Moving Vulnerable Communities from Surviving to Thriving, Part 3 - a podcast by Michael Hancox

Stay engaged with the social and environmental justice dialogues started at the 2016 National Funding and Resources Training Summit to Revitalize Vulnerable Communities – http://www.survivingtothrivingsummit.org/ (Learn How HERE) 
TOPICThe Workforce Development ComponentIN THIS EPISODE[01:52] Introduction of Khalil Shahyd.[02:06] Khalil describes the Urban Solutions Program at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).[03:27] Khalil shares the purpose and goal of the 2016 National Training and Resources Summit to Revitalize Vulnerable Communities.[04:12] Khalil answers the question of why workforce development is such an important component at the Summit.[05:59] Khalil identifies some of the sessions he’s developing for the Summit in the workforce development track.[07:21] Khalil expresses what he thinks of the workforce development that’s occurring now.[08:44] Khalil discusses how his hometown of New Orleans is doing in regard to the Summit’s theme of moving communities from surviving to thriving, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.[13:17] Khalil tells how energy inequality presents itself.[15:30] Khalil explains the connection between the reality of energy inequality and workforce development.[16:48] Khalil talks about the importance for people from vulnerable communities to attend the Summit.[17:56] Khalil provides one change that would lead to energy equity and more sustainable urban communities.[19:21] Khalil states the action listeners can take to build a more equitable, energy-efficient, and sustainable future.[20:56] Khalil shares what urban communities look like 30 years from now.GUEST/ORGANIZATION Khalil Shahyd, PhD is a Project Manager for the Urban Solutions Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Khalil’s work focuses on the Energy Efficiency for All Project, which aims to increase utility-funded energy efficiency programs in the affordable multifamily housing sector. He coordinates with NRDC’s affordable housing partners to advocate for efficiency investments in the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. As part of the LEED Neighborhood Development initiative, Shahyd also promotes the expansion of “green” communities in New Orleans. Prior to joining NRDC, he worked domestically and internationally in urban and rural community development and in economic and environmental justice organizing. He holds a master’s degree in sustainable international development from Brandeis University and is based in NRDC’s Washington, D.C. office.
TAKEAWAY QUOTES“The Urban Solutions Program—we work, as the name suggests, with cities and municipalities to make cities, neighborhoods, communities, much more sustainable, walkable, and equitable. Our vision is working with cities where more than 70 percent of our population actually lives, also accounts for more than 70 percent of our carbon emissions that induce climate change, and so we feel that if we can tackle these issues at the urban scale then we can have a large impact in addressing climate change.”“As you all know, our cities are also one of the leading sources, or scales, or locations, that are driving our rising inequality, both nationally but also around the world. Much of the gap in wealth, gap in income, gap in affordability, that is happening across our nation is really concentrated in our cities most heavily. And so we feel that attacking climate change and inequality have to be paired together, they have to come in tandem, particularly as we see cities being the major driver of each of those.”
“The goal of the Summit is really to…highlight what’s working in communities and to highlight those leaders at the local level that are actually driving that positive change and to be able to bring those communities, those leaders, those organizations, together to be able to talk about their experiences about what’s working, what’s not working, and then to come together with EPA and with others to begin to think about what additional...

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