Speakers
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Alberto PallechiWorld Resources Institute, Acting Director, WRI Faith and Sustainability
Alberto is Acting Director, WRI Faith and Sustainability. He works on WRI’s Faith and Sustainability initiative, supporting existing and new faith-based projects in the area of sustainability and enabling faith-based communities to identify ideas and programs that build capacity for community-level solutions to sustainability challenges. Alberto also oversees WRI Europe’s activities around natural resources, peace and security, supporting the ‘Water, Peace and Security partnership’ and coordinating outreach activities with relevant European actors.
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Alexandra M Goossens-IshiiSoka Gakkai International, Programme Coordinator
Alexandra works as Programme Coordinator for environment, climate change & biodiversity for Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a community-based Buddhist organization that promotes peace, culture and education. Her work focuses on the UN processes related to the environment, climate change and biodiversity. Based in Geneva, she is advocating from the perspective of human rights, public participation, and environmental and social justice. She is also a member of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Advisory Board and a co-convenor of the Faiths for Biodiversity coalition.
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Gopal PatelBhumi Global, Director
Gopal D. Patel is a faith-based environmental activist, campaigner and consultant. For more than a decade, he has spearheaded environmental initiatives that engage religious communities and leaders in India, East Africa, Europe, and North America. He is Co-Founder and Director of Bhumi Global, a non-profit organization that works to educate and mobilize Hindu communities globally for environmental action. He is also co-chair of the United Nations Multi-faith Advisory Council and co-chair of the Advisory Board to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
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Nicholas PandeAnglican Communion, Environmental Policy Lead
Nicholas is the Environmental Policy lead at the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations. He is also the Global Facilitator of Communion Forest – a global initiative on ecosystem conservation, restoration and protection by Churches of the Anglican Communion. Nicholas has a background training on agronomy with a passion for care for creation.
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Susan HendershotInterfaith Power & Light, President
Rev. Susan Hendershot is the president of Interfaith Power & Light, a US national non-profit organization with a mission to inspire and mobilize people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change. She is a preeminent voice in the religious environmental movement.
Climate and Nature: Strengthening Advocacy and Action – Faiths for Biodiversity
The Nature and Climate crisis are deeply interconnected. The science shows us that we cannot solve one without the other. To date, however, action and advocacy on these areas remain siloed from each other.
This session will explore how we can strengthen advocacy and action for both through collaboration and partnership with a range of stakeholders.