed by the Biden administration to serve as HUD Regional Administrator for Region 7 in February 2022. Clayborn was most recently the managing member of Clayborn & Associates, LLC, a Kansas City law firm focused on real estate development. He has experience with projects financed with funds from multiple sources, including multifamily revenue bonds, low-income housing tax credits and historic tax credits. Prior to forming Clayborn & Associates, he served as General Counsel to the Missouri Housing Development Commission, the state’s housing finance agency. Clayborn received his juris doctorate from UMKC, and a master of laws in taxation from Washington University in St. Louis.

Treasurer, State of Kansas

Lynn Rogers

Lynn has more than 40 years of experience in banking, serving in a number of capacities for a variety of financial institutions. As an agricultural banker, Lynn worked to provide more than $750 million in leasing and financing services to farmers, ranchers, and grain cooperatives. During his time in the Kansas Senate, he served as the Ranking member of the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance and was a member of the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs and the Senate Committee on Agriculture. He went on to serve as Lieutenant Governor from 2019 to 2021. As Lieutenant Governor, Lynn was the head of the Office of Rural Prosperity, where he focused on increasing opportunities in rural communities in the areas of housing and telecommunications.

Climate Activist

Justice Horn

Justice, a Community Advisor to the White House Office of Public Engagement’s Black Stakeholder Group, also serves as a Senior Advisor to the City of KCMO’s Climate Protection & Resiliency Plan. Justice focuses his work on transformative policies to ensure community longevity through sustainable planning and equity. Horn has committed himself to the Kansas City community as an activist in social justice, climate justice, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Mayor of Roeland Park

Mayor Mike Kelly

Mike Kelly, Mayor of Roeland Park, Kansas, is the Chairman of Climate Action KC. Mayor Kelly is Senior Counsel at Husch Blackwell focusing on real estate, design, and construction litigation.

President of Climate Action KC

Lindsey Constance

Lindsey is President of Climate Action KC. She served on the Shawnee City Council from 2017-2021 and led many important sustainability and environmental initiatives. She has been a teacher for 18 years and currently serves families in the Shawnee Mission School District. Lindsey received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching in 2012 and has been a strong proponent for STEM education in our schools.

News Director, KCUR 89.3

Lisa Rodriguez

Lisa will be moderating the Mayors Panel, discussing how mayors from across the world are coming together to tackle climate action. Lisa is a bilingual journalist and storyteller with a focus on source-driven reporting. She got her start at KCUR as a producer for “Up to Date” with Steve Kraske, and has covered government and economic development topics in KCMO for the last five years.

Johnson County Community College

Dr. Andy Bowne

Dr. Andy Bowne joined Johnson County Community College in July 2020. As the College’s sixth president, he immediately spearheaded JCCC’s 2021-25 Strategic Plan ensuring a shared and inclusive voice to advance the institutional mission and establish the College’s vision. Working with teams across campus, Dr. Bowne has been identifying strategies to close equity gaps in access and student success while continuing to build relationships to meet workforce needs. He has sought to foster exemplary internal connections and renew strong external partnerships. JCCC is launching new student opportunities such as participating in the Kansas Promise Scholarship program and meeting post-pandemic instructional and support service needs of an increasingly diverse student population.

Johnson County Community College

Jay Antle

Dr. Antle graduated from University of Kansas in 1992 for his Ph.D. in American Environmental History. While in graduate school, he participated in an exchange program with Johnson County Community College that ultimately led him to secure a professorship there in 2000 that he still holds. His responsibilities at JCCC have grown to include heading up the college’s Sustainability program as the Executive Director of the college’s Sustainability Center. He is a four-time winner of the JCCC Distinguished Service Award. He currently lives in Lawrence and is an avid hiker and storm chaser.

Senior Hydrometeorologist, HDR, Inc.

Mike McMahon, ENV SP

Mike is the climate change and resilience lead for HDR, an international environmental construction services firm based out of Omaha, NE. The focus of his work is on understanding and communicating the interactions of the Land-Water-Atmosphere nexus. His projects and research include climate change quantification, impact analysis and adaptation planning, flood warning, monitoring and response, water supply management, stormwater and wastewater modeling, forensic storm event analyses, EIR/EIS documentation, and GIS mapping for climate adaptation strategies.

Community Planning Resiliency Lead, HDR, Inc.

Nathalie Beauvais, Int’l. Assoc. AIA, APA, LEED AP

As an architect, planner and urban designer, Nathalie leads projects involving resilient buildings, grey and green infrastructures, nature-based solutions, and innovation for integrated design approaches; bringing design and stakeholder engagement to the forefront. She has led climate change vulnerability assessment and resiliency plans for several cities and state agencies including the Massachusetts Dept. of Housing, City of Cambridge, Washington D.C. and Ontario, Canada; and contributed to The World Bank final report for Sustainable and Resilient Futures for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In 2016, Ms. Beauvais started the award-winning BSA/BSLA Global Design Initiative for Refugee Children, which received the AIA National Collaborative Achievement Award in 2020.

Musical Guests & Performing Artists

AY

Casi Joy

The Marching Cobras

Quixotic

AY

AY Young is a producer, singer, songwriter, entertainer, and entrepreneur. He powers his concerts (“The Battery Tour”) using renewable energy and was recently named a UN Youth Leader for SDGs and performed at President Biden’s inauguration. AY is currently working on “Project 17,” the world’s first sustainable album containing 17 songs, 1 per each Sustainable Development Goal, recorded in partnership with the best artists in the world in a carbon-neutral way. AY has held 800+ solar-powered concerts across the country since 2012.

Casi Joy

With over 37 million video views online, Joy has captured the attention of music fans around the globe who appreciate the way she melds traditional country and modern pop influences. A seasoned performer, her impressive social media presence eventually led to a highly-touted run on NBC’s The Voice. Hailing from Kansas City before moving to Nashville, Casi has become a beloved hometown figure. One of her favorite events to come back for is the Kansas City Plaza Lighting seen by 250,000 attendees and half a million television viewers. She has also been invited numerous times to sing her stunning rendition of the National Anthem for the Kansas City Chiefs, American Royal, KC Royals, and Sporting KC. 

The Marching Cobras

The Marching Cobras organization was started in Kansas City, KS, in 1969 by Willie Arthur Smith. During their 50-year history, the Cobras have performed for at least 4 U.S. presidents and twice at the White House. They routinely tour throughout the U.S. to perform in parades, college football half-time shows, Mardi Gras and drill team competitions.

Quixotic

Quixotic is an innovative performance art collective that fuses imagination with technology, dance, projection mapping and live music to create fully-immersive, multi-sensory experiences. They have performed for audiences worldwide and have helped launch brand products for companies such as BVLGARI, Faena Hotels, Garmin, HP, Smithsonian and Toyota.

Emcee

Hartzell Gray

Hartzell Gray

Hartzell is a long-running radio personality in Kansas City, spending years with 96.5 The Buzz. Now on-air with public radio KCUR 89.3, Hartzell juggles many high-profile gigs including co-hosting The KC Morning Show, emceeing Sporting KC soccer matches and Kansas City Monarchs baseball, and co-owning and hosting Journey Pro Wrestling circuit.

Sponsors

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Presenting Sponsors

IBEW 124
Power Partners
SMART Sheet Metal Local #2

 

Transformative Sponsor

Black & Veatch
BranchPattern
Evergy
Hallmark
NextEra
Panasonic
Victor L. and Helen B. Regnier Fund

 

Resilient Sponsor

Advent Health
Bayer
City of Mission
Grundfos
Husch Blackwell
JE Dunn
Kala Performance Homes
Missouri Organics
Treanor HL

 

Sustainable Sponsor

Ashok Gupta
BNIM
City of Independence
City of Kansas City, Missouri
City of Roeland Park
Curtin Property Company
FlowEnergy
HDR
Lights On
Resurrection, A United Methodist Church
Sierra Club 
T-Mobile Center
Trane
US Green Building Council

 

Adaptive Sponsor

Burns & McDonnell
City of Merriam, KS
City of Overland Park, KS
City of Prairie Village, KS
City of Westwood, KS
Climate & Energy Project
Corbion
Cove.Tool
Entegrity Partners
Heartland Conservation Alliance
Jennings Engineering
Johnson County Commissioner Becky Fast
Lamar Johnson Collaborative
Little Government Relations
League of Women Voters Johnson County
The Nature Conservancy
North Kansas City
Populous
Ripple Glass
Union Station/Science City

In-Kind Sponsors

KC Can Compost

Expo Tables

Be-Ex KC 
Citizens Climate Lobby
Climate & Energy Project
EPA 
Flourish Furniture Bank
Green Come True
Greenability
Hallmark
IKEA
KC Can Compost
MARC EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant
Missouri Organics 
Net Zero C6, Inc.
Plug In KC/Evergy
Ripple Glass 
Re.Use.Full
Resilient Activist
Sierra Club
Stitching Change INC
Syntax Land Design
The Nature Conservancy
U.S. Green Building Council/USGBC 

MARC Climate Planning Workshops

Climate summit 2023 MARC workshops

MARC Climate Planning Workshops

MARC will be holding two workshops to provide guidance for federal funding applicants and infrastructure project champions: A resilience-focused workshop covering green infrastructure, food systems, the circular economy and more; and a mitigation workshop focused on transportation systems, energy generation, building energy efficiency and other factors. Environmental justice will be integral to all discussions.

These events are open to government staff, public institutions, nonprofits, community-based organizations, solid waste, water, green infrastructure or other relevant sectors and environmental justice advocates and leaders from climate vulnerable communities. The end goal of the workshops is to develop a resilience-focused project pipeline for a regional Priority Climate Action Plan.

Sign Up for These Workshops on September 7th and 8th
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