Summit Presenters and Breakout Session Descriptions

    Breakout Sessions and Leaders

    Body, Breath, Beauty: Practices for Bonding, Resilience, Courage and Healing with Rev. Emily Meyer

    Amidst the deepening climate crisis, isolation, overwhelm, despair, and apathy are constant temptations. Experience and explore somatic and contemplative practices, their roots in ancient teachings; their support in recent scientific research; and their power for building up community, developing resilience amidst trauma, deepening conviction and courage over the long-haul, and restoring weary hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.

    Please dress for movement and rest.

    Rev. Emily Meyer (ELCA) has served as a pastor and liturgical artist, and has performed, produced, choreographed, and costumed in theaters around Minnesota and beyond. Emily is a facilitator of contemplative, somatic, and mindfulness practices. She serves as chair of the EcoFaith Summit of the Upper Midwest Organizing Team, on the ELCA’s Truth & Healing – Indian Boarding School Initiative, and was Liturgical Choreographer and Coordinator for the Lutheran World Federation’s 2023 Global Assembly in Krakow, Poland. She lives in Minneapolis with her spouse, Brian Meyer (‘92), and serves ecumenically as a resource and innovations consultant as executive director of The Ministry Lab.

     

    Theology Session: Title TBA

    Professor Peder Jothen teaches classes in Bible, Christian Theology, Existentialism, and Ethics. Current and past courses include Religion, Beauty, and the Arts; Christian Ethics: Life and Death; The Bible and Ecological Desire, and Christian Theology and Human Experience. He’s led several study away/abroad classes as well, including Living Faith: Theology and Practice at Holden Village and Global Semester: The Ethics of Travel. He’s also taught in the Great Conversation/Enduring Questions Conversation program. His research revolves around questions of moral formation and practice, especially in relation to culture and aesthetics. His first book, Kierkegaard, Selfhood, and Art: Aesthetics and Christian Becoming, was published by Routledge Press in 2014. He is married to Kaethe Schwehn, a writer who teaches in the English Department at St. Olaf, and has two delightful children, Thisbe and Matteus.

     

    The Sunrise Movement Twin Cities: Fighting Fascism and the Climate Crisis

    Join St. Olaf alumni Jake Olson ’24 and Mia Poletti ’24 who are active members in the twin cities chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-lead climate and anti-authoritarian organization. Being a member of Sunrise means taking actual, tangible action while understanding the intersection between the climate crisis and fascism. In this session, we will give an introductory course into how we prioritize climate action through anti-authoritarianism and social justice (actions against ICE, protests, legislation) and break down what makes this movement so effective.


    Jake Olson     ‘24 is a Minnesota native who is passionate about resisting authoritarianism and fighting the climate crisis through direct action with the Sunrise Movement. Outside of Sunrise, Jake teaches middle school choir and plays guitar in a band. He also enjoys watching movies with his kitty on the couch in the evenings.

     

     

    Mia Poletti ’24 is an environmentalist passionate about the intersection of social justice and the climate crisis. Joining the Sunrise Movement in early 2025, she has learned so much about how fascism and climate change feed each other. She is excited to return to St. Olaf to build the movement! In her free time, she likes to tap dance and spend time with her beloved friends and family.

     

    Policy and Political Activism

    Janet Petri is co-leader of the Northfield chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby (cclusa.org) and has been a member of Northfield’s Environmental Quality Commission since 2017.
    She has been involved in climate activism since 2014, when she joined Citizens’ Climate Lobby — one of the largest and most prominent grassroots climate organizations, with over 245,000 supporters and 353 U.S. chapters. There are also
    23,000 members outside of the U.S.

    Why does she do these things? Janet answers: "I like CCL’s goals. I like their values. When I joined, I was impressed by the work that other CCL volunteers were doing: giving presentations, getting people to call their members of Congress monthly, and working with members of Congress to advance effective climate legislation. Many groups work on climate action, with many different strategies to prevent climate chaos. We need all these groups, and we need to work together. I can’t change laws by myself. Collective action is essential; it helps me connect with others who share these goals; and it helps keep me sane.”

    Janet Petri has been to Washington often as part of volunteer lobby teams on Capitol Hill, and has met with elected officials at state and national levels.

     

    Other Leaders

    David Gardner – Singer

    David Gardner ’26 is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Littleton, CO. His music style is influenced by folk, alternative, and indie pop genres, and often centers around themes of finding meaning, holding life’s beauty and suffering at once, and the influence those we love have on our lives. David strives to integrate his faith in Christ into his music in ways both subtle and outspoken. His EP “The Violinist” is available on all streaming platforms, and he is currently working on his debut album, “Terrible, Beautiful.”

    Karna Hauck

    Lifetime arts advocate, Karna Hauck, has worked for decades to lovingly educate locally and statewide about the importance of arts education for young and old alike. As a K-12 Studio and Media Arts Educator at Northfield High School, she has worked to build a thriving and innovative visual arts program that is one of the very best in the state. During her 33 years of teaching, Karna has worked with all ages from pre-school to wise elders and instructed in the St. Olaf Education Department for 20 years preparing students for futures in Art Education. She served as chair of the Arts and Culture Committee for the City of Northfield and has been guiding the Visual Arts Action Group at Bethel Lutheran Church in Northfield. Her unique in-home summer creativity camp was a favorite for many families in the area for more than a decade. Karna received her BA from St. Olaf College in 1991 and her MA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, in 1999. Karna sees everyone as having artistic potential and art as a form of communication that often works better than words. During tumultuous times, creating art can function much like therapy and provide humans with the outlet necessary to express the complexities we hold.

    Grace LaTourelle

    Grace LaTourelle is a junior Biology, Environmental Studies, and Religion triple-major at Gustavus Adolphus College. She is president of her college’s United Christian Ministries organization, Editor in Chief of the campus newspaper, works in the Chaplains’ Office, and does environmental chemistry research.