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Second annual Pac-12 Sustainability Conference to take place July 11-12 at University of Colorado Boulder

May 17, 2018
Former Cal student-athlete and U.S. Women’s National Team Goalkeeper Mary Harvey
as well as professional snowboarder and U.S. Olympic Medalist Arielle Gold featured as speakers
 
Conference to include fireside chat with Pac-12 Power Women on “Greening Championships”
 
BOULDER, Colo. – The second annual Pac-12 Sustainability Conference is set to take place Wednesday, July 11 - Thursday, July 12 at the University of Colorado Boulder.  The conference this year will begin with an afternoon tour of the University of Colorado Champions Center on the first day, followed by an opening night reception, while the second day will feature a day-long series of keynote speakers, collaborative sessions and focused discussions. 
 
Following on the heels of its inaugural event last year, this year’s conference will continue to represent an elevated approach to enhancing sustainability efforts within collegiate athletics departments as well as an opportunity to design new collective initiatives and share best practices to transform college sports into a platform for environmental progress. Sustainability and athletics professionals from universities nationwide will convene at the University of Colorado Boulder to help the Pac-12 reach the next level of sports sustainability.
 
"The Pac-12 is proud to have been the first college sports conference to convene a high-level symposium with last year's inaugural event and we are excited to continue this important initiative this year with the 2018 Pac-12 Sustainability Conference in partnership with the University of Colorado," said Pac-12 deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Jamie Zaninovich. "All of our member athletics departments are committed to sustainability efforts and we look forward to again welcoming some of the brightest minds across the collegiate landscape to Boulder." 
 
More information, including registration information, can be found below and at pac-12.com/sustainability.
 

 
Themes covered at the 2018 Pac-12 Sustainability Conference will include:
 
  • Fireside Chat - Greening Championships: the second day of the event on Thursday, July 12 will feature an opening fireside chat with several Pac-12 Power Women sharing their leadership insight around greening championships, including Pac-12 Vice President of Marketing, Heather Vaughan, University of Washington Assistant Athletic Director, Karen Baebler and NCAA Senior Vice President of Championships and Senior Woman Administrator, Joni Comstock
  • #GreenGames: discussion with Arizona State University representatives on how the school is leveraging collaboration with its sustainability efforts and athletics department to reach new audiences.
  • How to support sustainable tailgating: discussion with Stanford representatives on the school’s sustainability efforts around the 2017 football season.  
  • Navigating the challenges of zero waste: discussion with 2018 Pac-12 Zero Waste Winner Lin King, manager of Cal Zero Waste at the University of California, Berkeley.
  • Framing the Work: discussion with several representatives on creating lasting programs for sustainable success.
  • Student + Student Athlete Impact on Athletics Sustainability Initiatives: discussion with representatives from Oregon State and Stanford on the success they have seen with harnessing the power of student pride and student-athlete integration into sustainability efforts.
Speakers to present at the conference include:
 
  • Mary Harvey: A member of the U.S. Women’s National Team who won a gold medal in Atlanta in 1996 as the team’s starting goalkeeper and previous FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, Mary is also a former California student-athlete and serves as special advisor for the Sustainability at United Bid 2026. 
  • Arielle Gold: As a professional snowboard, Arielle recently brought home a bronze medal for the U.S. in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, in the women’s halfpipe event.  Currently enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado Boulder, Gold is pursuing a degree in psychology with the hopes of eventually attending veterinary school.
  • Joni Comstock: As senior vice president of championships and senior woman administrator for the NCAA, Joni’s duties include oversight of 84 NCAA championships.
  • Jamie Zaninovich: As deputy commissioner and chief operating officer for the Pac-12, Jamie is responsible for the Pac-12’s administrative operations, including television administration, sport management, championships, and football bowl relationships.
Event Details:
 
The 2018 Pac-12 Sustainability Conference will take place July 11-12 at the University of Colorado Boulder.  Registration is open online at pac-12.com/sustainability.  Early Bird Registration rate of $129 is valid through June 7, 2018.  Special rates for Pac-12 staff, faculty and students are also available.  
 
2017 Attendees Included:
 
  • Sports media rights-holders, sales teams and marketing professionals
  • Athletics Departments leadership and operations staff
  • Campus sustainability professionals
  • Pac-12 students, faculty and staff
About the Pac-12 Conference
The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 51 of the last 57 years, with 508 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities - the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to www.pac-12.com/conference.