Keynote Speakers Announced for 4th Annual Power and Privilege Symposium at UAS
It is designed as an engaging and thought-provoking gathering that advances learning and disseminates knowledge about pressing societal issues in a setting supportive of free inquiry and discussion
Juneau, Alaska
Date of Press Release: November 4, 2019
The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) is excited to announce keynote speakers for the 4th Annual Power and Privilege Symposium on the Juneau Campus, Tuesday, November 12. The symposium is free and open to all, including students, faculty, staff, and community members. It is designed as an engaging and thought-provoking gathering that advances learning and disseminates knowledge about pressing societal issues in a setting supportive of free inquiry and discussion. In addition to keynote speakers, members of the university community propose sessions that are held throughout the day. The event is scheduled as a regular part of the university’s fall calendar. Most classes do not meet on the scheduled day to allow broad participation by members of the university community.
Two keynote speakers will present at the 2019 Symposium during morning and afternoon sessions:
Keynote Speaker: Forest Wagner
Forest Wagner’s session will focus on “Climate Despair and a Psychology of Hope.”
Forest is an Assistant Professor of Outdoor Studies at UAS where he teaches environmental humanities classes in outdoor leadership and skills. A winter person and snow enthusiast (skier), his current research interests center on climate disorientation – how a world with less winter will affect the psyche of a lover of snow. A native of Fairbanks, Forest works in the summer as a salmon fisherman in Bristol Bay. He earned his Master of Arts degree in Arctic and Northern Studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Forest has been coordinating and teaching in the Outdoor Studies Program since 2006.
Keynote Speaker: Heather Kendall-Miller
Heather will share experiences from her prolific career in fighting for Alaska Native rights. A well-respected and award-winning Athabascan lawyer, teacher, and mentor, Heather’s legal experience includes cases involving subsistence, tribal sovereignty, human rights, language and cultural preservation. In 1998, she was the first Alaska Native to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, fighting on behalf of the Native Village of Venetie. Born in Seward and raised in Fairbanks, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and in 1991 became the first Alaska Native to graduate from Harvard Law School. After more than 25 years at the Native American Rights Fund, Heather is now officially semi-retired, but continues to champion the important and culturally significant Katie John subsistence case, to ensure that it’s holding is not undermined by the more recent sport hunting decision, Sturgeon v. Frost., as it continues to wend its way through the federal court system to this day. Complete biographical information on Heather.
Event Details
The Power & Privilege event provides an excellent opportunity for professional development. In addition, it helps all attendees explore dynamic and pressing societal changes through difficult, thoughtful, and honest conversations about the complex and increasingly diverse society in which we live.
While the Symposium will be held on the UAS Juneau campus, keynote speeches and a selection of breakout sessions will be available live via distance. The Power and Privilege Symposium is free and open to the community. View the full schedule and more information.