Lisa Sullivan, our gifted keynote speaker, is currently the Integral Ecology senior program officer for the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. As someone deeply committed to the people of Central America, she served as a Lay Missioner with her family in Bolivia and Venezuela for twenty years. She worked alongside barrio youth in Barquisimeto, Venezuela to create the Centro San Juan, a vibrant community center that celebrates Afro-Venezuelan culture, and developed the Rutilio Grande Center, with a focus on leadership formation and networking among social movements. Later, she worked with the School of the Americas Watch as their Latin America Coordinator, and was responsible for organizing citizen diplomacy delegations, traveling to 18 countries. It was early in her stay in Venezuela that Lisa began to plant hundreds of fruit trees on a barren plot in the mountains, and 25 years later this passion grew into a lush permaculture farm called Conuco Colibrí. For the last five years, during Venezuela’s severe food crisis, Lisa and her partner converted Conuco Colibrí into a community teaching farm for children and youth. Lisa brings her passion for the earth to her current role doing international advocacy and education on issues of climate change. This work has taken her from areas of the world affected by climate change to UN forums on climate, water, biodiversity, and indigenous issues. We were fortunate indeed to have Lisa with us to share both her experience and insights!