In this episode, undergraduate Brian Biederman talks with Kristie Gianetto, the co-lead of The Nature Conservancy's Women in Climate Coalition. They discuss the goals of the Women in Climate initiative, how Kristie organizes and recruits participants for their Innovation Labs, and her advice for women interested in pursuing careers in climate.
In this episode, undergraduate Brian Biederman talks with Kristie Gianetto, the co-lead of The Nature Conservancy's Women in Climate Coalition. They discuss the goals of the Women in Climate initiative, how Kristie organizes and recruits participants for their Innovation Labs, and her advice for women interested in pursuing careers in climate.
Brian 0:06
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the streaming Science Podcast. Streaming science is a student driven program that works to connect you with scientists to learn how science impacts all of us in our everyday lives. I'm Brian Biederman, a third year agricultural education and communication major at the University of Florida. And I will be your host. You're currently listening to an episode where I talk with a woman from the Nature Conservancy's Women in Climate Coalition about how they're working together to find climate change solutions. The Women in Climate Coalition unites women from all backgrounds to solve the climate crisis through innovation labs, facilitated networks and policy workshops. In the following interview, I spoke with Kristie Gianetto. We talked about her role as the co-leader of the Women in Climate Coalition. Through this podcast, I hope to gain insight into Kristie Gianetto's work with Women in Climate and how they are working towards creating a more sustainable world.
All right, good afternoon, Mrs. Kristie, thank you for joining us. My first question for you is just to have you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you came from, your background, your education, and what you do now.
Kristie 1:10
Yeah, thank you so much for having me, Brian, and I'm excited to be here. And that was a lot of things all in one. And I am not great at talking about myself. So if I miss anything, please hop in and ask me again, and feel free to interrupt. But I'm Kristie Gianetto. I am one of the women in climate co leads for the Women in Climate Initiative at The Nature Conservancy, I use she/her pronouns. And I'm coming to you today, from Wallingford, Connecticut, which is the traditional homelands of the Quinnipiac peoples. And I always like to start any conversation--and we do this with Women in Climate with a land acknowledgement--to be able to really honor the previous stewards of the land that came before us and will still be stewarding the land long after we're gone. And also to just acknowledge the genocide of most of the Native communities in the US and recommend some things that folks would be doing to make up for that. And that's a huge part of the equity work that we do with Women in Climate. But we'll get into that later.
So just very quickly, I came to TNC, about 11 years ago, and I have had a number of different positions within the organization. But my passion has always been at the intersection of gender, environmental and social justice. And so that is why this position that I'm in now is perfect for me. And I have my education in environmental studies and Spanish from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. And then I also have a master's degree in business, nonprofit management and social impact from the Heller School at Brandeis University, also outside of Boston.
Brian 2:58
I think that was all of the questions. Yeah. Well, as you answered very well, sounds like you're in a great position to lead. Could you just explain to us what The Nature Conservancy is and what it does?
Kristie 3:11
Yeah, so the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends, which is huge. And we are one of the largest environmental organizations in the world. We work in every state in the US and then also 70 plus countries globally. And I have really incredible colleagues who are doing work around both biodiversity and climate change. And what that rolls up into and looks like the gamut from oceans conservation, freshwater climate mitigation, adaptation, community work, indigenous peoples and local community work.
Lots of different things that we definitely don't have time to talk about.
Brian 3:58
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. So you said that the woman and climate mission is within The Nature Conservancy. Can you explain how that differs from The Nature Conservancy as a whole?
Kristie 4:10
Yeah, absolutely. So women and climate is an initiative, a movement really, and we live at The Nature Conservancy, and we are working to build a diverse coalition of leaders, women leaders, and when we say women, we mean all women, transgender, cisgender, straight, queer, we're open, expansive and trans inclusive when we talk about this. But we are building a diverse coalition of leaders who will drive inclusive, collaborative and innovative solutions to climate change, that are built on intersectional equity. That is a mouthful. And we'll talk a little bit about how that breaks down in our programs and some of the things we do, but at a high level. We do all of this through targeted innovation labs, and then a facilitated network and policy work.
Brian 5:05
Do you want to explain to us what one of those labs entails and what it's like?
Kristie 5:11
Yes, they are so fun and really amazing. And so I'm so glad you asked that question. So basically, from from our end, we have done six of these labs since our inception in 2018. And the first one was over four different states: it was Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska. And it was really just very open ended. It was geographic in those four states. And it was women who were working on climate change, and that is very loosely defined. So there were traditional business leaders, there were philanthropists, there were artists, there were writers, there were people that are in competitive sports, there were traditional nonprofit folks, there were scientists, there were legislators, there were all different sort of subject matter experts. And then we also in any of our innovation labs, we look for that both traditional and non traditional diversity. And we carefully cultivate the invitations to be able to have as many diverse voices in the room. And so what that looks like is from the foundation, looking at all of the different backgrounds of folks that are coming into the space, and also making sure that the space is accessible, that we're offering financial assistance, that we're offering child care, that we're requesting people put pronouns on nametag because it's, it sort of runs the gamut.
But with that said, that's sort of how the labs come together. And then when we actually get all of these really incredible women together, there's automatically in these spaces that are women centric, this trust and this power that's created in a space that then allows them the freedom to create these climate solutions from all of the different aspects of where they're coming from. So they are on fire. It's amazing to watch. And my job is just to be able to create a space that allows them to step out of their day to day roles, but come in with their true identities and be able to roll up their sleeves and get work done for climate change, because women are going to be the ones to solve the climate crisis.
Brian 6:53
That does sound like a lot and that you have a lot of people coming in from everywhere. That's, it's pretty crazy. I guess that leads me to my next question of when you all meet, are you coming at this from an education angle of change, or legislative or a little bit of both education and legislative?
Kristie 8:02
It's all of the above slash none of the above? We, yeah, it's a it's a little can be a little bit confusing. But with that said, we have had, we have had innovation labs that focus specifically on policy. But we've also one of the things that is so beautiful about these labs that we create, is that we do these pre interviews and post interviews with all of the attendees. And we ask them, What are the most important things that they're working on within their own communities and organizations? And what will make the biggest difference, and we basically take all of those responses. And generally, they fall into four or five buckets. And so that's what we utilize to create the specific things that we're going to work on. So for instance, we did an innovation lab in September for women in the US who are involved in the fishing industry and fishing community, and the three things that came out of the pre interviews with all of those attendants was that they wanted to work on policy, and how to create broader policy change for fishing industry and communities. They also wanted to work on the data and the science around climate change, because there's a severe lack of that when it comes to different fisheries and bycatch and different populations, and what are the economic repercussions of sea level rise and warming and things like that. And then they also wanted to work on making sure that all voices within the fishing communities and industries are heard. And so what does it look like to have the most diverse, inclusive, equitable and just fishing industry and community. So that when if when you ask education and policy all of the above none of the above? These women ell us what they want to work on. And we just, we give them the space to do that and some tools to really help target the conversations.
Brian 10:07
That's so awesome. So you said that most of these people have professional lives? Does that mean they're coming into this as volunteers just volunteering their time trying to find solution?
Kristie 10:17
Yeah, so some folks have climate and climate impact directly in their title. A lot of them do not. In fact, there are a lot of women that we talked to that would not define their professional jobs as specifically working on climate. But then when we start talking about what they do, and the implications on their work of extreme weather, or of heat, or all these different things that we know climate change causes, they are working on it, but just in a way that makes sense, vocabulary-wise for their industries, or communities, or whatever it is that they're doing. So, I think I got a little bit off track because they're not volunteers.
Rewinding there, sorry, I get really excited when I talked about this. They they are not volunteers. They're network members, I guess is how we define them. And so they come either in a professional or personal capacity to share what they're passionate about, and share their expertise to create these solutions that we work on.
Brian 11:30
And now I know you mentioned pre interviews, but is there any way that you recruit people? Do you reach out to those industries? Like you said, the fishing industry? I'm sure you reached out directly? Is that mostly how you guys do that?
Kristie 11:41
Yes, yeah. So I, myself and my other co-lead, who is a really incredible woman named Stephanie Holthaus, who I believe you're interviewing for another podcast. So hopefully she and I say similar things. But she and I are not climate practitioners. We both come from very different backgrounds. And so we just basically our job is to bring these people together. And so we do that in all different ways. Neither one of us works in the fishing industry or in a fishing community. And so we do a lot of research before we bring these groups together. We talk to our networks. We talk to different networks of folks that we know in those communities or in organizations that we know we've worked with in the past. Sometimes it's just a Google search.
Speaker 3 12:35
I did a Google search for the fishing industry and communities lab and I found the most amazing people from Google searches. If you have not looked at casual crabbing with Tia. Tia was one of our participants. And if you're ever in Charleston, South Carolina, you gotta look her up. She is amazing. And I found her in a Google search. Same with Imani Black, who's the founder and president of minorities and aquaculture. Both were attendees, and I found them through Google.
Brian 13:07
I think I'm going to South Carolina next month. So I'm gonna have to look her up.
Kristie 13:11
Oh, my gosh, you have to look up Tia, she's amazing.
Brian 13:15
Sounds good. I know you work under the Nature Conservancy, so I'm sure there's hundreds of other organizations or multiple other organizations under that in order to accomplish your goals.
Kristie 13:29
Yeah, so most of the Women in Climate Network, which is just above, it's almost 200 women at this point, most of the Women in Climate Network is actually external. So a lot of the practitioners and folks that come to our innovation labs are not part of The Nature Conservancy. And we purposely do that because The Nature Conservancy is one organization with a very specific mission. And working in silos is not going to not going to solve climate change. Climate change impacts every aspect of every single human organism, plant, animal tree, whatever on the planet. And so we need as many different experience lived experiences and backgrounds and expertise and like you name it, we need that to be able to come together to have innovative solutions. And so we work with a lot of really cool organizations that are doing climate work. But we also have partners like Planet Women, which is this specifically environmental nonprofit that is geared towards funding women who are doing not just climate projects, but environmental projects. There's also a really cool organization called She Changes C limate that is specifically working on changing the gender gap in leadership for the different UN climate conferences. So they have a goal of minimum, getting more women into leadership positions for COP. So we just had COP 27. And so they're focused on COP 28 now, and it's the UN climate conference. I don't remember the exact thing that the acronym stands for. But anybody who knows climate will know what I'm talking about.
Brian 15:29
So you mentioned that, as you mentioned, climate affects everyone in the world. Is this a solely United States based organization? Or do you guys work worldwide with other countries?
Kristie 15:42
Yeah, so Women in Climate right now is mostly US-focused, because that's where we had our roots. But with that said, at The Nature Conservancy, which is a global organization, we have a working group of all of the different people who are working on gender and climate initiatives worldwide within our organization. And then some of these other potential partner groups, or some of these organizations that I just mentioned, like She Changes Climate, Planet Women, and many others work in specific areas on a global scale. And so we currently as Women in Climate, the Women in Climate movement are working on scaling up to get to the global levels so that we can, again, have the most inclusive space.
Brian 16:35
Wow. Um, what advice would you have for any young woman interested in pursuing careers in sustainability and climate space? It sounds like you've always been in the space, and have worked. And then you're now mentioning other women who are coming in without without that idea in mind, what advice would you give to a young woman?
Kristie 16:57
Thank you for asking this question. I love it, you have done a great job, all of your questions were really wonderful. And I wish we could just spend the rest of the afternoon talking. Because clearly, I'm very passionate about this. I think I would say three things: One, climate touches all aspects of our life, and or of our lives, like, Do what makes you happy, find what you're passionate about, and find where that intersection is. Again, I said at the beginning, I've always been really passionate about the intersection of gender, environmental work and social justice. And that is, over many different steps in my career is what led me here. But I knew really early in probably in high school, that all of these things were important to me, and I didn't necessarily have the words to, to form and say, this would be my dream job. So number one, just keep doing what you're passionate about. And you will get there.
Number two, sometimes it's gonna be really hard, and you can do it. And this goes for this goes for anybody, right? Because we're all human. But I think especially women in environmental and scientific communities, especially and academic communities and lots of other different communities, but we don't have time to go into, into that whole list are not heard in the same way as men. And it's just, well, there are a lot of different reasons. Again, that's not the this kind of podcast. But so number two, when it gets hard, and you have to like if you have to take a step back, take a step back, but know that you could always step back in when you want and that there are going to be people like me, who are going to be ready to help you get there.
And so I think that that's my third thing is find as many mentors and coaches and sponsors that you possibly can and take every different learning from those people and the different experiences that you have to get to where you want to go. I'm not gonna lie, it's been hard to get here.
Brian 19:15
I'm sure it has
Kristie 19:16
But I'm happy I'm here.
Brian 19:18
Well, that was a great response. Just from this conversation as a man I've learned a lot. I mean, I guess I've never really looked into the space of women in climate until this class. So in the few times that I talk to you I've learned a lot about it. And I've talked to women in my life about it and they've also been very interested in it like my sisters and my mom.
Kristie 19:39
You should have them you got my email you should have them call me email me, like I would talk to anybody about this, any woman that you know that once you get into this work. We all have to lift each other up because it's the only way that we're going to get that parity at the top.
Brian 19:56
Well, thank you very much for coming on. My last question will be: is there any events coming up or any, any channels or anything at all you'd like to mention where people can find you or anything you have coming up?
Kristie 20:10
Thank you so much for asking that. We're so behind in social media, but there will be something coming. So in the meantime, I would say you can go to nature dot org, and search for Women in Climate, and all of our information. We also have some really incredible videos done by photographer and videographer named Katie Basile, who's based in Alaska, that she's done of especially our last innovation lab. So if you want to learn more women or women in climate on nature dot org, that's where you can find us.
And then I would also just say, like, I just said to you, you know, folks, and as you're connecting, if there's anything that we can do to support you, all you, Brian, you've got my email, your whole class has got our email. And so let us know because we're always looking for new partners and ways to involve more people in this work.
Brian 21:11
Of course, I will definitely be sending your email out to a couple people. So actually, I know some people in FSU, they're interested in it as well. We're trying to get it to you at first before they get it.
But thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it. And I hope all goes well in your future.
Kristie 21:30
Thank you so much. Best of luck to you to and to everybody who's working on this project. We were so excited to be involved.
Brian 21:38
Thank you.
Thank you for listening in the woman and climate series on the Streaming Science Podcast. Make sure to check out our website and social media for more. I'm your host Brian Biederman. Thank you for listening. For more information visit the links in the show notes.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai