Pechakucha Night - What On Earth

Stories of Environment Actions, Artists, and Activists in the Bay Area

PechaKucha San Francisco Volume 66

Join us for an exhilarating evening of environmental enlightenment at our PechaKucha Night event! Started in 2003 in Tokyo by expat architects, PechaKucha is now a network of over 1300 active city events stretching around the globe.

"PechaKucha", which means "chit-chat" in Japanese, is a unique and dynamic presentation format that allows speakers to share their passions, ideas, and stories in a concise and visually engaging way.

The challenge: Each speaker gets just 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide to unwrap their topic for the audience.

From ecological initiatives to innovative art projects, our lineup of speakers will take you on a journey around the Bay, showcasing the incredible work being done to protect and appreciate our planet.

Come cheer them on as they attempt this unique, beat-the-clock performance art. It's a night of fast-paced, thought-provoking talks that's sure to leave you inspired and entertained!

Speakers

Kamal Kapadia: "Care is a Teachable Skill"
Dr. Kamal Kapadia is a co-founder and the Chief Learning Officer at Terra.do, a green skilling platform for the climate economy. She has 27 years of work, research and teaching experience in the fields of climate change, clean energy and sustainable development. She started her career in the late 1990s working for solar PV startups SELCO in India and Sri Lanka, and Solarcentury (now Statkraft) in the UK. She discovered her passion for education while pursuing a PhD in Energy and Resources at the University of California at Berkeley, and subsequently taught various sustainability courses at the Environmental Change Institute, Univ. of Oxford, and at K-12 schools in Hawaii, before creating Terra.do with her co-founders.

Zoe Young: "You Are Here (GGP future historical markers project)"
Zoe Young is a San Francisco writer. You can read her work in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Grist, Identity Theory Magazine, Anthropocene Magazine and on multiple bathroom walls. She serves as Head of Creative Content for The Nature Conservancy in California, and teaches Playwriting and Screenwriting at Berkeley City College.

Christina Gilyutin: "Strange Exchange"
Christina gets excited whenever she sees efforts that successfully integrate social and environmental impact. In 2023 she and her friend, Lela launched Strange Exchange, a reshuffle hub dedicated to zero waste and connecting neighbors to local nonprofits.

Forest Stearns: "Draw the Language of Nature"
Forest Stearns is a Creative Innovation Consultant at Google: founding an Artist in Residence program, facilitating creative programming and producing giant paintings that adorn Google's Quantum Computers and vast laboratory. From 2012 - 2018, Forest has produced the largest art show in Earth's orbit as Principal Space Artist at Planet Labs. As Art Director, his artistic adventure of fusing arts with technology has fruitfully covered rockets, radomes and 340+ satellites with eloquent illustrations, characters and handwritten calligraphy. Collaboration is a key value and you will often find Forest teaching, facilitating, speaking, and parenting on the values of building creative community celebrating the arch between nature and humanity.

Maria Finn: "Puppy Love and Truffle Lust"
Maria Finn is the author of the new cookbook, Forage. Gather. Feast. and founder of Flora & Fungi Adventures. She lives on a houseboat with her truffle hound, two cats and native oyster garden.

Andres Amador: "My Path to Sustainable Activism"
Andres is a nature-based, environmentally-oriented artist and facilitator specializing in ephemeral and collaborative artworks that span and engage the landscape.

Melissa Dickenson: "Sense of Place: Creating Art with the Earth"
Melissa Dickenson is a San Francisco based Artist and Pigment Specialist who creates landscape paintings from gathered Earth materials.

Derek Orth: "Intro to PK"
Derek Orth is Lead City Organizer of PechaKucha San Francisco, a public speaking coach and creative well-being facilitator for top Silicon Valley tech firms.

Vivek Venugopal: "Improvised PK"
Vivek Venugopal is a world class comedic improviser.

Time: 7:30pm (doors at 7pm)

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