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Message preview	Hi there, You are invited to a Zoom webinar. Topic: UMC at COP 27 Register in advance for this webinar: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6K411AGESQqGX5YQaaOOGg After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. ---------- Webinar Speakers Ilka Vega (Executive for Economic and Environmental Justice @United Women in Faith) Ilka holds a B.A in Sustainability, Culture, and Social Justice, a B.A. in Business from Southwestern University, and a M.Sc. in Innovation, Human Development, and Sustainability from the University of Geneva. Her postgraduate studies included working on mainstreaming sustainability policies and educational resources, collaborating with different UN and international organizations including the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights and the 2050 Today initiative in Geneva. A graduate of Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, Texas, Ilka has been a community organizer on transborder initiatives in the United States and Mexico since 2010. She assisted in the humanitarian response for asylum seekers, and guided advocate and interfaith delegations, including the International Sanctuary Movement & the Poor People’s Campaign. She has attended the UN climate change conferences, providing policy briefings for US lawmakers and faith communities with Texas Impact & Climate Action Network John Hill (Deputy General Secretary @The Board of Church and Society, The United Methodist Church) John is the deputy general secretary at the Board of Church and Society where he oversees all programmatic efforts for the agency’s advocacy, organizing, education and engagement mission on Capitol Hill and across the world. Prior to joining Church and Society, John studied international affairs at the University of Virginia. Upon graduation, he was awarded a fellowship to teach politics in England. He then served as a legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives before working as a lobbyist in the private sector. “Since joining Church and Society in 2002, I have enjoyed engaging United Methodists as we seek to better align our daily living with our faith,” he said. Committed to teaching Sunday School, John is often inspired and energized by the children he instructs each Sunday at Foundry United Methodist Church. Jake Barnett, CIMA (Director, Sustainable Investment Stewardship @Wespath) As the director of Sustainable Investment Stewardship for Wespath and its subsidiaries’ investment programs, Jake leads Wespath’s shareholder advocacy and engagement efforts. The SIS team focuses on engagement efforts that align with the values of The United Methodist Church and support the transition to a sustainable global economy. Previously Jake was an institutional consultant at Morgan Stanley’s Graystone Consulting where he focused on engagement with faith-based and impact-oriented institutional investors. Jake co-chairs the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative, serves on the Climate Crisis Leadership Group for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) & serves on the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Stewardship Advisory Committee. Jake received his bachelor’s degree in Economics, International Studies & Political Science from Ohio Wesleyan University. He also holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst designation. Rev. Jenny Phillips (Senior Technical Advisor for Environmental Sustainability @Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church) Rev. Jenny Phillips works within Global Ministries to identify sustainability strategies, and supports annual conferences and local churches in their creation care ministries. She launched Global Ministries’ renewable energy and energy efficiency programs and has directed the Global Ministries EarthKeepers program since 2017. Jenny is co-convener of the United Methodist Just and Equitable Net-Zero Coalition and is on the Georgia Interfaith Power and Light Advisory Council. She has a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Washington. Jenny is an elder from the Pacific Northwest Conference and lives in the greater Atlanta area. Rev. Laura Kigweba James (Director of Grassroots Organizing @The General Board of Church and Society, The United Methodist Church) In her position, Laura builds, strengthens, and equips United Methodists to transform the systemic conditions of injustice in both the church, community and world through faith-based community organizing. Laura studied at Wesley Theological Seminary where she learned tools of faith-based grassroots organizing and missional church strategies. After graduating, she was appointed as a local pastor in Baltimore, Maryland where she used grassroots organizing tools to equip the local congregations to address conditions of homelessness and poverty in the community. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and Non-profit Management from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Divinity in Missional Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary. Laura is a member of Emory Fellowship United Methodist Church and a provisional elder in the Baltimore Washington Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

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