Reflections on Community at CCL’s 4th Annual Inclusion Conference
By Phalika Oum, CCL Inclusion Fellow
Maybe it was Karina’s plumeria hair clip, paying homage to the land and the native peoples of Hawaii; she humbles us with a reminder that we are merely guests here. Perhaps it was Wanda’s Elsa doll or Karis’ worn-out, well-loved book. Or perhaps it was Mike’s gentle tone, swiftly dancing to the music of multiplicity: We contain multitudes and our identities cannot be distilled into words. Words that we too often take for granted.
What’s it like to choose stillness in times of great civil unrest and mounting ecological turmoil? What’s it like to choose to love in the face of disjuncture? How do we keep moving forward, despite it all?
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From Friday, Sept. 26, to Saturday, Sept. 27, Citizen Climate Lobby’s People of the Global Majority and members of the Inclusion team hosted their 4th annual virtual Inclusion Conference, “Rooted in Care, Growing in Community,” dedicated to sharing stories from CCL’s Affinity Action Teams and practical tools for managing anxiety at the intersections of climate and inclusion. With 77 community members attending the Friday reception and 181 members attending the Saturday conference, this year’s event demonstrates the power of convening as a community.
The event kicked off with a show and tell reception, where community members shared stories about an object of their choosing. This created room for cultural, familial, and personal reflections and storytelling, setting the stage for a weekend of intention and belonging. In this space, we saw the coming together of difference, with attendees ranging in age, race, profession, gender orientation, and more.
The Saturday conference was supported by Spanish interpretation from Gabriela and ASL interpretation from Jessy and Joe. Kendyl, a leader from our Persons with Disability affinity group, encouraged the usage of visual descriptions—an accessibility tool used by the speaker to identify themselves in a presentation. Karina also shared a playlist to celebrate the songs of difference, submitted by the People of the Global Majority (PGM) Caucus.
Jacob Shores-Argüello, Costa Rican-American environmental humanist, writer, and author of Paraíso and In Absence of Clocks, started the day off by reading poetry from his new book “Grief for the green that was.” Jacob challenged concepts of geographical boundaries and reminisced about his late mother, exploring how grieving for his mother translated to grieving for his motherland. The “grief for the green that was,” as he so eloquently stated it, is a deep longing to come home. Hear Jacob read his poetry here:
Then Julian Cauzae, a seminary student at Harvard Divinity School interested in conversations around climate change and the apocalypse, created space for attendees to share their experiences conversing about the climate question. From conversations about inductive gas stoves and the restoration of democracy to the question of human extinction, Julian patiently listened and responded by weaving in themes of time and agency.
Mayor Ukeme Awakessian Jeter
Mayor Ukeme Awakessien Jeter of Upper Arlington, Ohio, joined the conversation to share her understanding of cultural competency. While recognizing the importance of data in storytelling and advocacy, Jeter encouraged us to use a different and more qualitative method for gathering information: going directly to the people most impacted by the crisis. She walked us through how to effectively integrate cultural competency into our walk as the “connector” of community, pointing to three key steps: access your own cultural awareness, invest in your own cultural development, and foster a culture of curiosity. Ukeme challenged us to have the integrity to say, “I have some work to do here, and I am going to do the work to get there.”
The next hour of the conference included breakout sessions on various topics, led by CCL community members and members of the People of the Global Majority Caucus. The sessions included:
- “Faith, Stewardship, and the Climate Crisis: How Religion Shapes Environmental Action,” led by Mike Roman, a member of CCL’s Peace Corps Action Team
- “Our Water and Climate Change,” led by Manolo Matos, CCL’s Kentucky State Coordinator
- “Resistance is Edible: The Poetics of Food and the Teachings of Ancestors,” led by Phalika Oum, a 2025 Inclusion Fellow
- “Putting Partisan in the Past: Changing our perspectives during engagements from ‘you and I’ to ‘we’ to truly embrace our value of nonpartisanship,” led by Drew Eyerly, CCL’s Action Teams Director
- “Building Community Resilience with Educational Gardens,” led by Lucy Xue, a member of CCL’s Asian Pacific Action Team
- “At the Intersection: Gender, Justice, and the Climate Crisis,” led by Allison Fabrizio, a member of CCL’s People of the Global Majority Action Team
After, we rejoined the main conference room to hear from Clara Fang, Founder of Green Tara Consulting. Clara shared strategies for preventing burnout and productivity, as well as the value of dismantling oppression and colonial regimes through self-care, a radical form of resisting the culture of white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. Clara recognized the work of CCL’s Personal Resilience Action Team, which seeks to strengthen group and personal resilience through trainings and workshops. She also encouraged attendees to join her Activism Hour, held every Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, as a coworking meeting for activists.
Pamela Benson Owens
Vanessa Nakate sent along a video message for conference attendees, urging us to join people in the frontlines of the climate crisis with a spirit of one-ness, community, and care. Vanessa spoke about a world without oppression where nature is recognized and treated as the source of life.
Our final speaker, Pamela Benson Owens of Edge of Your Seat Consulting, Inc., shared a powerful message about the importance of integrating inclusion into every organizational standard. Using her experience training other organizations, including like-minded groups and disagreeing parties, she urged us to create space for relationship-building and communication by seeing each other as humans first, anchored in the common experience. Pamela held the truth that to build on inclusion, we need to have respectful communication, which includes active listening, inclusive language, and curiosity without judgement.
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It’s times like this I feel the most connected with the world, with humanity, and with my body. Historians, anthropologists, and all other scientists alike say there was a time before written language, following the language of gestures. It was in these times that our ancestors passed down knowledge and wisdom through the practice of oral storytelling and share outs. How incredible it is to return to our roots and dance with words together in the blight of monoculture and during the age of erosion!
Conferences, such as this one, leaves us feeling empowered and ready to act. But what comes next? What do you do the day after? The month? The year?
Many attendees shared that their motivation for engaging in climate work are their children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends, and even strangers—this is the heart of inclusion in climate work, for we cannot sufficiently address climate justice without addressing the ones currently most impacted and will be most impacted by what’s to come if we do not act.
Phalika Oum, CCL 2025 Inclusion Fellow
Over the years, I’ve placed my hope in places and rhythms that leave me feeling more helpless. For reasons I’m still piecing together, this multicultural and intergenerational space that the CCL Inclusion team has cultivated left me with security. I am one of the lucky ones to stand alongside veterans, retirees, high school students, college students, academics, climate professionals, and more to discuss the very pressing issues in our climate and celebrate the beauties of inclusion.
For all the attendees who chose to use their weekend to attend CCL’s 4th Inclusion Conference, thank you. Thank you for your presence and solidarity. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. And thank you for being open-minded and choosing to listen to difficult conversations. I feel forever grateful.
As for me, I sit with wonder. My chest fills with gravity and eagerness. And somehow, the air feels lighter knowing that I have a whole community to reflect alongside. I continue to meditate on the praxis of holding space for people and communities. I’m walking a tightrope held together by tensions and truths. This, I know, will be a lifetime of reflection and endurance.
Phalika Oum has served as CCL’s Inclusion Fellow since January 2025.
