Limits of the Imagination Speakers
Pamela Adams — Pam is the Sustainability Planner for the Centre Region Council of Governments (COGs) where she is completing a greenhouse gas emissions inventory in preparation of the development of a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Prior to June 2019, she was the COG’s Refuse and Recycling Administrator for 11 years. The COG Refuse and Recycling Program provides almost 16,000 residents in 5 municipalities with trash and recycling service by a hauler under contract through a competitive bidding process. Pam has completed the Pennsylvania Recycling Professional Certification Program. Previously, from 1994 – 2000 she was a manufacturing engineer responsible for environmental compliance for Thermo King (manufacturer of transport refrigeration units). Pam graduated from Penn State University with a BS in Industrial Engineering. Pam participated in the post-film discussion panel at Salvage.
Rachel Brennan — Dr. Rachel Brennan is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State University. She serves as the director of the Advanced Ecological Engineering Systems Laboratory (EcoMachine), a program advisor for the Environmental Engineering Minor, and a faculty advisor for Engineers Without Borders. She also serves as the dedicated sustainability chair for the College of Engineering and has been instrumental in helping to bring the Drawdown Initiative to Penn State. Her expertise includes ecomachines, natural wastewater treatment, and bioremediation of hazardous waste. Dr. Brennan introduced The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
Jasmine Fields — Jasmine Fields serves as an AmeriCorps member for the Borough of State College. She graduated from Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Science with a degree in Geosciences in 2018 and has served the Borough as an environmental steward ever since. Jasmine works with the environmental coordinator and sustainability chair to help make our community more resilient, following the goals and objectives in the Borough’s 2022 Sustainability Plan. Her responsibilities include working with the Sustainability Institute and local organizations to help raise awareness about environmental issues in our community. Jasmine moderated the post-film discussion panel for Salvage.
F. Glenn Fleming — Glenn is the supervisor and funeral director at Koch Funeral Home in State College. He has been a licensed funeral director in the state of Pennsylvania for more than 50 years and worked with Koch since 1973. Glenn is a member and past president of the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association and been on the board of directors for the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. He is a member of the Central Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Directors Association, Selected Independent Funeral Homes, International Order of the Golden Rule and Cremation Association of North America. Glenn is also active in the State College Kiwanis Club. Glenn participated in the post-film conversation at A Will for the Woods.
Pearl Gluck — Pearl Gluck is a filmmaker and on the faculty of Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications where she teaches screenwriting, directing, producing and through her courses and her films explores themes such as autobiographical film and representations of gender, class, and faith in cinema. Her feature film, The Turn Out (2018), blends documentary and fiction storytelling to address the underreported issues of domestic sex trafficking at truck stops and won Best Debut Feature at the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, as well as the American Tracks Music Award for the film’s title song, Heaven Spelled Backwards. She was awarded a 2000 Sundance Producer’s Lab fellowship and a 2001 Sundance Festival mentorship for Divan (2004), her first documentary film. Pearl moderated the post-film panel discussion of Cooked: Survival by Zip Code.
Judith Helfand — Judith Helfand is a NYC-based director best known for her ability to use her quirky sense of humor, irony, personal storytelling chops and the power of transparency to tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time — from toxic chemical exposure to climate change to the politics of “disaster.” Her films have premiered at Sundanceand been nationally broadcast on PBS (POV), HBO and The Sundance Channel. “Blue Vinyl” received the Sundance Excellence Award in Cinematography and two Emmy nominations and its prequel, “A Healthy Baby Girl,” won a Peabody. Helfand is a field-builder who co-founded two critical organizations — Working Films and Chicken & Egg Pictures. In 2007, Helfand received a United States Artist Fellowship. In 2016 she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is in post-production on “Love & Stuff,” an intergenerational love story about mourning her mother and becoming a “new old mom” at the same time. Judith discussed her film Cooked: Survival by Zip Code.
Jackie Naginey Hook, MA — Jackie is a spiritual director, Life-Cycle Celebrant™ and end-of-life doula who coordinates the Helping Grieving Hearts Heal program with Koch Funeral Home in State College, including Having the Talk of a Lifetime, grief companioning, memorable funeral ceremony creation, remembrance service facilitation, legacy reception coordination, community outreach and end-of-life support. She is the co-founder of Learning to Live: What’s Your Story?; a co-facilitator of HEART – Helping Empty Arms Recover Together; a member of Grief Connection; and she writes articles for the Centre Daily Times, Centre County Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Centered magazine. Jackie participated in the post-film conversation at A Will for the Woods.
Cecilio Ortiz García — Dr. Cecilio Ortiz García is a Senior Fellow with the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) and co-chair of its RISE – Resilience in Sustainable rEconstruction – program. Developed in the wake of Hurricane Maria, one of the worst disasters in Puerto Rico’s history resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths and over $90 billion of economic loss, RISE seeks to develop new strategies and approaches for universities and colleges acting in pre- and post-natural disaster environments to address ethical and logistical concerns about their efforts. Cecilio’s research expertise includes the public policy and administration of socio-technical systems, public participation and energy governance, environmental and energy justice issues, community resilience, and transitions management. He is currently a visiting scholar at Penn State. Cecilio participated in the post-film panel at Cooked: Survival by Zip Code.
Christina Platt — Christina Platt is a member of the Penn State class of 2019 with a degree in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management. Upon graduation, she thruhiked the 2,192 mile Appalachian Trail in honor of her friend Devon Longmore, a victim of the opioid crisis, raising thousands for charity along the way. Christina is a Quaker and has served as an officer for 3rd Way Collective. Christina participated in the post-film conversation at Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago.
Holly Reigh — Holly Reigh is a Licensed Practical Nurse, Personal Care Home Administrator, and end-of-life doula who currently works for Grane Hospice as a Clinical Liaison. She also is a Enhance Wellness Counselor for the Centre County Office of Aging. She serves on the board of Geriatric Interest network and Adult Children for Aging Parents. She helps guide families through an illness or diagnosis where hospice is appropriate. She is a resource to the community when end of life care is needed. Holly participated in the post-film discussion at A Will for the Woods.
Louie Schwartzberg — Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning producer, director and cinematographer whose notable career spans more than three decades providing breathtaking imagery for feature films, television shows, documentaries and commercials. As the only filmmaker in the world who has been shooting time-lapse 24/7 continuously for over four decades, Schwartzberg is a visual artist breaking barriers, connecting with audiences, and telling stories that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people and places. His recent theatrical releases include the 3D IMAX film “Mysteries of the Unseen World” with National Geographic, narrated by Forest Whitaker, and “Wings of Life,” a feature-length documentary for Disneynature, narrated by Meryl Streep. Schwartzberg is distinguished as an artist and a pioneer who transformed 35mm time-lapse photography into an arresting art form made available for the first time to feature films and other content platforms. His stunning nature, aerial and slice-of-life imagery has transformed films by such directors as Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Haggis and Ridley Scott, including “American Beauty,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Crash,” “Erin Brockovich,” “E.T.,” “Independence Day,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Koyaanisqatsi,” “Men in Black,” “Twister” and countless others. Louie joined us to introduce and discuss his most recent film, Fantastic Fungi.
Isaac Vergun — Isaac Vergun was one of the 21 federal plaintiffs in Juliana et al. v. U.S. and is co-founder and lead youth climate leader with Youth Acting for our Earth (YAE!). At 11-years old, Isaac got the attention of Bill McKibben by stepping onto the stage to ask about starting a divestment campaign for his hometown of Beaverton, Oregon. Isaac has brought YAE! to more 300 students in four states and counting. He trained to become a Climate Reality Leader and was twice elected to the Global Boards of Plant-for-the-Planet. He was also elected President of the Children’s Board. He participated in Youth Summits in Germany and Italy as well as inspiring adults from around the world in Monaco at PlantAhead. Honored as a Youth in Action by the Marshallese Community and a leader of his high school’s Black Student Union, Isaac is part of the Oregon Youth Legislative Initiative (which helps youth make personal connections with legislators to influence the adoption of sane climate policy), and a teen board member of the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation. Isaac participated in the post-film conversation at Cooked: Survival by Zip Code.
Joel Weidner — Joel retired in 2015 from Penn State Finance and Business after working for thirty three years, primarily directing the work of the information technology group for Auxiliary and Business Services. He had pondered walking the Camino de Santiago for several years before retiring and a little after one year off from work, he headed to Spain to begin walking. Joel and his wife, Krista, moved to State College in 1980. He graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in hospitality management in 1982. Locally, Joel is an active member and elder in University Mennonite Church and serves as board member and treasurer for the Park Forest Day Nursery Preschool, volunteering one morning a week in the four-year-old classroom. He is board chair for Ten Thousand Villages State College and has kept busy working to open a Ten Thousand Villages store in State College. He has three grown children and lives in downtown State College with Krista and their Sheltie Riggins. Joel participated in the post-film conversation at Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago.
Ben Wideman — For seven years, Ben Wideman was the campus pastor for 3rd Way Collective, a unique campus ministry alternative founded by University Mennonite Church, which focuses on peace, justice, and faith at Penn State. He enjoys riding his bike, going to baseball games, and exploring our community with his family. Ben participated in the post-film conversation at Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago.
