Morning Presenters
Taborri Bruhl – Here’s How We Fix It! Solving the World’s Sustainability Problems.
Red 28
The world faces a huge number of environmental problems—climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, and pollution, just to name a few. The good news is that the technology already exists, today, for many of these problems to be solved. Join Taborri as he outlines what future systems and lifestyles might look like and how they might function, and how we will be able to transition from where we are today to where we will need to be tomorrow. His presentation will include discussion of how basic economic principles inform our understanding of future economic systems, as well as video clips of places where some of these technologies and ideas have already been put into practice.
Taborri Bruhl lives in rural New Haven, Vermont, with his wife, three children, and two dogs in a net-zero house powered by solar and wind. Taborri is a former Marine Corps officer, and holds a bachelors degree in history and journalism from Texas A&M University and a masters degree in history from California State University. He teaches history, economics, and government at the high school level, and is on the board of directors for the Acorn Renewable Energy Co-op in Addison County, VT.
Ray Dube – What does your Recycling turn into?
Red 13 & 14
This session will highlight the materials that the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England recycles on a day-to-day basis and will explore how local businesses use those recycled commodities by showing examples of products made from them. A discussion of recycled household products will reveal what they can turn into as well.
Ray has spent the last 25 years working for a franchise bottler of Coca-Cola doing everything from loading and driving trucks to working in sales and in the financial department. Most recently he has served as the company’s Sustainability Manager, overseeing commodity sales, recycling and education to schools and to the general public. Ray graduated from NH College in 2000 with a degree in Business, Finance and Economics as well as a certificate in Sustainability for the University of NH in 2014.
Greta Solsaa and Sophia Moore – Experiment in International Living: South Africa and Tanzania
Red 15
James Ehlers – Pristine or Polluted? How Adults are Failing to Protect Our Waters and What You Can Do About It.
Red 24
Life, as we know it, is not sustainable without safe, reliable drinking water. Does anyone have a right to deliberately pollute? Does the free market protect us against pollution or does the government have a role to play? Are our elected officials doing enough? What can you do to protect our swimmable, drinkable, fishable water resources against ever-present threats? Have you heard about the fish kills and about people getting sick on Vermont lakes? Are you aware that Rutland often leads the state in combined sewage overflows?
Join this session to learn about the issues affecting Vermont’s water, fish, and beaches – and what you can do about it.
Since 1999 James has served as the executive director of Lake Champlain International, a highly visible organization engaged in a region-wide effort to assert that clean water supports vibrant, sustainable economies and benefits people of all backgrounds. He has also served as a freelance columnist, a middle school science teacher, and has provided instruction for ecology and outdoor programs for the State of Vermont, local colleges, schools, and parks. James has been invited to the White House to consult with advisers on public policy and earned the prestigious EPA Environmental Merit Award.
Todd Kowalczyk – Home Sweet Home!
Red 25
We are living in a time where technology is advancing at a rapid pace. From iPhones to genetic mapping to Artificial Intelligence, we are living in a vastly different world than our parents and grandparents. And the pace of change and advancement shows no sign of slowing. Yet, most of us live in homes that were built decades ago well before the emergence of the computer age.
So, what will a typical home look like in the future? How might the places and spaces that we live and work look different? In an ever more crowded world, how will our homes be smarter and work to preserve our natural resources and environment? This presentation will explore how new energy technologies and emerging trends will affect where we live and work. We’ll look at how homes and buildings in the future will be smarter, improving the quality of our lives while restoring our connection with nature and the natural world. We’ll explore through photos and discussion the big and little ways that spaces can be made happier, more inviting, and more efficient!
Todd is the Project Management Lead at Green Mountain Power in Rutland, VT. When he is not skiing, trail running, or hiking in the mountains he loves to talk about energy and is passionate about how we can use energy to make the world a better place! He lives in Killington with his wife and three daughters.
Cathy Archer – Theatre for Social Change
Red 22
Through theatre games this session will explore Education and how it impacts a person’s ability to earn a living, be a part of the community, and develop as a human being. Participants will be guided to develop scenes, using techniques from theatre of the oppressed and Improvisation, which will tell the stories of people in their search for education. Students will leave the workshop with a framework or outline for a play that addresses the issue of the importance of Education.
Cathy Archer is a thirty-four-year veteran teacher of theatre in Vermont. She recently presented this workshop as a part of Vermont’s One Act Festival, The Northeastern Theatre Festival and at the New England Drama One Act Festival. She is committed to the idea that theatre can affect change through productions of plays that address issues concerning the human experience and the World. Rutland High School’s Encore Theatre has recently produced several plays that deal with censorship, discrimination and the power of kindness.
Abby Brodowski and Jennie Gartner – Conversations With Each Other
White 21 & 22
Alison Remy and Marcie Jones – Communication for All
Red 18
Tegan Waite – Supporting Children in Kenya
White 12
Abby Hawkins – The Chronic International Inaccessibility to Diabetic Health Services
Lab 3
Delaney Courcelle – Psychopaths in our Society: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Red 16
This presentation addresses the clinical definition of a psychopath and examines the causes, diagnoses, and treatment of psychopathy. The presenter will make the distinction between violent and benign tendencies and will contemplate the future of genetic screening and diagnostic testing for psychopathy, weighing individual rights and public safety.
**Disclaimer: there are graphic descriptions of crime, both real and fictional in this presentation.
Delaney Courcelle is a senior at Rutland High School and is interested in the intersection of law enforcement, mental health, and the Rule of Law. She recently completed an internship with the Rutland City Police Department. Her combined action plan for her Capstone project and her internship was to articulate and to present the procedures for evidence-gathering to the Cadet class at the police department, with particular emphasis on how proper procedures protect fairness and justice. She enjoys playing softball and her clarinet when she is not binge-watching Netflix crime shows.
Kelsey Barker – Racial Microaggressions: The Result of a Lack of Education
White 16
Leigha Charron – The Effects of Divorce and Separation on Children
Red 11
How can we minimize the negative effects of divorce and separation on children? This presentation is not a denouncement of divorce, but it will highlight proactive measures that can be taken on behalf of children to spare them from the unfortunate side effects of divorce and separation. Ms. Charron will explain the impact on different age groups and will also compare the access to and the nature of divorce in other regions of the world.
Leigha Charron speaks not only from her research but also from her experience of being a product of homes touched by separation and divorce. She is a junior at Rutland High School and likes to stay active by playing basketball, and her favorite food is sushi.
Stefanie DeSimone – Soup Bowls for Hunger
Creative Structure
Ron Eisenman – Pictures from Under the Mushroom Cloud
Library – Red Computer Lab
What are the human realities of nuclear war? How did the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experience the atomic bombs of WWII?
This gallery talk, annotating an exhibit of photographs taken in Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly after the atomic bombs were dropped, will speak to the consequences of nuclear detonations. The session will include a description of the historical atmosphere leading up to the decision to drop the bomb and will sample some of the impacts experienced on the ground by Japanese citizens—at the time of the events and some which continue into the present. The presentation will include a message from the atomic bomb survivors.
Ron has been a social studies teacher at RHS since 2006. He speaks Japanese and has traveled and worked in Japan.
Jamin Gelder – A School Without Water: Pure Water for the World
White 27
What does a school without water or sanitation look like? How can education thrive in a school lacking basic human needs? How can students in Vermont impact the lives of kids in rural developing nations?
Many children in rural Honduras attend school without access to safe water, safe sanitation facilities, and their teachers lack the tools to relay proper hygiene messages. Pure Water for the World works with teachers and communities to improve water and sanitation in schools while also providing the hygiene training to teachers and students. By addressing all aspects of water and sanitation, and including hygiene education, Pure Water for the Worlds is able to implement a sustainable water project. Find out how you can contribute to a better world for all students, everywhere.
Jamin Gelder is the program manager for Pure Water for the World, which is headquartered in Rutland, VT.
José Guerror Coronado – Working with Refugees: Challenges, Relationships, and the Future
White 26
What can we do to help refugees? What are the most effective ways to help them adapt to living in the US?
This presentation will talk about efforts in Portland, Oregon to support the needs of refugees from more than 20 countries. The session will address the major issues and problems refugees face, their lives in the US, the role of non-profits, and the political climate of the US. It will also explain and give information about what to expect if you want to work or volunteer in programs that help refugees.
José Guerrero Coronado is an economics major at Whitman College. He began participating in community service movements in his hometown Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In Puerto Vallarta, José volunteered for the Nuevo Vallarta Turtle Camp and the Manos de Amor Orphanage. In the United States, José was an intern for Catholic Charities in Portland, OR, where he was coordinator of a summer school program for refugee kids. He was also program assistant for 4 Worlds United, an organization that gives free soccer classes for low income kids in the Portland metro area. José wants to work in immigration services and later in his life establish a soccer academy for kids of unprivileged backgrounds.
Matthew Prouty and RHS Project Vision- Breaking Down Silos: Project Vision
Red 12
How do we create relationships and partnerships with different organizations and agencies to minimize gaps and overlaps of services that address poverty, public safety, substance abuse, and strengthening neighborhoods in Rutland? This session will introduce participants to Project Vision, which has become an international model for community engagement and relationship building.
Commander Prouty is a 27 year police veteran, and was named Executive Director of Project VISION in Sept of 2017.
Aidan Lodge, James Baroz, Katherine Koehler, and Nanja Horning – Leftovers: Examining Food Waste and Food Insecurity
White 15
What factors contribute to food waste and food insecurity? How can we shift consumer mindsets to reduce both food waste and food insecurity? Can we re-purpose food waste to help those in need? This presentation will include clips from an in-progress short subject film and will include an interactive discussion. The goal of the presentation is to increase awareness about the need for sustainable food production and reflections on consumption habits.
Aidan, James, Katherine, and Nanja are representatives from “What’s the Story, VT”, a collaborative learning experience focused on social action. Katherine and James are seniors at Middlebury Union High School (MUHS), Nanja is a junior at MUHS, and Aidan is a junior at Peoples Acadamy.
Callon Fish – Surrogacy: New Chance for Miracle Babies
Lab 7
Anesu Masube – Plan USA Youth Leadership Academy on the Sustainable Development Goals
Red 21
Are you interested in developing your leadership skills? While working with other passionate students from across the country? And getting a taste of college life? Then check out this session about Plan USA’s Youth Leadership Academy, hosted at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, July 23-27, 2018! The Academy will help develop your leadership style, guide your understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals, gain expertise in designing and implementing your own projects, and allow you to network with the international Plan community. For more information and to apply, visit planusa.org/yla.
Theo Wells-Spackman and Emily Pecsok – Smashing Sexism
Red 26
Jared Miglore – Who Owns the Water? and Isabella Gides – Using Technology to Prevent Waterborne Diseases
Lab 8
Clai Lasher-Sommers – GunSenseVT
White 25
End Addiction
White 23
Adam Chill – Coffee and the World
Lab 4