Foreword to the Conference Storytelling Blog Series
This summer, as a Marketing Intern at AASHE, one of my projects involved reaching out to and interviewing various sustainability professionals in leadership positions whose work is linked, in some way, to AASHE. The six people I had the pleasure of speaking with—Kate M. Nelson, Carley Rice, Hannah Lauber, Megan Butler, Shane Stennes, and Steph Fregosi—shared their experiences of what it is like to attend an AASHE Conference for the first time. I wanted to know about the little, unconventional aspects that made the conferences so memorable, what surprised them, and most of all, what helped them to not just feel welcome in that setting, but deeply impacted in a way that stuck with them long after attending. What came from these conversations was not a simple anticipated checklist of favorite sessions or top speakers— I grasped something much more personal from them that revealed reflections on what it means to be in a space where sustainability isn’t just discussed but felt.
My first interview was with Kate, the Director of Campus Sustainability at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She spoke highly of the many encounters and relationships with colleagues—both new and known—that made her conference experiences so memorable…
Through conversations with sustainability leaders in higher education attending this year’s conference, this series highlights the lived experience of sustainability work— from hallway conversations to shared challenges to the quiet moments that stay with us. Each feature captures what makes this work meaningful. Click the images below for an in-depth exploration into each story.
