Floridians typically seek ways to escape the summer heat, which seems to be increasing each year. Join us June 12 for Hot Topics when Chris Castro, Director of Sustainability & Resilience for the City of Orlando, and other experts will discuss longtime plans to curb rising temperatures.
It's Getting Hot in Here: Central Florida Addresses Sustainability and Climate Change
Moderator: Amy Green - producer and environment reporter for WMFE
Panelists:
Sergio Alvarez, PhD
College of Sciences
Department of Tourism, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Dr Alvarez is a natural resource economist researching how natural resources and the environment contribute to human well-being through the provision of ecosystem services such as food, recreation, and protection from natural and man-made hazards. He holds a BA in Environmental Sciences, and MS and PhD degrees in Food and Resource Economics, all from the University of Florida. Sergio has published articles on a range of topics including the economics of marine resources, the costs and management of biological invasions, and the value of ecosystem services such as clean water and outdoor recreation. Sergio has experience with econometrics, statistics, optimization, and survey research.
Between 2013 and 2018, Sergio served as the Chief Economist at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, where he gained practical experience in state government and policy analysis. Sergio joined the faculty at the University of Central Florida in 2018.
Dr. Alvarez’s research focus is on issues related to fisheries, coastal adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts, valuation of ecosystem services, and modeling coupled social-ecological systems. Past research focused on recreation, water, fisheries, and invasive species, and uses methods including non-market valuation, bioeconomic modeling, optimization, and applied econometrics.
Chris Castro
Senior Advisor to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer
Director of Sustainability & Resilience
Co-Chair of Smart Cities for City of Orlando
Chris is a sustainability and clean energy professional and eco-entrepreneur with a passion to advance smart, resilient, and sustainable cities.
Chris is currently the Senior Advisor to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Director of Sustainability & Resilience, and Co-chair of Smart Cities for the City of Orlando, developing policies & programs to advance the City’s sustainability, clean energy, & climate action goals.
Chris is best known for his work as the president and founder of IDEAS For Us, a global UN-accredited 501c3 nonprofit working to incubate and fund innovative projects that advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In 2012, Chris also started a clean-energy consulting firm called Citizen Energy, and 2013 co-created "Fleet Farming", a renowned urban farming social enterprise that is redefining local food systems by building organic farms on homeowner lawns through neighborhoods and communities.
Chris currently sits on more than 10 nonprofit and academic boards, including the Florida Solar Energy Center, US Green Building Council of Florida, Project Greenschools, and Goodwill of Central Florida. He has previously held positions with University of Central Florida, Orange County Govt., and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Over the years, Chris has been internationally recognized for his efforts; including being named the 2018 Public Official of the Year by Governing, a ‘Champions of Change' by President Barack Obama, the 'Guru of Green' by the Orlando Business Journal, the Grist 50 Fixer Award, Top 30 Under 30 sustainability professionals by GreenBiz, and formal recognition from President Bill Clinton, President Jimmy Carter, and Vice President Al Gore.
In December 2018, Chris starred in the National Geographic documentary called "Paris to Pittsburgh”.
Jennifer Rupert
Collaboration and Partnership Expert
Jennifer has spent the majority of her career building collaborative programs. She worked with the planning council for close to ten years as the creator and Program Manager for the Regional Greenway and Trail Workgroup, was the Technical Director for myregion.org, a trainer for the Dept of Homeland Security and assisted in implementing Legislature enacted mandates.
She enjoyed consulting and then was Managing Partner of her own company. Most recently, she returned to the Regional Planning Council to develop and implement a project focused on resilience. She created and ushered the resolution for the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council to develop a framework for a Resilience Collaborative and continues to lead the effort to unite the local governments around the effort.
In addition, she formed a network of Emergency Management Directors and their respective Long-Term Recovery Group Chairs to support and enhance their front-line efforts to improve resilience in communities. Jennifer continues establishing and maintaining partnerships to further create a collaborative ecosystem in East Central Florida.
