Program Archive
Below you will find video sessions from both our pilot and cycle 2 Local Champions cohorts. Clicking on the session pages will bring you to additional resources that were shared with our program participants (model resolutions, tools, etc.). We hope these will be useful to those of you in New York’s Hudson Valley, and statewide, who are doing the hard work of leading your municipality to bronze and silver certification in NY’s Climate Smart Communities program. We root for every one of you and know that every single effort to draw down emissions and repair ecosystems contributes to the well-being of us all.
Please also check out our Grants Lists page and our collection of inspiring movies, podcasts & books.
Final Presentations from
Cohort 2
Tuesday April 25
Shawangunk, JoAnne Warren
Town of Kinderhook, Melissa Miller
Village of Kinderhook, Bill Mancini
Valatie, Meg Todisco
Millbrook, Genevieve Glasson
Thursday April 27
Amenia, Stacy Mantel
Village of Catskill, Margaret Tomlinson
Philmont, Tom Paino
Town of Chatham, Deborah Conrad
Stanford, Teddy Secor
Pilot Cohort’s Final Presentations
At the end of their 6-month journey with us, each of our cohort members shared what they learned from the program in 2021 and their plans for transitioning their towns to a greener future.
Click on the images below to view past sessions with our Local Champions.
Each week we meet with our Local Champions cohorts, to provide support as they work toward bronze. Below are recordings from our sessions. Click into the session page to explore details, speaker bios, and resources.
Above: Germantown CSC Task Force’s Waste Management Subcommittee on a field trip to the Columbia County Transfer Station & Recycling Center
Local Champions Orientation and Onboarding
In this session we lay out how the cohort will work together and review the goals of the pilot. We also give an introduction to the Climate Smart Communities program.
Speakers: Vanessa Bertozzi & Paige Ruane of Partners for Climate Action
Recorded on February 2, 2021
Intro to Certification Assessment
In this session partners from Cornell Cooperative Extensions provide an overview of their certification assessment process. We pair up our Local Champions with CCE staff to comb through which actions their towns have already accomplished and for which they can get CSC points towards bronze certification.
Speakers: Michelle Gluck and our Cornell Cooperative Extension partners
Recorded on February 4, 2021
Google Drive Tutorial
As we start working with our Climate Smart Task Forces, we’ll need to have an organized way to share files and collaborate on working documents. Many folks in our program like to use Google Drive. This tutorial is meant for people who are new to this suite of tools.
Speakers: Vanessa Bertozzi
Recorded on August 18, 2022
Communicating About Climate
Tim Guinee gives a talk on how to speak—and listen—effectively about climate change, with different people, in different contexts.
Speaker: Tim Guinee, Climate Reality Project
Recorded on February 16, 2021
Tools for Engaging Your Team
One of the first actions required by CSC is to create a CSC Task Force. But who should you recruit? And then how do you keep up the momentum and keep things organized? Dig into how to build your superhero Task Force with Vanessa, and get tips on tools and best practices. Plus, Paige, a former therapist, shares trade secrets on how to deal with different personality types.
Speakers: Vanessa Bertozzi & Paige Ruane of Partners for Climate Action
Recorded on February 25, 2021
Getting Started as a CSC Leader
Julie Noble shares her story of how she got started as a volunteer doing climate work in Kingston, and how she led the charge to Kingston's silver certification. She digs into how she gets things done, delegates tasks, and keeps it all organized.
Speaker: Julie Noble, Sustainability Coordinator for City of Kingston (Silver Certified)
Recorded on March 4, 2021
Civics Crash Course: Pt 1
We present an overview of how the government is structured in NY State, with the need-to-know info as it relates to climate work. We cover the process of moving CSC actions through local government as well.
Speaker: Vanessa Bertozzi of Partners for Climate Action
Recorded on September 6, 2022
Civics Crash Course: Pt 2
Vanessa Bertozzi presents a bit about the process of moving CSC actions through local government, and then, Mayor Armacost joins us for the real deal—how the sausage gets made.
Speaker: Niki Armacost, Mayor of Hastings-on Hudson (Silver Certified)
Recorded on March 11, 2021
Navigating Difficult Personalities
Paige Ruane puts on her former therapist cap and gives tips on what to do when you encounter difficult personalities in your climate work, as you inevitably will!
Speaker: Paige Ruane, Partners for Climate Action
Recorded in September, 2022.
Red Hook Case Study
Red Hook NY, a town in northern Dutchess, has been a leader in the Climate Smart Communities and Clean Energy Communities programs. Town Supervisor, Robert McKeon, will join us, as will Bard College's Sustainability Director and head of Red Hook's CAC/CSC, Laurie Husted.
Speakers: Robert McKeon, Red Hook Town SUpervisor, and Laurie Husted, Bard College’s Sustainability Director and head of Red Hook’s CAC/CSC
Recorded in November 2022
The Latest on the CLCPA
Jen Metzger gives us an update on the CLCPA and its Scoping Plan—NY State's nation leading climate change legislation, which Jen fought for as a former state senator. She is Ulster County’s newly elected County Executive and lives in Rosendale. She was a founder of the nonprofit Communities for Local Power and a member of Rosendale's Town Board from 2013-2019.
Speaker: Jen Metzger, Former State Senator and newly elected Ulster County Executive
Recorded in November, 2022.
Climate Justice, Green Gentrification, & Green Jobs
In what ways is climate change (and the COVID crisis) accelerating inequities along social, economic, and racial lines in the Hudson Valley? What does "climate justice" mean and what form does it take in your community?
Speakers: Corey Allen from Habitat for Humanity; Jessica Clegg from Citizens for Local Power; and Alanah Keddell-Tuckey, Public Outreach Specialist for DEC’s Office of Environmental Justice
Recorded on March 25, 2021
Making Meaning in Your Community
CSC builds in community engagement. This is one of the aspects of CSC that compelled us to create the Local Champions pilot. This can be seen in CSC’s approach with creating the Task Force, as well as specific actions that are public events or collaborations.
This session is all about getting inspired by the community organizers we’ve invited to share their stories.
Speakers: Cedar Young and Shenequa Perry, Youth leaders from Homer NY and Saranac Lake; Brennan Kearney, Dutchess County Legislator, and Repair Cafe enthusiast; Emily Vail, Executive Director, Hudson River Watershed Alliance
In Memoriam: Solarize NY and Repair Cafe Founder, John Wackman
Recorded on April 8, 2021
Tools for Engaging Your Community
In this session, we'll get you set up with an email newsletter and social media, and we'll dig into how to tell the story of your climate work on a webpage or website.
Speaker: Vanessa Bertozzi
Recorded on April 15, 2021
Grants
We have done two sessions that walk through grant opportunities related to your Climate Smart Communities work.
Video 1:
Jill Falchi-Henck has helped many towns with planning and grants guidance through her work at the Capital District Regional Planning Commission. CDRPC offers similar guidance and technical assistance to municipalities that Cornell Cooperative Extension does.
Jill will be joined by two Climate Smart Community Coordinators who not only got their towns certified, but also successfully received grants for CSC actions.
Speakers: Jill Falchi-Henck, Senior Planner at the Capital District Regional Planning Commission; Ellen Calves, Deputy Town Supervisor of Bedford and CSC Task Force Coordinator; Amanda Gotto, New Paltz CSC Task Force member specializing in grants
Recorded on April 22, 2021
Video 2:
Kristen Wilson is with RUPCO, a Kingston based non-profit which works toward creating strong, vibrant and inclusive communities. Kristen joined RUPCO in 2021 as the Assistant Vice President for Community Development. Prior to joining RUPCO, Kristen worked as the Director of Grants Management for the City of Kingston and as Senior Resource Educator for the Healthy Communities Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County.
The DEC offers CSC grants, which municipalities can apply for. We know municipalities don’t necessarily have the financial means to undertake climate projects—small to large. This session is all about getting the lowdown from Kristen on how you can navigate the process of applying for grants and then, the often overlooked work load of managing them.
Speakers: Kristen Wilson
Recorded on October 4, 2022
Solar Part 1: Siting
Audrey Friedrichsen, an attorney who specializes in land use and solar siting issues at Scenic Hudson, presents to the cohort on this topic. She will delve into best practices of how to work with a community for what can often be a contentious issue.
Speaker: Audrey Friedrichsen, Scenic Hudson
Recorded on April 27, 2021
Intro to Technical Assistance, Feasibility Studies, & Grants
As you’re working through the CSC program, you may be eyeing certain potential projects and wondering which to pursue. Perhaps that open question prompts a bunch of other questions. Perhaps you're interested in applying for a CSC grant (these are typically announced early May, with an application deadline in July). Enter Brandee Nelson, a civil engineer and planner who works with municipalities.
Speaker: Brandee Nelson, Tighe & Bond
May 11, 2021
Agriculture in the Era of Climate Change
Many of our small rural towns in the Hudson Valley are experiencing an agricultural shift. Which CSC actions support local agriculture? We explore this topic as it relates to carbon sequestration, land conservation, tax implications, local food systems, employment, migrant workers, using farmland for solar, policy, and grants.
Speakers: Elizabeth Ryan, owner/operator of Breezy Hill Orchard, Mike Sweeton, Warwick Town Supervisor, and Andy Bicking, Scenic Hudson
May 20, 2021
Solar Part 2: Community Solar & CCAs
Former State Senator Jen Metzger and Red Hook Town Supervisor Robert McKeon speak about the ins and outs of community distributed solar and community choice aggregation (CCAs).
Speakers: Jen Metzger, former State Senator, co-founder and consultant for Citizens for Local Power; Robert McKeon, Town Supervisor of Red Hook
May 25, 2021
Climate Change & Regional Economic Development
How do we think about our climate work in relation to drawing in and encouraging green businesses? How does climate relate to regional and NY state economic development? And how does this relate to the work you're doing on a very local level?
Speakers: March Gallagher, Ulster County Comptroller, and Judy Wicks, founder of All Together Now PA
May 27, 2021
Climate Work & Democracy with a Small "d"
How is the CSC program and our climate work also fertile ground for the seeds of civic engagement? What does this mean for local empowerment?
Speaker: Jason Angell, Ecological Citizen's Project
July 1, 2021
Additional memos and resources shared with Local Champs
Intro to ICLEI
The Local Champions pilot granted a 1-year subscription to ICLEI to each cohort member if they choose to use it. ICLEI is a global organization that provides technical assistance and support for municipal governments working on climate change.
Speaker: Kale Roberts, Senior Program Officer at ICLEI USA
July 29, 2021
Our pilot also included sessions with the Regenesis Group’s Bill Reed and Joel Glanzberg.
The Regenesis Group facilitated a series of exercises and discussions with the pilot cohort. We explored each Local Champion’s connection to their place, what brings them to this work, and how to use a systems thinking approach. The guidance of Joel Glanzberg and Bill Reed helped our pilot cohort focus on communication and how to bring deep listening into their work with their communities.
Watch these videos to get a sense of Regenesis’s unique approach.