The Worker Institute's Art Wheaton Participates in WNY Environmental Congress

The Western New York Environmental Alliance celebrated the annual congress at the Buffalo Museum of Science with over 160 friends, supporters and board members. Art Wheaton of The Worker Institute serves as treasurer and board member of the WNY Environmental Alliance and the ILR School is a founding member of the alliance. Sam Magavern from the Partnership for the Public Good (PPG) and Cornell High Road Fellows along with Franchelle Hart from Open Buffalo also played a leading role in the event.

Buffalo has a very active environmental movement and Cornell in Buffalo is home to the WNY Environmental Alliance and the WNY Apollo Alliance in its new offices at 617 Main Street Suite 300 in downtown Buffalo. The Western New York Environmental Alliance’s 9th annual Environmental Congress was a future-oriented forum, exploring innovative solutions for a cleaner and sustainable Western NY. We brought together a panel of climate action leaders for proactive and critical discussion of the solutions being offered, their impacts on the WNY community and implications for climate justice. The panel represented a range of point of views, including environment, science, social justice, local government, faith, labor, and business. Panelists included:

• Joseph Mendelson, Director, Policy & Electricity Markets and Regulatory Counsel, Solar City
• Adrienne Bermingham, Roots & Shoots Program Coordinator, The Jane Goodall Institute
• Anne Petermann, Executive Director, Global Justice Ecology Project
• Brendan Mehaffy, Executive Director, Buffalo Office of Strategic Planning
• Jason Briner, Associate Prof. of Geology, University at Buffalo
• Franchelle C. Hart, Executive Director, Open Buffalo
• Rev. Shirley Chan, Riverside-Salem United Church of Christ / Disciples of Christ

The panel was moderated by Robert Shibley, Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo & One Region Forward.

The Worker Institute at Cornell plays an important role in advancing labor's involvement in the transition to a more environmentally sustainable city and state. Through research, education and training programs, and policy development, The Worker Institute is helping cities, unions, worker organizations, students, and low-income families across New York to develop economically viable environmental practices for a sustainable future. To learn more visit the Labor, Environment and Sustainable Development Initiative and ILR in Buffalo.