Earth Talks 2026

Kenny Ouedraogo - Earth Talks Moderator

Bio: Kenny Ouedrago is a Seattle native, born and raised. He's a recent graduate of Seattle Preparatory School, where he served as the Student Body President and the President of the Black Student Union. Now, he's a First-Year student at Seattle University studying Political Science, specializing in Legal Studies, and is in the Honors Program, with the goal of attending law school afterwards. At the start of the school year, he was elected to serve as the First-Year Senator on the Student Government of Seattle University. Most notably, Kenny served as an intern for the Office of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell for the past three summers, where he worked as a Constituent Services Intern - reading and responding to letters and emails sent by citizens, assisted in writing Mayoral Proclamations, and assisted with operations and projects around the office - gaining a deeper understanding for the role local government and community engagement plays in our lives. Kenny loves learning about history, politics, geography, and culture. He enjoys spending time with his friends and family, going on walks in different parks throughout Seattle, which include Seward Park, the Arboretum, Volunteer Park, and Discovery Park, and he enjoys exploring new and different neighborhoods throughout Seattle.

Building Just and Humane Cities - Jacob Caddali

Presentation Synopsis: For his capstone project for Public Affairs, Jacob conducted a systematic literature review of papers and articles focused on looking at the incorporation of social equity in climate resiliency plans. While some of the articles analyzed cities in different countries, the vast majority of the papers focused on cities within the US, between the period 2019-2026. All of this was done to answer the following questions: how, and to what extent, do US cities incorporate social equity into their climate resilience plans? What actions and steps have been shown to be the most promising in the creation of greener, more equitable cities?
Bio: Jacob Caddali is a Political Science and Public Affairs (concentration in Sustainable Urban Planning) student with a minor in Ethics. Jacob works for the Institute for Environmental Justice and Sustainability as a Research and Program Coordinator, is the sustainability delegate at SGSU, and served as the Barrio Fiesta Cultural Showcase Co-Chair (25-26) for the United Filipino Club. He hopes to head to law school to study environmental law, and work in the field of policy to create greener, more equitable cities.

Nazune Menka, M.S., J.D.

Presentation Synopsis: Coming soon
Bio: Coming soon

The State of Washington & Artificial Intelligence: Local Environmental Impacts & Responsibility - Anyssa Eng and Evelyn Smith

Presentation Synopsis: As concerns over the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the environment grows with its expansion across industries and our classrooms, this talk will address the responsibility and sustainability of AI in WA state. Currently, there are data centers located in Central Washington, and their effects on air quality and energy consumption are actively being studied. In Grant County, the local population faces renewable energy shortages as a result of data centers’ high electricity use, forcing them to look towards fossil fuels out of desperation. Looking to the greater Seattle area, large employers like Microsoft and Google actively integrate AI into their businesses. With a lack of federal and local regulation combined with AI having a significant presence across our rural and urban areas, Anyssa and Evelyn believe it is imperative to understand this issue of Washington’s environmental and social impact through AI. 
Bio: Evelyn Smith is a third-year Cellular and Molecular Biology student & Anyssa Eng is a second-year Environmental Studies & Public Affairs student. Evelyn and Anyssa are both officers of Seattle University’s Sustainable Student Action club, which promotes education and action on environmental justice and intersectional issues.

Cheeky Weeds: Toward an Anticolonial Phenomenology of Non-native Plants - Eric Severson, PhD

Presentation Synopsis: What is a weed? The concept of a weed – shaped and positioned by the ever-evolving hermeneutical leanings of the English language – is now entangled with a titanic global industry. The metaphors utilized in the weed “control” industry are unabashedly violent and militant, borrowing from the language common to war, genocide, nationalism, colonialism, and imperialism. The brand leader, Roundup, is named for the practice of circling up enemies for mass elimination. In some advertisements, the brand reinforces this metaphor with wild-west imagery and sound, with actors imitating gunslingers and the sounds of bullets flying. We are coached to battle weeds, and to therefore justify the costs of this war. The costs are staggering, of course, and not just economically. Roundup's signature ingredient, glyphosate (a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide) is the most widely used herbicide on the planet, and is suspected and implicated in a wide range of studies on human and environmental health. The imperialist vernacular used to advertise for chemical weedkillers reinforces a cultural dependency on both these products and the ways-of-thinking that support our need for them. We need a different way of thinking about our relationship with the plants that we now call “weeds,” and not just for the sake of our relations with these particular plants. Severson seeks this alternative through various global Indigenous metaphors for weeds, and featuring the weeds that grow in the forest near his home. Through these biographical, ecological, and philosophical reflections, he will argue for a shift toward a non-settler phenomenology of weeds. 
Bio: Eric R. Severson is a philosopher specializing in the work of Emmanuel Levinas. He is author of Before Ethics (Kendall Hunt, 2021), Levinas's Philosophy of Time (Duquesne University Press, 2013) and Scandalous Obligation (Beacon Hill Press, 2011), and editor of eight other books. Severson strives to practice inclusive pedagogy while teaching philosophy at Seattle University, often focusing on racial justice, environmental ethics, and the philosophy of technology.

Let Me Tell You About My Avos - Regina Carrillo Acevedo

Presentation Synopsis: Regina's Earth Talk is about her avocado plants and what they have taught her about patience and resilience. Over the past few years, she has grown and planted more than 50 avocado trees from seed. What started as a small experiment became a daily practice of care and attention. Watching each seed grow into a plant reminded her that real change takes time, consistency, and love. Growing these trees has helped her feel more connected to the Earth and more responsible for how she cares for it. In this talk, she will share how simple actions, like planting a seed, can help us care for our planet in real and meaningful ways. 
Bio: Regina is a multidisciplinary artist and marketing professional, pursuing an MFA in Arts Leadership. She is passionate about culture, nature, and building community through sustainable practices. 

Who Gets to Climb the Carbon Ladder? Carbon Credits Market and Climate Opportunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - Stephanie Nehema

Presentation Synopsis: Coming soon
Bio: Coming soon

Forest Aeternam Grounding - Byron Au Yong

Presentation Synopsis: Forest Aeternam is a participatory musical requiem and immersive installation being developed to transform climate despair into actionable hope. In this exercise, participants will engage with the project's core themes of acoustic ecology and ritual by listening through the earth to transform social isolation into peaceful solitude. As a living practice, Forest Aeternam proposes a continual symbolic connection to a forest's root system as a metaphor for a resilient community capable of collective climate adaptation.
Bio: Byron Au Yong is a composer and Arts Leadership Associate Professor and Director at Seattle University. He specializes in designing transdisciplinary events that move participants toward healing and civic engagement. Highlights include Activist Songbook to counteract hate and energize movements and Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas performed in 64 waterways throughout King County. A recipient of a Creative Capital Award and Sundance Institute/Time Warner Foundation Fellowship, Au Yong’s research explores the places people call home.