Local Voices: In Conversation for Climate and Conservation

Jessica Toth, Executive Director of Solana Center for Environmental Innovation Under Jessica’s leadership, Solana Center has become an award-winning non-profit that influences policy and impacts communities in over 80% of the area’s jurisdictions. Last year, Solana Center’s collective programming mitigated more than 18,000 tons of greenhouse gases. Recently, Jessica was honored with the 2024 San Diego Woman Who Inspires Award by California State Senator Catherine Blakespear and the 50 Most Influential Women Over 50 by the San Diego Business Journal in 2022. Though always passionate about the environment, Jessica took a circuitous route to get here. After completing an engineering degree at Cornell and a master’s degree in business from MIT, Jessica began her career on Wall Street. She then held positions in corporate research, marketing, and business process improvement at various companies, including HP, Texas Instruments, the World Bank, Kyocera, SDG&E, and the San Diego Zoo.

Author Richard Louv is a journalist and author of ten books, including Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age, and Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life: 500 Ways to Enrich Your Family’s Health & Happiness, and his newest book is Our Wild Calling: How Connecting With Animals Can Transform Our Lives – And Save Theirs,. His books have been translated and published in 24 countries, and helped launch an international movement to connect children, families and communities to nature. He is co-founder and chair emeritus of the Children & Nature Network, an organization helping build the movement.

Ari Novy, President & CEO of San Diego Botanic Garden
Dr. Ari Novy is a plant biologist with a wide range of expertise in plant science and education. In addition to his role at the Garden, Dr. Novy is an active researcher, holding an appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed scientific papers and regularly speaks on various horticultural and botanical topics nationally and internationally. He is the founding co-chair of the Food and Agriculture Professional Section of the American Public Gardens Association. Dr. Novy has served on task forces and advisory panels for diverse groups including the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Cornell Alliance for Science, Botanic Garden Conservation International, Rock Creek National Park, the Garden Club of America, the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, and many others. He has a deep passion for translating science into best management practices and public education. He is immensely proud of having been a science advisor for the most recent seasons of The Magic School Bus.