Invited Talks & webinars

Here are a few talks I have done previously. If you are interested in booking me to be part of a panel, keynote speaker, or other, see the bottom of this page for rates:

The Rising Voices Center for Indigenous and Earth Sciences Virtual Workshop 8: Energy Systems Session. July 2020.

The VRV8 Energy Systems Panel Session took place on July 14, 2020. The session included speakers considering a systemic perspective to energy justice and equity, focusing on the cultural foundations, policy, design, education, science, and partnership components, by answering the following questions:

1. How do we weave policy, science, and practice together to create systemic change for energy systems?

2. What are the kinds of policies needed and what does the work look like at multiple levels to enact just and equitable energy policies and practices?

The panel session was co-organized and facilitated by Dan Wildcat (Haskell Indian Nations University) and Ciarra Greene (Northwest Indian College). The speakers included Faith Spotted Eagle (Yankton Sioux Nation), Merv Tano (International Institute for Indigenous Research Management), Lydia Jennings (University of Arizona), and Phillip Chavez (Trees, Water & People).

Read the full session notes here.

Indigenous perspectives on Sustainability in the Sonoran Desert.

A workshop for Sustainable Tucson (January 30th, 2021). Indigenous perspectives on soil and sustainability

IFKN: Engaging Indigenous Scholars, Leaders, and Peoples from the US Southwest and Arctic (May 11th, 2020).

This webinar features Althea Walker, Mary Beth Jäger, and Lydia Jennings from the Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network. IFKN is a four-year, NSF funded research coordination network that brings together communities from the Arctic and the US Southwest for learning and exchange on food and knowledge sovereignty. The presenters give an introduction to what the network has accomplished and learned in its first two years and plans moving forward.

Inclusion in STEM Series: Inclusive Science Communication.

November, 2024. The New York Academy of Sciences.

Cultivating a culture of inclusion in STEM necessitates that scientific information is accessible and understandable to diverse audiences, regardless of their background, identity, or abilities. By practicing inclusive science communication, we can make scientific knowledge more accessible, relevant, and engaging for everyone, fostering a more informed and scientifically literate society.

In this session, participants will learn about some best practices for effective and inclusive science communication that is accessible, culturally competent, and builds trust in STEM fields and practitioners.

Putting Indigenous Data Sovereignty into Practice: The Indigenous Food Knowledges Network (March 18, 2022).

Part of the Tuberville Speaker Series.

The Indigenous Food Knowledges Network (IFKN) is an example of Indigenous data sovereignty in practice. Beginning in 2018, IFKN focuses on building community partnerships on the land and facilitating discussions with community knowledge experts in relation to food and land resilience. One of the main goals of IFKN is “seek[ing] to build connections among Indigenous communities in the Arctic and the US Southwest. Indigenous Peoples in these two regions share common challenges around sustaining, revitalizing, and adapting food and knowledge practices in the context of environmental and social change” (IFKN Chater, page 1). We will discuss how this community-led collaborative has interwoven Indigenous data sovereignty throughout their partnerships, leading to powerful, place based relationships during the COVID19 pandemic. This facilitated the Impact of COVID-19 on Food Access in Indigenous Communities in the Arctic and U.S. Southwest: A Comparative Landscape Analysis study (NSF-OPP Award # 2035161). We will share how we co-developed this project and example stories about food access from our Experts in the U.S. southwest region.

Our World: Indigenous Communities in Solidarity for ENVIRONMENTAL justice (April 2nd, 2021).

In efforts to build international solidarity, this panel will bring attention to the common thread of colonialism causing environmental justice issues in each panelist’s country as well as uplift their work supporting their communities. We will learn from the panelist’s climate activism and adaptation, traditional ecological knowledge, and Iived experience fighting for environmental justice. Panelists will discuss their work as well as their thoughts on how global solidarity is important and necessary.

Indigenous Data SOVEREIGNTY: How Scientists and Researchers can Empower Data Governance (April 7th, 2021).

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis seminal series on Advancing Ecology and Environmental Data for a More Just and Equitable Future.

Indigenous land management practices result in higher species richness, less deforestation, and land degradation than non-Indigenous strategies. Many environmental researchers, data repositories, and data service operations recognize the importance of collaborating with Indigenous nations, supporting their environmental stewardship practices, and aligning land stewardship mechanisms with Indigenous rights. Yet these individuals and organizations do not always know the appropriate processes to achieve these partnerships. Calls for government agencies to collaborate with Indigenous land stewards require an increasing awareness of what Indigenous data are and how to manage these data. Indigenous data sovereignty underscores Indigenous rights and interests and can provide a structure for data practices. In this seminar talk, Dr. Lydia Jennings discusses what constitutes Indigenous data, how to apply an Indigenous data sovereignty framework to environmental research, examples of Indigenous data governance, Tribal Nations’ leading the scientific inquiry process, and how environmental scientists can co-create with Indigenous communities to answer community driven research questions.

NEON Science.

With Dr. Stephanie Russo Carroll, University of Arizona and Global Indigenous Data Alliance.

The SACNAS 2021 Indigenous CommUNITY and Wellness in STEM Virtual Gathering.

Keynote Speech. Sept 16th, 2021.