Attend the “Go Green Conference” at Bergen, April 9, 2010

Learn about green initiatives that focus on renewable energy, sustainability education, and workforce partnerships for a sustainable future at the “Go Green: Think Green II Conference,” on Friday, April 9, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Moses Family Meeting and Training Center, Room 128 on Bergen Community College’s main campus at 400 Paramus Road, Paramus. The event is co-sponsored by Bergen Community College and The Record. Registration and breakfast begins at 8 a.m. Admission is free. To register for the conference please visit http://www.northjersey.com/gogreen.

The keynote address will be delivered by Barbara A. Finazzo, Director of the Environmental Planning and Protection for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ms. Finazzo will provide an overview of the Environmental Protection Agency, specifically focusing on environmental issues at the regional and national level. Attendees will learn about the federal government’s role in the areas of sustainability, climate change, air and water quality and new careers in sustainability.

Following the presentation, Scott Fallon, Senior Environmental Writer for The Record, will moderate a panel discussion about local communities’ sustainability efforts. The panel will consist of leading experts in the fields of education, environment and renewable energy. Panel members include:

• Captain Bill Sheehan, Founder and Executive Director, Hackensack Riverkeeper

• Corey Sperling, Teacher and Naturalist, New Jersey Audubon Society

• Robert Dill, Environmentalist and Bergen Professor of Science

• Meredith Kates, Teacher at Blue Rock Middle School, West Nyack, NY

• Gene Wozny, Community Organizer, Renewable Energy, Washington Township Green Team

Breakout Sessions will be held from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The schedule features:

• “Our Rivers in the Green Plan,” presented by Captain Bill Sheehan, Founder and Executive Director, Hackensack Riverkeeper

• “Integrating the Creative Arts/Children’s Literature in Environmental Education,” presented by Corey Sperling, Teacher and Naturalist, New Jersey Audubon Society

• “Our Carbon Footprint,” presented by Robert Dill, Environmentalist and Bergen Professor of Science

• “How to Teach and Live Green,” presented by P.J. Ricatto, Dean of Math, Science and Technology at Bergen; Meredith Kates, Teacher at Blue Rock Middle School, West Nyack, NY; and Cheryl Mercer, Smith School Green Team Co-leader in Hillsdale, and Green Living Consult

• “Understanding the Sustainable Green Team,” presented by Gene Wozny, Community Organizer, Renewable Energy, Washington Township Green Team

Bergen Community College will also celebrate “Earth Week 2010” from April 19 to April 24. To view the schedule of activities for the week, please visit http://www.bergen.edu/earthweek2010.

Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 17,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields.

Photo Caption: Keynote Speaker Barbara Finazzo