FLOODS, FREEZES, FIRES AND FEAR: A FAITH COMMUNITY ADDRESSES CLIMATE JUSTICE
Featuring a panel of industry experts from our local universities

In the Book of Genesis, we learn about the creation of the earth and our obligation to take care of it. In an era of catastrophic weather events, how is our community going to respond to climate change? Often, it is marginal communities who are hit hardest by policies enacted by government leaders. This panel discussion will offer policy-oriented solutions so we can better advocate for everyone who is impacted by the growing climate crisis. 

PANELISTS

DR. DAVID B. ABRAHAM
Dr. David B. Abraham, is a scholar of Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy, specializing in Sustainability Planning and Performance Measurement. His research focuses on developing sustainability strategies for the enhancement of living places. His research and professional experience includes: Developing & publishing Houston's first Community level Resilience & Revitalization; Developing Houston's first comprehensive Sustainability Community Indicators portal; Food insecurity planning; Health and well-being impacts from the built environment; and Urban forestry sustainability strategies. He also has expertise with Transportation Planning and Environmental Impact Assessments He has published an edited volume on Best Practices for Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in North American Cities. Dr. Abraham’s work been featured at workshops, keynote agendas and conference proceedings throughout the US and internationally in Ireland, Barbados, Brazil, Canada and Portugal. Dr. Abraham is a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum (ALF). He currently serves on the City of Houston Planning Commission and Airport Commissions. As well as other boards both locally and nationally.

DALIA MUNENZON, MSc, SMArchS
Dalia Munenzon is an assistant professor of urban design at the University of Houston's Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, where she focuses on researching and teaching adaptive strategies and resiliency methods for sustainable communities and infrastructure. With a background in urban systems design, environmental planning, and architecture, she works with local communities to create resilient cities and urban environments. Munenzon's current research examines the application of climate adaptation as a means for transformative action in the urban realm. Dalia is a recipient of the 2022 SOM Foundation Research Award, the 2024 AIA Upjohn Research Award, and the 2024 National Academies Gulf Futures Design Studio award.

STEPHEN PINKNEY, PHD
Stephen Pinkney, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at the Barbara Jordan – Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs Department at Texas Southern University. He received his Master’s in Education Administration Leadership at Lamar University and his Bachelor’s in Business/Finance at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Dr. Pinkney concentrates on Environmental Justice and Community Building. His dissertation, “A Case Study Examining Systemic African American Poverty in Caddo Parish and Bossier Parish, Louisiana focuses on his areas of concentration.

MODERATOR

BETH MERFISH, PHD
Beth Matusoff Merfish, PhD, is an associate professor of art history and the chair of the Department of Liberal Arts in the College of Human Sciences and Humanities. Her research and teaching interests include museum studies and public arts and science presentations, including past partnerships with Space Center Houston and the UHCL Art Gallery. She earned her doctorate and Master of Arts from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and her Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College.
 
In 2021, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed Dr. Merfish the inaugural chair of the Houston Women's Commission. In that role, she leads a team of diverse commission members whose charge is to advance equality and equity for women in the City of Houston by identifying and addressing disparities in healthcare, employment, safety and security across communities and industries, both in Houston’s public and private sector.        

This program is presented by the Social Justice Committee and Adult Education Committee.