Program and Schedule

Hannah Button is the Senior Communications Lead for the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Data, Learning, and Communications Hub. She received a B.A. in Broadcast and Digital Journalism from the University of Southern California and a Master's in International Cooperation and Development from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy. Button has experience working as a journalist, educator, and international development specialist in the fields of reproductive health and food security. She is a passionate storyteller who takes a human-centric approach to communicating the impacts of climate change on lives and livelihoods.

I am a father of 4 children, all young adults today, and a very proud Grandpa which has put me on a whole new level of responsibility. I enjoy being outdoors as many who know me can attest to. I am a Hunter/Gatherer and value my way of life, both professionally and on a personal level.

Most of my adult career I worked in the field of AODA and have used the outdoors as a tool to help individuals in recovery/healing. I have spent some of that time guiding canoe trips into the Hudson/James Bay area, (Ont, Quebec). In 2017, I made a career change towards natural resources and was hired as a Wild Rice Technician. I help protect, restore and maintain data collections and provide assistance in wild rice monitoring, education, and harvesting to our community and youth.

Jason Gulley is an Associate Professor of Geology at the University of South Florida.

When the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled his research and kept him stuck at home, Jason had an epiphany of sorts: scientists have never been more certain about the dire environmental and climate change problems facing humanity, but fewer people care about, or believe, scientists than when he started university more than 25 years ago.

Because more science seemed unlikely to change public perception, Jason decided to dust off a long-dormant background in journalism to tell informed stories about our planet.  Before heading off to university in the late 1990s and accidentally becoming a scientist, Jason’s first professional job was photographing and writing stories for his hometown community weekly newspaper, the Harrison Press, in the cornfields of southwest Ohio.

Since resuming photojournalism in 2021, Jason’s photos have primarily been published by National Geographic, The New York Times and GEO and his career has taken him on expeditions to all seven continents.

Dr. Sadie Hundemer is an assistant professor of agriculture and natural resources communication in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication (AEC) at the University of Florida. Hundemer’s research draws from the fields of psychology, sociology, behavioral economics, political science, and communication science to understand and respond to the human dimensions of agricultural and natural resources challenges, including stakeholder conflict and political polarization.

On water topics, Hundemer examines how communication combines with values and worldviews to affect support for water sustainability initiatives among agricultural producers, environmental interests, and the general public. Her research methods include experimental methods, mental modeling, and content analysis. Hundemer’s research agenda includes exploration of how scientific information is heard, learned, and used in a partisan environment; moral foundation and worldview framing effects; communication for environmental justice; and communication of wicked agricultural and natural resources problems.

Faith Kearns is a scientist and science communication practitioner who writes and talks primarily about water, wildfire, and climate change in the western US. Her work has been published at New Republic, On Being, Bay Nature, and more. Kearns is the author of the award-winning book Getting to the Heart of Science Communication and co-host the award-winning Water Talk podcast with Mallika Nocco and Samuel Sandoval.

Bazile (buh-zeel) Panek (pawn-eck) is the Founder and CEO of Good Sky Guidance, a consulting firm specializing in the use of Indigenous Knowledges in environmental initiatives and advising institutions on respectful tribal community engagement. His roots come from the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe where he was born and raised. Bazile primarily serves as an Indigenous Consultant for the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP). In his role with ITEP, Bazile is co-facilitating the creation of the Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report, Volume 2. Bazile also works as the “Fire-Plan Research Coordinator” at University of Wisconsin-Platteville for a National Science Foundation-funded project that combines various ways of knowing to help heal fire-dependent lands and cultures in the Great Lakes region. Bazile's guiding philosophy in life is to "honor my ancestors by becoming an honorable ancestor for future generations."

Gigi Voss (she/her) is a 3rd year PhD student at the University of Minnesota and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology from Pomona College. She is a member of the collaborative project entitled First we must consider Manoomin/Psiŋ/Wild Rice. Her work focuses on using hydrologic modeling to understand how climate and landscape changes impact Wild Rice waters. As part of this work, she will collaborate with community members to generate and test climate adaptation solutions to protect Wild Rice into the future. Gigi currently resides here in Minneapolis and enjoys hiking on the North Shore and good books.