SPEAKERS

Sue Stevenson is director of Strategic Partnerships and International Development at Barefoot College International. Barefoot College International works in nearly 100 countries around the world and aspires to increase economic mobility by making vocational and educational opportunities accessible to women and girls in marginalized communities. Projects include training rural women to become solar engineers and bring solar technology to their home villages.

Talk Title: “Human Photosynthesis: How Systems of Renewal Intersect to Create Growth”

Dr. Barry Huff is a professor in the religious studies and philosophy department at Principia College where he has twice been chosen as Teacher of the Year. He teaches courses on the Bible and the environment and has published articles on environmental topics, including an ecological interpretation of the Book of Job in Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology. Dr. Huff, along with Dr. Patricia Vesely, edited Seeking Wisdom’s Depths and Torah’s Heights: Essays in Honor of Samuel E. Balentine. Dr. Huff previously served on the Joint Action and Advocacy for Justice and Peace Convening Table of the National Council of Churches and as the director of Principia College’s Israel, Palestine, and Jordan Study Abroad Program.

Talk Title: “‘The Earth is the Lord’s’ (Psalms 24:1): Biblical Perspectives on Intersectional Sustainability”

Brandon Quinn is a longtime volunteer with Sadhana Forest, an indigenous reforestation project working towards ecological restoration, water conservation, and food security goals in India, Haiti, Kenya, and Namibia. After getting a degree in integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, Quinn saved money to travel, and he first volunteered with Sadhana Forest while backpacking through India in 2013.  Prior to the pandemic, Quinn was serving as the project director for Sadhana Forest India, overseeing a volunteer team of more than 1,300 people a year from all over the world. Over the summer of 2022, Quinn joined a small pioneer team to establish a new Sadhana Forest project in partnership with the Himba tribe in Northern Namibia. 

 Talk Title: “Sadhana Forest: Forests to Grow People”

Ian Forber-Pratt is deputy executive director at Children’s Emergency Relief International (CERI) and an adjunct professor at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also a Principia College Trustee. CERI works with children, families, governments, and community leaders in Sri Lanka, South Africa, Moldova, India and Guatemala pursuing every child’s right to a loving family.

Talk Title: “Changing Systems Forever: Sustainable Thinking When Moving From Large Orphanages to Healing”