POLICY Dialogue Preview • Deborah Stone (Cook County Dept. of Environmental Control)

WATER, a Chicago Sustainability Series Season II Dialogue held on July 24th, 2020 with Dean Alonistiotis, Chief of Staff forMWRD Commissioner Kimberly Neely du Buclet of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

We discussed the intersections of water, racial and socioeconomic equity, essential workers, the impacts and pioneering research around the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.

This Dialogue was conducted over Zoom, in recognition of the importance of safety and social distancing in the pandemic.

Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com, and more about Commissioner du Buclet at https://mwrd.org/kimberly-neely-du-buclet and more about MWRDGC at https://mwrd.org/.

FOOD, a Chicago Sustainability Series Season II Dialogue held on June 26th, 2020 with Thomas Jonas, Co-Founder + CEO of Nature's Fynd. Nature's Fynd is an innovative Chicago-based firm innovating the food space with products harvested from the Fy microbe protein, originally sourced from Yellowstone National Park geysers. The Fy protein requires 99% less land, and 87% less water than traditional beef production to become a range of foods from breakfast to dinner, with 9 essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. 

*This Dialogue was conducted over Zoom, in recognition of the importance of safety and social distancing in the pandemic. *

In their own words, 

"Everything we do at Nature’s Fynd is driven by curiosity. It’s what led us to explore the springs of Yellowstone’s ancient volcano for NASA-supported research on extreme ecosystems.

That’s how we discovered a remarkable, protein-rich microorganism.Using the microorganism, we developed a breakthrough fermentation technology to create Fy (“fai”), a highly nutritious source of animal-free protein with all 9 essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fiber."

*Thomas discussed how he came to the alternative protein space, the range of their products (diary, meat substitutes, dessert, and more), the poetry of developing a new protein that uses a fraction of the resources of standard protein production in the same space as Chicago's Union Stock Yards, the challenges and opportunities of the pandemic, their funding journey, and what is next. *

*Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com, and more about Nature's Fynd at https://www.naturesfynd.com/. *

A preview of POLICY, a Chicago Sustainability Series Dialogue with Joyce Coffee (President, Climate Resilience Consulting), held on March 30th, 2017 in support of The People's Climate March (via Food+Water Watch - Midwest) at Civis Analytics.

Featuring a panel discussion with Joyce Coffee (President, Climate Resilience Consulting), Ashley Munson (Policy Coordinator, Illinois Environmental Council), and Deborah Stone (Cook County Chief Sustainability Officer, Director of Cook County Department of Environmental Control).

In partnership with Assembly Required, we produced intersectional environmental justice posters and signs that we utilized at the 2017 People's Climate March in Chicago.

In keeping with our ongoing partnership with Healthy Soil Compost + Nature's Little Recyclers, all food and food waste was composted.

Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com.

"...which gives me tremendous hope for the region." - Deborah Stone (Director + Chief Sustainability Officer, Cook County Department of Environmental Control)

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A preview of POLICY, a Chicago Sustainability Series Dialogue with Deborah Stone (Cook County Chief Sustainability Officer, Director of Cook County Department of Environmental Control), held on March 30th, 2017 in support of The People's Climate March (via Food+Water Watch - Midwest) at Civis Analytics.

Featuring a panel discussion with Deborah Stone (Cook County Chief Sustainability Officer, Director of Cook County Department of Environmental Control), Joyce Coffee (President, Climate Resilience Consulting), and Ashley Munson (Policy Coordinator, Illinois Environmental Council).

In partnership with Assembly Required, we produced intersectional environmental justice posters and signs that we utilized at the 2017 People's Climate March in Chicago.

In keeping with our ongoing partnership with Healthy Soil Compost + Nature's Little Recyclers, all food and food waste was composted.

Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com.

"... we ultimately vote these people into office." - Ashley Munson (Policy Coordinator, Illinois Environmental Council)

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A preview of POLICY, a Chicago Sustainability Series Dialogue with Ashley Munson (Policy Coordinator, Illinois Environmental Council), held on March 30th, 2017 in support of The People's Climate March (via Food+Water Watch - Midwest) at Civis Analytics.

Featuring a panel discussion with Ashley Munson (Policy Coordinator, Illinois Environmental Council), Deborah Stone (Cook County Chief Sustainability Officer, Director of Cook County Department of Environmental Control), and Joyce Coffee (President, Climate Resilience Consulting).

In partnership with Assembly Required, we produced intersectional environmental justice posters and signs that we utilized at the 2017 People's Climate March in Chicago.

In keeping with our ongoing partnership with Healthy Soil Compost + Nature's Little Recyclers, all food and food waste was composted.

Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com.

POLICY, a Chicago Sustainability Series Dialogue held on March 30th, 2017 in support of Food + Water Watch-Midwest's efforts at The People's Climate March at Civis Analytics.

Featuring a panel discussion with Joyce Coffee (The President of Climate Resilience Consulting), Deborah Stone, (Cook County's Chief Sustainability Officer and the Director of the Cook County Department of Environmental Control), and Ashley Munson, (then Policy Coordinator at the Illinois Environmental Council).

In keeping with our ongoing partnership with Healthy Soil Compost + Nature's Little Recyclers, all food and food waste was composted.

In partnership with Assembly Required, we produced intersectional environmental justice posters and signs that we utilized at the 2017 People's Climate March in Chicago.

The POLICY Dialogue raised $165 for Food + Water Watch-Midwest in support of their co-organizing efforts for The People's Climate March in Chicago.

Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com.

“If there was the magical funding, the thing that I would like to see done is to set up a materials processing facility in Chicago, most notably on the west or south side where it could provide some jobs. … the biggest hold up in the reuse industry when connected to the building and demolition industry is ‘time is money.’” - Meegan Czop (Owner + Creator, Great Lakes Yard).

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A preview of PLACE, a Chicago Sustainability Series Dialogue held on September 14th, 2016 in support of Teen Living Programs at Savage Smyth. Featuring a panel discussion with Meegan Czop (Owner + Creator, Great Lakes Yard), Molly Meyer (Founder + CEO, Omni Ecosystems), Paviella Foster (CaSSA Manager, Teen Living Programs), and Dan French (Founder + CEO, Brownfield Listings).

In partnership with Healthy Soil Compost + Nature's Little Recyclers, all food waste was transported by bike and composted, and courtesy of partner, Chicago Votes, voter registration was conducted.

Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com.

""But the sad part that came with it is I never knew that we had that many homeless youth in the city of Chicago. You know, you grow up and you may see people like under the viaducts, or you may see people sleeping on the bus stops or whatever, but I always saw them as adults. You know, I never saw anybody that's 15, and 16, and 17 years old that’s couch surfing, or you know they're sleeping in parks, they're sleeping in trains, they're anywhere just to make sure they're getting some kind of rest. They're all over the place, and it was really sad, but it motivated me to say, 'okay, this is something that we really need to address in the city of Chicago." - Paviella Foster (CaSSA Manager, Ignite, formerly Teen Living Programs)

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A preview of PLACE, a Chicago Sustainability Series Dialogue held on September 14th, 2016 in support of Teen Living Programs at Savage Smyth. Featuring a panel discussion with Paviella Foster (CaSSA Manager, Ignite, formerly Teen Living Programs), Molly Meyer (Founder + CEO, Omni Ecosystems), Meegan Czop (Owner + Creator, Great Lakes Yard), and Dan French (Founder + CEO, Brownfield Listings).

In partnership with Healthy Soil Compost + Nature's Little Recyclers, all food waste was transported by bike and composted, and courtesy of partner, Chicago Votes, voter registration was conducted.

Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com.

"...part of the struggle I think is the time we live in now. This deindustrialization, or this post-industrialization development, right? We just had the turn of a new millennium, we had a huge real estate crash, and things are kind of changing. And we’re at the center of that. That’s what Chicago is to me. We’re one of the great industrial cities, we still are a great city. . . . I think of us as like the beating heart of North America, right?" - Dan French (Founder + CEO, Brownfield Listings)

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A preview of PLACE, a Chicago Sustainability Series Dialogue held on September 14th, 2016 in support of Teen Living Programs at Savage Smyth. Featuring a panel discussion with Dan French (Founder + CEO, Brownfield Listings), Paviella Foster (CaSSA Manager, Teen Living Programs), Meegan Czop (Owner + Creator, Great Lakes Yard), and Molly Meyer (Founder + CEO, Omni Ecosystems).

In partnership with Healthy Soil Compost + Nature's Little Recyclers, all food waste was transported by bike and composted, and courtesy of partner, Chicago Votes, voter registration was conducted.

To learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series, visit SustainTheChi.com.

"Along with After School Matters about 30,000 Chicago youth get paid jobs for the summer. And so at our facility ... 50 students, youth, worked with us over the summer. About 10 of them in Omni and The Roof Crop, and the rest with non-profits that are in our building." - Molly Meyer (Founder + CEO, Omni Ecosystems)

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A preview of PLACE, a Chicago Sustainability Series Dialogue held on September 14th, 2016 in support of Teen Living Programs at Savage Smyth. Featuring a panel discussion with Molly Meyer (Founder + CEO, Omni Ecosystems), Paviella Foster (CaSSA Manager, Teen Living Programs), Dan French (Founder + CEO, Brownfield Listings), and Meegan Czop (Owner + Creator, Great Lakes Yard).

In partnership with Healthy Soil Compost + Nature's Little Recyclers, all food waste was transported by bike and composted, and courtesy of partner, Chicago Votes, voter registration was conducted.

Learn more about The Chicago Sustainability Series at SustainTheChi.com.