![]() Finally, some of the public firefighters in California are getting lessons from the native and indigenous communities about this practice. This helps reduce the underbrush in our forests and helps reduce the magnitude of some of the wildfires that we've been experiencing. Something that I find interesting while looking at climate change solutions is that there are Native American communities out West who have been doing cultural burnings for centuries. If we start excluding certain groups of people, whether they're disabled, LGBTQ, Black and Brown or native communities, we start excluding those ideas from solutions. What I realized, as we get into a more and more complex society where technology is changing rapidly, is that we need all good ideas at the table. Growing up as a woman in the South I saw a lot of racism and sexism. Public education is not just for K through 12 or college, it's educating our citizens and our residents about how they can make this a more livable country and neighborhood. ![]() Education has always been a deep-seated passion of mine. And I'm also very open to learning about other cultures, challenges, and ways that we can solve the challenges we have. I’m sure I’m missing so many! Has there been a common thread that drew you to each of these positions? IM: Your career has been very eventful-you have been Chair of Mecklenburg County Commission, Mayor of Charlotte, an international banker, a diplomat, a professor, and even a math teacher. My awareness of the climate crisis has grown gradually, but I'm certainly feeling the urgency right now. Growing up in the South, I was concerned with the dumping of toxins along our highways in North Carolina which was a big part of the rise of the environmental justice movement in Warren County, which is where my family is from. Knowing that there are so many people who suffer from respiratory and heart illnesses-and climate change is just making it worse. In all my concern about sustainability and the environment and all that I've done in public office, even before I was elected, it all started coming together when I realized one of the biggest things that we worry about when we see the environment suffering is public health. ![]() The United Nations have been meeting for 26 years with the Conference of the Parties and it was probably around that time when I realized this is something that we need to pay attention to, because I was a student of international relations and was following what the UN was doing. I started hearing people talking about how native plant species were changing and how the environment and the ecology were changing. I was pretty young at the time, but I've always been an outdoor enthusiast. I remember President Carter talking about climate change in the 70s. IM: Can you share how you learned about climate change and why this is an issue you have devoted much of your time to? ![]() This interview was conducted by Ivy Moore (IM), Digital Media and Communications intern at Smart Surfaces Coalition. Over the coming months, we will publish interviews with Coalition Steering Committee members as they talk about their work, our environment and the Smart Surfaces mission. This interview is part of a series of blog posts highlighting prominent members of the Smart Surfaces Coalition team. SSC Leadership Spotlight: Jennifer Roberts, speaker and author, former Director of the Path to Positive Communities Program with ecoAmerica and Former Mayor of Charlotte
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