Uyen Dao is a sophomore at the University of Houston majoring in Graphic Design, minoring in Motion Media and Economics. She is interested in many areas of design such as UX/UI, branding, website design, and motion graphics. Outside of her career-oriented activities, she is also a personal development enthusiast and an avid food lover.
Uyen is a Communications and Marketing Intern. She is looking forward to learn more about the environmental work that CEC does and gain a better understanding of how the organization utilizes design.
Once she graduates, Uyen hopes to find work as a product designer. She wishes to create things that are useful and meaningful to the world.
Environmental Justice, EPA Pollution Prevention Roundtable, Avian Affair, Drug Take Back Day, KBR Kids Day, Bike Around the Bay, Climathon, Green Jobs and more
EJSCREEN map of lead paint indicators in the Houston region
This week, you have two opportunities to hear from environmental justice champions discussing EJ from a Houston perspective.
On Saturday, October 23, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., the Coalition of Community Organizations is hosting, with the Environmental Protection Agency, an event to discuss the EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (“EJSCREEN”). Learn about environmental risks in the community that impact you and your family, the pollutants to which you are being exposed, health risks that are impacting you and your family in the short and long term, and how to get accurate information and to report problems. Get answers to your immediate questions concerning your family’s health, housing, and economic stability. Join virtually on Google Meet, by phone at (650) 597-0087 (PIN 645 870 704#), or in person at the Carl Walker Multipurpose Center at 4300 Noble St, Bldg. B, Houston 77020. Register on Eventbrite. The speaker panel includes the following luminaries:
Later in the week, on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at 12:30 p.m., join the Rice University Center for Environmental Studies for a Conversation with Matthew Tejada, Director of the Office of Environmental Justice at the EPA. Gisela Heffes, professor of Latin American Literature and Culture, Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures, and a member of the Faculty Steering Committee in the Center for Environmental Studies, and Joseph Campana, the William Shakespeare Professor of English and director of the Center for Environmental Studies, will moderate. This Fall 2021 Walter Isle Lecture is part of the Planet Now! lecture series.
Also of EJ interest, on Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 6:00 pm, residents of the Greater Fifth Ward are invited to join Lone Star Legal Aid for an Impact Community Meeting: Union Pacific & Environmental Sampling in Greater Fifth Ward. Discussions will be presented by Rodrigo Cantú of Lone Star Legal Aid’s Equitable Development Initiative, Dr. Garett Sansom, MPH and Leanne Fawkes, MPH of Texas A&M University, Dr. Loren Hopkins with the Houston Health Department, and Dr. Grace Tee Lewis with Environmental Defense Fund. Learn more at lonestarlegal.org.
CEC NOTES
Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers
Engage your students with lessons outdoors or virtually. Sign up today at hereinhouston.org.
Call for submissions: Wild About Houston Green Film Festival
The CEC is proud to host the fourth annual Wild About Houston Green Film Festival this fall. CEC hopes to use this festival to tell local environmental stories, highlight the work of CEC’s member organizations, and to inspire our residents and visitors to make a difference in the environment and our quality of life. The festival will be held virtually to protect the health and safety of our community in these times. We invite you to submit a film for consideration. Films should be specific to the environment in the Houston/Gulf Coast Region, should be no more than seven minutes long, and must be of suitable quality to be shown publicly. View the Submission Guidelines, and make submissions using this Google Form.
Air Champion Social Change Scientists Global Video Contest
McMac Cx Air Champions Social Change Scientists are passionate community influencers, teachers, parents, student innovators, and activists who believe that we have a right to live, learn, work and play in places where we are allowed to know the quality of the air we breathe. Make a 30-90 second video about healthy air, and enter the Air Champions Global Video Contest for a chance to win a state-of-the-art Flow Personal Air Monitor, the chance to have your film shown at the Wild About Houston Film Festival, AND the chance to receive a $1,000 cash prize. Learn more at McMacCx.com/globalvideocontest.
Deadline Extended: Imagine a Day Without Water Video Contest
The City of Houston Public Works department invites Houston residents to participate in Imagine a Day Without Water Video Contest! This contest is designed to engage all Houstonians in the nation-wide event “Imagine a Day Without Water,” hosted by the Value of Water Campaign. Entrants should create a video–not to exceed 1-minute–exploring or depicting various aspects of what daily life might look like/be affected by an entire day without any water. Enter for the chance to win cash prizes AND the opportunity to have your films shown about the 2021 Wild About Houston Green Film Festival! View the flyer and visit houstontx.gov for more information. Submit videos by Sunday, October 28, 2021, to waterconservation@houstontx.gov.
Please scroll down to read about public engagement opportunities and notes from our member organizations and the community.
We are pleased to welcome Paige Powell as the new Deputy Director of Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. Paige has been an active part of Houston’s green community for over fifteen years, and brings nearly a decade of nonprofit administrative experience to her role at CEC. In the coming months, she will help to coordinate our environmental education initiatives, green films programs, and other signature events.
Paige spent the last eight years at Air Alliance Houston, where she was an integral collaborator on a number of different projects, programs, and campaigns. She is a two-time alumnus of the University of Houston (Master of Public Policy, B.A. Economics), Certified Public Manager, Climate Reality Leader, and has spent many years as an informal educator for both children and adults.
Paige is a loving mother, Assistant Scoutmaster, and member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston. Her hobbies include gardening, yoga, making music, and spending time in the great outdoors. She looks forward to continuing the work of building a sustainable Houston with CEC, its member organizations, and community partners.
Paige can be reached at paige.powell@cechouston.org.
