Sustainable Solutions - Women and Gender: On the Front Lines of Climate 

Panelists Lorena Aguilar, Christina Kwauk, and Nevada Winrow will discuss data garnered from the United Nations that estimates that women and children are 14 times more likely than men to die when extreme weather disasters strike, and because they make up the majority of the world’s poor, women and girls make up 4 out of every 5 people displaced by the impacts of climate change. The panel will share ways that women are effecting climate action and change and offer solutions to empower women and girls through education.

Panelists

Lorena Aguilar is a global leader, passionate about human rights, inclusion, and sustainable development, who has been providing strategic contributions to national and international policies for more than three decades. Aguilar leads inclusive collaboration with government counterparts, UN agencies, international organizations, and civil society towards advancing inclusive and equitable sustainable development. She has field experience in more than 50 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia and has served as Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica. Presently, she is the Executive Director of the Kaschak Institute for Social Justice for Women and Girls at Binghamton University.

Christina Kwauk, PhD, is a social scientist with an interdisciplinary focus on education and training for climate action. She is an expert on girls’ education in developing countries, 21st century skills and youth empowerment, and the intersections of gender, education, and climate change. Kwauk works as an education consultant and is Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Unbounded Associates. She also serves on the Cosmos of Stars for RegenIntel, Girl Rising’s Advisory Council, the International Jury for the UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education, and is a member of the Climate Change Action Plan Ad Hoc Committee for the Prince George’s County Public Schools Board of Education. Formerly, Kwauk was a Fellow at the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, Associate Director of the Monitoring and Evaluation of Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) Project, and Head of Climate and Education at the Education Commission.

Nevada Winrow, PhD, is the Founder & CEO of Black Girls Dive Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to empowering underrepresented youth in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through marine and environmental sciences, SCUBA diving, and robotics. With a background as a neuroscientist and former university professor, Winrow has combined her academic expertise with her passion for ocean conservation to design transformative, research-based programs that foster STEM identity, leadership, and environmental stewardship. Under her leadership, BGDF has grown into a pioneering organization that partners with aquariums, universities, and research institutions to provide hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for girls of color across the United States. She is widely recognized for her innovative approaches to broadening participation in STEM, her commitment to equity in education, and her vision of creating pathways for the next generation of scientists, explorers, and changemakers.

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