Past Events
Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors
When: Thursday, October 6th, 2022 from 6:30pm-8pm
Where to join: This event was in-person at Chace Metcalf Auditorium, in Providence, RI. You can watch a recording of the conversation here.
What: Fix invited you to join a conversation about decolonizing and diversifying climate storytelling, as explored in its climate fiction contest, Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors. Imagine 2200 judges Grace Dillon, Arkady Martine, and Sheree Renée Thomas joined Fix’s Tory Stephens on the RISD campus to discuss the relationship between climate fiction and climate solutions. They also touched on the craft of weaving climate into all forms of storytelling, and how building deeply intersectional worlds helps create visions for a planet grounded in justice and abundance.
This event was presented in partnership with the RISD Division of Liberal Arts and the RISD Nature–Culture–Sustainability Studies Master’s program, Orion Magazine, and with support from NRDC.
Climate Futures: Storytelling, Film, and Indigenous Knowledge
When: Thursday, September 22, 2022 from 12pm-2pm
Where to join: This event is in-person at Skylight Modern art gallery in New York City. The address is
537 West 27th Street , New York, NY 10001. Reserve tickets for the in-person conversation here.
What: Promising solutions to the climate crisis exist — they just haven’t yet gained sufficient momentum to tip the scales, but there are visionaries and innovators out there who are working to change that.
We call these folks ‘Fixers’ and their bold ideas are powering real, tangible progress in climate solutions. Join Grist 50 Fixers for an afternoon of conversation and to dig into the hard work and hopefulness that powers their innovative approach to the future. This event will consist of two panels, outlined below.
Keep Climate Off the Cutting Room Floor: Climate Storytelling in Film
We are living through a great transition. While climate change is radically altering our planet and our daily lives, the privileged still see it as a crisis decades away, while predominantly Black, Indigenous, and communities of color on the frontlines are left to grapple with today’s very real consequences. To solve this consequential disconnect, filmmakers are working to tell better stories and to share with climate activists the narrative tools that have long proven successful in Hollywood, to elevate and magnify the experiences of the people who are confronted every day by the ramifications of our changing climate. Join documentary filmmakers Maya Lilly, Pita Juarez, and Cecilia Aldarondo for a practical discussion around moving the needle of our climate narrative with emotion, empathy, and hopeful solutions, using the tools of storytelling to drive action and change.
Indigenous Knowledge for our Climate Future
There has been a recent increase in the exploration of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) as an essential part of climate knowledge and policy. But without the full scope of being in relationship with Indigenous Peoples, the Earth, and our kinships, this also comes with an increase in exploitation. In December 2021, the White House announced it will commit to elevating ITEK in policy processes, and more and more of the global political and climate leaders are turning to Indigenous Peoples for their knowledge and experiences. This progress is necessary and the complex histories and cultures involved make the implementation of traditional knowledge at the political level challenging to navigate. So what are the ways that Indigenous Peoples want to share their knowledge, envision their futures, and have them protected? Join Jade Begay, Cannupa Hanska Luger, and Neftalí Duran for an Indigenous-led conversation that examines ITEK as climate knowledge and as a way to guide the world toward a future in which humans are in right-relationship with the earth.
Speaker Bios:
Maya Lilly (she/her) is a film and tv producer who helps the climate movement get better at telling its own tales. She was the producer for acclaimed documentarian Lauren Greenfield for many years (Queen of Versailles, Always Like a Girl commercial) and produced the feature docs Generation Wealth and The Big Fix, as well as several docuseries about Black resistance and undocumented narratives. She is currently the producer of original climate content for The YEARS Project, the team that did the Emmy-winning Years of Living Dangerously with James Cameron. She is focused on uplifting frontline BIPOC climate narratives, and has worked with the Navajo, Hopi, Anishinaabe, Gwich’in, Cancer Alley communities, Moloka’i indigenous, climate journalists, and pipeline protestors. @GunghoEco
Cecilia Aldarondo is a director-producer from the Puerto Rican diaspora who works at the intersection of poetics and politics. Her feature documentaries MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART (2016) and LANDFALL (2020) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and were co-produced by the award-winning PBS series POV. LANDFALL’s many awards include the 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival Viewfinders Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary, as well as Cinema Eye and Film Independent Spirit Award nominations. Currently she is directing her third feature, a co-production with HBO. Among Aldarondo’s fellowships and honors are the 2022 IDA Emerging Filmmaker Award, the Guggenheim, a two-time MacDowell Colony Fellowship, the 2021 New America Fellowship, and Women at Sundance 2017. In 2019 she was named to DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40 list and is one of 2015’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. She teaches at Williams College. @blackscrackle
Pita Juarez -A queer, immigrant woman of Guatemalan descent, Pita Juarez is a filmmaker, strategist, storyteller, organizer, and creative, based in Phoenix. With roots in the progressive movements, Pita challenges the “status quo” by shifting cultural narratives, empowering marginalized communities, and uplifting unspoken stories while transcending traditional media boundaries in the fight for environmental justice. @pitaJ
Jade Begay, Climate Justice Campaign Director, is Diné and Tesuque Pueblo of New Mexico. Begay leads NDN Collective’s climate justice campaign work and brings extensive experience working in climate justice movement spaces throughout Turtle Island and within Indigenous communities across the globe. She has also worked as a multimedia producer, filmmaker and communications professional working in non-profit and Indigenous organizations. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Video and a Master of Arts degree in Environmental Leadership. @_jadebegay
Cannupa Hanska Luger is a multidisciplinary artist and an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota). Through monumental installations and social collaboration, Luger activates speculative fiction and communicates stories about 21st Century Indigeneity, combining critical cultural analysis with dedication and respect for the diverse materials, environments, and communities he engages. He lectures and produces large-scale projects around the globe and his works are in many public collections. Luger is a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, recipient of the 2021 United States Artists Fellowship Award for Craft and was named a 2021 GRIST Fixer, he is a 2020 Creative Capital Fellow, a 2020 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, and the recipient of the Museum of Arts and Design’s 2018 inaugural Burke Prize, among others. www.cannupahanska.com IG: @cannupahanska #cannupahansaluger
Neftalí Durán is a community cook, advocate, educator, and organizer, working towards an equitable food system and building a network of Indigenous food leaders. He is a former Salzburg Global Fellow and co-founder of the I- Collective. Neftalí’s work is informed by his own experience as an Indigenous and formerly undocumented migrant worker and 20 years of experience in the restaurant and food industry as chef, baker, and small business owner. He engages in grassroots work and advocacy regarding Indigenous culinary traditions, the effects of migration on people and food, and the environment. His interests include documenting the culinary traditions of the different regions of Oaxaca, Mexico, reclaiming the roots and culture of the original peoples of the Americas, having conversations about the impact of colonialism in our communities in regards to traditional food-ways, and engaging in conversations about the impact of climate change on frontline communities.
Nikhil Swaminathan, Grist Interim CEO and Editor in Chief. Nikhil oversees Grist’s Editorial program, and the organization more broadly in this capacity as Interim CEO. Under Nikhil’s direction, Grist Editorial has won numerous awards and published major investigations. Nikhil began his tenure at Grist as Senior Justice Editor, founding the Environmental Justice Desk. He’s held editorial positions at Scientific American, Al Jazeera America, GOOD, Archaeology and others. Prior to joining Grist, he was in the inaugural class of Ida B. Wells fellows at The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.
Eat Local: Growing a sustainable food system in New England and your backyard with WBUR
When: Wednesday, June 8th 5:30 p.m. ET
What: New England once grew local crops to meet demand. The global pandemic exposed the region’s need for more self sufficiency, resilience and equitable access to food.
Join WBUR environmental correspondent Barbara Moran for a conversation exploring the importance of local food and understanding where your dinner comes from with Tamar Haspel, Washington Post columnist and author of “To Boldly Grow: Finding Joy, Adventure, and Dinner in Your Own Backyard,” Tamika R. Francis, founder, chief chef (and bottle washer) at Food & Folklore and Lisa Fernandes, communication director, at Food Solutions New England.
You will also learn practical skills you can take home, in a gardening demonstration led by Quontay Turner, owner of Emerald City Plant Shop. Plus, in-person attendees can purchase goodies from our specially curated farmer’s market in the CitySpace lobby. Vendors to be announced.
Where to join: This event is in-person at City Space in Boston, and online via livestream. Purchase tickets here for both the livestream, and the in-person event.
Fix Live: Let’s Ride
When: Wednesday, May 11 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT
What: E-bike libraries, neighborhood walking tours, and a community mobility center. All these are pieces of Oboi Reed’s vision for Chicago to become one of the world’s most “liveable cities.” Join Fix’s Tory Stephens for a conversation with Reed, founder of The Equiticity Racial Equity Movement. They’ll explore the intersection of equity, mobility, and infrastructure in the urban outdoors, and the ways people – particularly youth – interact with the outdoors to shape their lives and communities. Stephens and Reed will talk about how outdoor experiences inspire action and activism for a greener, more just world.
Where to join: Register here for a reminder or join our event LIVE on Wednesday, May 11th, 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT.
If you are unable to attend, a recording of the conversation will be made available on Grist’s events page and YouTube channel.
Fix Live: Faces of a better climate future
When: Wednesday, March 23 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT
What: While the news of the climate crisis is disheartening, there’s also another story to tell: That of the many people on the ground working on innovative, exciting solutions centered on sustainability and equity. Their work shows us what is still possible, and how to find inspiration. How do they adapt, while staying the course with their work? And who are the people advancing new ideas and approaches to a better future, through our unsteady present?
Each year, Fix’s Grist 50 list identifies emerging leaders from across the U.S. who are working on fresh, real-world solutions to our world’s biggest challenges. Now in its seventh year, the list includes scientists, artists, policymakers, farmers, social-justice advocates, storytellers, entrepreneurs, technologists, chefs, clean-energy wonks — all kinds of people pointing the way toward a just, sustainable future.
To celebrate the release of our 2022 Grist 50, we invite you to join us for a discussion with a few past honorees to discuss this moment in the climate crisis, the ways their work has been adapting and growing since being named to the list, and what’s coming next for climate and justice solutions. Join Fix host Rachel Bouton and Fixers Isaias Hernandez (G50 2021), Tony Bova (G50 2020), and Abiodun Henderson (G50 2019), for a conversation about resilience, focus, adaptability and hope in a changing world.
Where to join: You can watch a recording of the event here.
How We’re Fixin’ It: Growing a GeoGrid
When: Wednesday, February 16 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT
What: In 2016, a group of activist moms sat down with gas utility executives and found common ground in their desire for a livable world for their children. These parents began to move forward, seeking solutions to climate change in an unusual story of cooperation and collaboration. In a few short years, they have radically cut emissions from local gas leaks and started to transition the gas system to a renewable one.
Two of those moms currently run HEET, a Cambridge nonprofit, that was born out of a group of neighbors terrified by climate change. They have become a climate-change-solutions incubator with national impact. They’ve invented a method to transition the natural gas system to networked ground source heat pumps delivering less expensive non-emitting heating and cooling.
In this session, Fix Network Weaver, Tory Stephens will sit down with HEET Co-founder and Co-Executive Director Audrey Schulman and Co-Executive Director Zeyneb Magavi to talk about growing a GeoGrid for everyone. You’ll hear their personal stories of how direct action and human compassion can lead to social change and systemic change, resulting in reduced emissions for healthier communities.
Where to join: Register here for a reminder or join our event LIVE on Wednesday, February 16, 5 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT.
If you are unable to attend, a recording of the conversation will be made available on Grist’s events page and YouTube channel.
How We’re Fixin’ It is a series of live events by Fix, Grist’s solutions lab. This series aims to amplify the bright spots of Fixers’ climate solutions by showcasing replicable and expandable processes that can lead to cleaner air, water, soil, and communities.
Fix Live: What’s Next
When: Wednesday, January 19th, 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT.
What: What does hope look like in 2022? Join Fix as we dig into the big ideas and innovations that will drive the conversation around climate in 2022. Fix Co-Director Jessica Stahl is sitting down with climate and justice leaders Gaurab Basu, Angel Hsu, and Mark Chambers to talk about the changes they see coming in health, infrastructure, tech, policy, and culture in 2022.
Where to Join: Register here to join our event LIVE on Wednesday, January 19th, 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT.
Fix Live: Climate Leaders Share Stories of Mentorship
When: Monday, December 6th, 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
What: Grist and Back Pocket Media are teaming up for an evening of music, art, and live storytelling. Join us as we push the boundaries of what a virtual event can be by sharing astonishing true stories from the Grist Fixer community. The theme of the night is Mentorship. You’ll hear stories of unlikely inspiration, motivation, and life-altering relationships, all told live on (virtual) stage.
Pour a drink and get cozy — we’ll see you on December 6th!
Stay tuned for lineup announcements!
Where to Join: Register here to join our event LIVE on Monday, December 6th, 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
How We’re Fixin’ It: Scaling Climate Tech with Community Investment
When: Thursday, December 2nd, 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
What: Climate solutions are most successful when they are connected to the communities they aim to serve, especially when those communities are the most affected by climate change today. This event features Elemental Excelerator founder and CEO Dawn Lippert and Managing Director of Equity & Access Sara Chandler exploring the unique landscape of investing in climate tech and designing mutually meaningful partnerships between startups and community-based organizations. We’ll deep dive into how Elemental and its portfolio companies are rebalancing investment into technologies and communities where technology is being deployed.
Where to join: Register here for a reminder or join our event LIVE on Thursday, December 2nd, 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
If you are unable to attend, a recording of the conversation will be made available on Grist’s events page and YouTube channel.
How We’re Fixin’ It is a series of live events by Fix, Grist’s solutions lab. This series aims to amplify the bright spots of Fixers’ climate solutions by showcasing replicable and expandable processes that can lead to cleaner air, water, soil, and communities.
Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors
When: September 20, 2021
What: Fix invited our audience to join a conversation about decolonizing and diversifying climate storytelling, as explored in its inaugural climate-fiction contest, Imagine 2200. Authors and Imagine 2200 judges Adrienne Maree Brown, Morgan Jerkins, Kiese Laymon, and Sheree Renée Thomas joined Fix’s Tory Stephens and Columbia University’s Brian Kahn to discuss how to build deeply intersectional worlds, systems, and solutions, and create visions for a planet grounded in justice and abundance. This event was presented in partnership with Columbia Climate School’s MA in Climate and Society and Orion Magazine, and with support from NRDC.
The story of a better future: Shifting the climate narrative
When: September 22, 2021
What: Cultural thought leaders and Grist 50 honorees Jill Kubit, Isaias Hernandez, and Jerome Foster II joined Grist CEO Brady Walkinshaw for a discussion around why hopeful, justice-oriented, and solutions-focused storytelling is critical to the narrative shift needed to catalyze people and their imaginations. You can watch the full conversation here.
How We’re Fixin’ It: A Data-Driven Story of Air, People, and Science
When: June 9, 2021
What: Fix’s inaugural “How We’re Fixin’ It” event featured Grist 50 Fixer and Aclima cofounder and CEO Davida Herzl and her collaborators at the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and Bay Area Air Quality Management District. They discussed how modernization of air pollution measurement and analysis can support community-led solutions that diagnose hotspots, target interventions, prioritize resources, and track progress over time — at the neighborhood-level — for global impact. You can watch the full event above.
The World We Need: An Exploration of Art and Justice
When: May 27, 2021
What: Fix hosted a virtual art exhibition featuring artists (and Grist 50 Fixers) Favianna Rodriguez and Beka Economopoulos. The event was tied to the release of the climate anthology The World We Need and examined the relationship between art and the environmental justice movement. You can watch the full event above.