Michael Menser
Associate Professor
Philosophy
Location: 3316 Boylan Hall
Phone: 718.951.5000 x3246
Fax: 718.951.4675
Email:
Michael Menser first started teaching philosophy at Brooklyn College as an adjunct in 1995, became full time in 2003, and was tenured in 2009. He is the Director of the Urban Sustainability Studies Program and Associate Director for Public Engagement for the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay and is a member of the doctoral faculty in Earth and Environmental Sciences at the CUNY Graduate Center. In 2009 he was the founding board president of the Participatory Budgeting Project and served in that role until 2021.
Education:
Ph.D., Graduate School & University Center (CUNY) - 2003 (Philosophy)
B.Phil.; B.A. in Philosophy, PolSci, Economics, University of Pittsburgh - 1990 (Philosophy)
Areas of Expertise:
Menser's work explores participatory democracy and ecological sustainability/resilience from a variety of perspectives at a variety of levels (government, household, business) Topics include energy democracy and public power, urban sustainability, environmental/climate justice, economic democracy, "participatory budgeting" and how to democratize public utilities especially to promote the transition to green energy.
Books and Publications
with Anne Le Strat, "Democratizing Public Services."Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.
https://rosalux.nyc/democratizing-public-services/ (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2022
Sara Perl Egendorf, Peter Groffman, Zhongqi Cheng, Jan Mun, Howard Mielke and Michael Menser,"Applying a Systems Approach to the Legacy of Lead in Soil," Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2021
"From City-Wide Participatory Budgeting in NYC to a Global Green New Deal: on the Power and Role of PB in a Time of System Change"; Published in Portugese by the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Federal University of Brazil, Porto Alegre. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2020
"From Defunding to Reinvestment: Why We Need to Scale Participatory Budgeting," Nonprofit Quarterly, June 25, 2020. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/from-defunding-to-reinvestment-why-we-need-to-scale-participatory-budgeting/ (Books and Publications: Other) 2020
with Alexander Kolokotronis, "Beyond Deliberation and Civic Engagement: Participatory Budgeting and a new Philosophy of Public Power, in Meagher, Sharon, Samantha Noll, and Joseph Biehl (ed.'s) The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of the City (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2019
We Decide! Theories and Cases in Participatory Democracy (Temple University Press, 2018)
http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/2427_reg.html (Books and Publications: Book (Authored)) 2017
Co-author with Laxmi Ramasubramanian et al. "Chapter 11: Strategies for Community Resilience Practice for the Jamaica Bay Watershed," in Prospects for Resilience: Insights from New York City's Jamaica Bay, Island Press, edited by Sanderson, Eric, William Solecki, John Waldman, and Adam Parris. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2016
Co-author with Laxmi Ramasubramanian et al., Chapter 6: Neighborhood and Community Perspectives of Resilience in the Jamaica Bay Watershed. In Sanderson et al. (2016) (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2016
"The Bioregion and Social Difference: Learning From Young's Metropolitan Regionalism." Environmental Ethics. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2014
"Transnational Self-Determination, Food Sovereignty and the State." Globalization and Food Sovereignty: Global and Local Change in the New Politics of Food. Eds. Jeffrey Ayres and Michael Bosia. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2014
Menser, Michael and Ron Hayduk. "Participatory Budgeting: Governing at the Grassroots." Clarion, February. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2014
"The Participatory Metropolis, or Resilience Requires Democracy." Center for Humans and Nature. www.humansandnature.org. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2013
Review of The Ecopolitical Nation, by Ignasio Ribo. Environmental Philosophy, Fall. (Books and Publications: Book Review) 2013
Book review of Earthly Plenitudes, by Bruno Gulli. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2012
"Chipko." International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500-present. Ed. Immanuel Ness. Boston: Blackwell. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2009
"Conflict, Coexistence, and the Next Global Assemblage." Democracy, States and the Struggle for Global Justice. Eds. Neil Smith, Omar Dahbour, Heather Gautney and Ashley Dawson. Routledge. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2009
"Disarticulate the State! Maximizing Democracy in 'New' Autonomous Movements in the Americas." Democracy, States and the Struggle for Global Justice. Eds. Neil Smith, Omar Dahbour, Heather Gautney and Ashley Dawson. Routledge. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2009
"Participatory Democracy, History of." International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500-present. Ed. Immanuel Ness. Boston: Blackwell. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2009
"Shiva, Vandana." International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500-present. Ed. Immanuel Ness. Boston: Blackwell. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2009
"Transnational Participatory Democracy in Action: The Case of La Via Campesina." Journal of Social Philosophy. 39.1, Spring: 20-41. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2008
Menser, Michael and Juscha Robinson. "Participatory Budgeting: From Porto Alegre, Brazil, to the U.S." Solidarity Economy: Building Economic Alternatives: Papers and Proceedings from the U.S. Social Forum 2007. Eds. Julie Matthaei and Jenna Allard. Chicago: Changemaker Publications. www.populareconomics.org/ussen/webfm_send/18. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2008
"The Global Social Forum Movement, Porto Alegre's 'Participatory Budget,' and the Maximization of Democracy." Situations: A Journal of the Radical Imagination 1.1, Spring: 87-109. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2005
Menser, Michael, Randall Doane, Heather Gautney and Robert Ausch. "The Politics of Assembly: Building an Urban Ecology from A16." Found Object 9, Fall. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2000
"We Still Do Not Know What a Building Can Do." Radical Reconstruction, by Lebbeus Woods. New York: Princeton University Press. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 1997
"Becoming-Heterarch: On Technocultural Theory, Minor Science and the Production of Space." Technoscience and Cyberculture. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 1996
Aronowitz, Stanley, Barbara Martinsons and Michael Menser. Technoscience and Cyberculture. New York: Routledge. Spanish translation published in 1998. (Books and Publications: Book (Edited)) 1996
Menser, Michael and Stanley Aronowitz. "On Cultural Studies, Science and Technology." Technoscience and Cyberculture. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 1996
Creative Work
interview on youtube by Ashley Dawson (with Anne Le Strat) on The Time is Now:Democratizing Public Services"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjXizkmanig (Exhibition or Performance) 2022
Menser, Michael, Josee Bienvenu and Jordan Zinovich, co-curators. Shaping Conflicts art exhibition. 123 Watts Gallery. New York, spring. 1998
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
Awarded $4,000,000 grant (co-PI) from the Waverley Street Foundation to create the NYC Climate Justice Hub,a partnership between the Center for Humanities (CUNY GC), the Science and Resilience Institute based at Brooklyn College and the Casa de la Americas (LGA CC) with the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. (Grants and Fellowships) 2023
as Associate Director for Public Engagement of the Science and Resilience Institute continued, worked on Cycles of Resilience (funded by the NY Community Trust) with Canarsie Community Development Initiative and the Eastern Queens Alliance; he provided support and presented at meetings for EQA's Intergenerational Conversations on a Sustainable Southeast Queens on March 3 and March 17th, 2021 (Grants and Fellowships) 2021
Continued his work as fellow and faculty co-leader for the 2020-2022 Seminar on Public Engagement and Collaborative Research based at the Center for the Humanities, CUNY Graduate Center for the project "Resilient Participatory Budgeting/Transforming the Food System: Creating Resilience Curriculum and Place-based, Democratizing Food System Partnerships at CUNY. (Grants and Fellowships) 2021
Awarded Mellon Fellowship to be a faculty do-leader for the 2020-2022 Seminar on Public Engagement and Collaborative Research based at the Center for the Humanities, CUNY Graduate Center for my project "Resilient PB: Creating Resilience Curriculum for CUNY and Public Libraries".
(Grants and Fellowships) 2019
Co-recipient of the grant "Cycles of Resilience: Participatory Planning in Canarsie and Southeastern Queens" from the NY Community Trust (in my role as research advisor for the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay.) (Grants and Fellowships) 2019
Recipient of Mellon Transfer Student Program, Faculty Supervisor, Fall 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015. (Grants and Fellowships) 2019
Co-recipient of grant from Spitzer Foundation for "Cycles of Resilience" awarded to the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay. September 2018-September 2019. (Grants and Fellowships) 2018
Faculty Fellow, Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education. (Grants and Fellowships) 2014
Wolfe Institute Faculty Fellow, fall. (Awards and Honors) 2014
Mellon Sawyer Faculty Fellow, CUNY Graduate Center, "Democratic Citizenship and the Recognition of Cultural Differences." (Awards and Honors) 2013
PSC-CUNY 41 Research Award. (Awards and Honors) 2010
Faculty Fellow and seminar participant in "Democracy Shrugged." Center for the Study of Place, Culture and Politics, CUNY Graduate School. Fall 2005-Spring 2006. (Grants and Fellowships) 2006
Research Activities
Co-recipient of the grant "Cycles of Resilience: Participatory Planning in Canarsie and Southeastern
Queens" from the NY Community Trust (in my role as research advisor for the Science and Resilience
Institute at Jamaica Bay.) 2020-2021. 2020
Is Engagement Advisor for Cycles of Resilience focused on Canarsie Brooklyn
http://www.srijb.org/cycles/ 2019
Member of research team for "Cycles of Resilience;" supervise staff, co-planned engagement activities including Jamaica Bay Jeopardy" April 4th, 2019 at the Hebrew Educational Society, Brooklyn, NY and other events. 2019
Completed CITI course on Basic Research for CUNY Researchers 2018
Completed CITI Course on Humans Subjects Review for Social and Behavioral Faculty 2018
Member, North American Participatory Budgeting Research Board (convened by Public Agenda), Spring 2016-present) 2017
Research Advisor for Community Engagement, Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (Summer 2016-present) 2017
Director, Economic Democracy Project. www.economicdemocracyproject.net 2014
Member, Core Research Team for Task 1 (Extension Service), Science and Resilience Institute @ Jamaica Bay. Summer-Fall. 2014
Member, "Utopistics" Working Group, Fernand Braudel Center, Binghamton University (SUNY). Fall 2006-Spring 2007. 2007
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
Co-organized and Moderated the United Nations 2023 Water Conference Side Event "Reclaiming Water for the Public Good", March 22nd, 2023 at the CUNY Graduate Center. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2023
Responded for the Philosophy of the City Special Session: Shane Epting's "Urban Enlightenment" at the Long Island Philosophical Society conference at St John's University, April 1, 2023. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2023
"Updates from Brooklyn and NYC on PB, Economic Democracy and Energy Democracy":Research Team Presentation for Democratic Community Transformation with Brazilian Partners From UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil, April 7th, 2022 (by zoom) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2022
City as Lab: Researchers Talk on Community Engagement, Invited Presentation, National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: Studying the Food, Energy, Water Nexus for Sustainable and Resilient Environment," February 25th, 2022. (on zoom) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2022
Gave the talk "Community, Process and Decision Making" at the Governance Learning Forum (GLF 22) in two parts, August 18 and 19, 2022.
https://glf.digital/glf22-lecture-recordings-overview (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2022
Organized and moderated the panel "Building Participatory Governance and Climate Justice", November 2nd, 2022 (zoom) co sponsored by the Center for Humanities (CUNY GC) and the Community Ownership and Worker Ownership Project (CUNY SLU). (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2022
Presented on the panel "Are We Ready? Plotting a course to NY's sustainable future" at the CUNY ASRC conference "Are We Ready? NYC Resilience and Sustainability a Decade After Superstorm
Sandy Agenda, September 16, 2022. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2022
City as Lab: Researchers Talk on Community Engagement, Invited Presentation, National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: Studying the Food, Energy, Water Nexus for Sustainable and Resilient Environment," October 15th, 2021. (on zoom) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2021
Co-organized the conference "Setting a Climate Justice Agenda at CUNY," Hosted by the PSC-CUNY Environmental Justice Working Group, co-sponsored by the Earth and Environmental Sciences, CUNY GC, December 10th, 2021. (on zoom) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2021
Continued to work on the project Community Participatory Transformation with the Federal University of Brazil at Porto Alegre and presented research to seminar participants led by Prof. Eber Marzulo with other Brazilian partners by Zoom on Wednesday July 1st, 2020 and Tuesday December 8th, 2020. Prof Marzulo and researchers Tarson Nunez and Marc Weiss presented to Prof. Menser's Economic Democracy class on Tuesday November, 10th, 2020. (note: COVID interrupted this project and prevented site visits and visits by the Brazilian team to the US.) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021
Presented at the CUNY Conference on Climate Change Education (on Zoom) on April 23rd on the panel "Teaching Climate Justice Using Participatory Budgeting Across Different Disciplines.
https://www.laguardia.edu/c4e/ (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2021
Podcast interview about my book We Decide!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/michael-menser-we-decide-theories-cases-in-participatory/id477719156?i=1000463993084 (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2020
Ecologies of Accountabilities, Brooklyn College Faculty Day, May 16, 2019. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2019
Gave a talk on "the Seikastsu Consumer Cooperative: a Comparative Strategic Approach" on the panel "Cooperative Economics and the Food System in a Changing City" as part of the Our Economy! Economic Democracy and System Change" Conference, April 12th, 2019, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2019
Organized and moderated the panel "Participatory Democracy from Brazil to Brooklyn! May 21st, 2019,
hosted by the Center for the Study of Brooklyn, Brooklyn College.
(Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2019
presented "The Urban Commons: from Public-Private to Social-Public" and chaired the Philosophy of the City Panel, Part 2 both at the American Philosophical Association Eastern Meeting, January 7th, 2019 in NYC (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2019
Presented on the panel "On the Environmental Crisis and Participatory Democracy," for the "International Seminar on Participatory Community Transformations" at the Federal University of Brazil at Porto Alegre, September 28, 2019. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2019
Resilience, Participatory Budgeting, and the new Civic Engagement Commission: the Role of CUNY, invited talk at the Advanced Science and Research Institute at CUNY, December 19th, 2019. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2019
The Experience of Participatory Budgeting in NYC. Opening Keynote for the "International Seminar on Participatory Community Transformations" at the Federal University of Brazil at Porto Alegre, September 27, 2019. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2019
The Green New Deal - Who Should Pay for It? Who Owns It? - A Climate Justice Perspective; invited talk for the annual Philosophy Department lecture at Kingsborough Community College/CUNY, October 22nd, 2019. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2019
We Decide! Theories and Cases in Participatory Democracy," Closing Talk for the "International Seminar on Participatory Community Transformations" at the Federal University of Brazil at Porto Alegre, September 30, 2019. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2019
"After the Disasters: Climate Justice in the Caribbean". Talk for the Philosophy Department, Adelphi University, April 27, 2018. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
"The Urban University as Site for Multiple Modes of Engagement," Public Philosophy Network Conference, Boulder, Colorado, Feb 9, 2018 (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2018
"We Decide! Theories and Cases in Participatory Democracy," NY Pragmatist Forum, Fordham University, January 26, 2018. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
Moderator and Respodent for "Home, Loss, Dislocation: Past, Present, Future;" Home in the Time of Climate Change, May 4th, Earth and Environmental Science, CUNY Graduate Center (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2018
Presentation for the Health, Nutrition and Sciences Program, Brooklyn College on "Public Health, Food, and Economic Democracy in Brooklyn," Dec 11th, 2018. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
Presented to the Provost's Faculty Development Seminar on Place Based Learning: the case of Urban Sustainability and Participatory Budgeting, Marymount Manhattan College, June 1. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
"Energy Democracy," Brooklyn College, Panel on Climate Change in the Caribbean, Hosted by Caribbean Studies; November 15, 2017 (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
Participatory Democracy and Public Philiosophy, NY Public Library, November 15th, NY, NY (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
"PB and CLTs in the Next System," at the Next System Conference, at the CUNY Murphy Institute, January 29th. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2016
Undoing the Urban, Presidential Address, Philosophy of the City Conference, University of San Francisco, November 17, 2016. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016
"Participatory Budgeting as a Social Public Partnership." Panel on Disintermediation, Democracy and Finance. Modern Money Network. Columbia University Law School. New York, May 2. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2015
"Philosophy of the City in Action @ Jamaica Bay." Philosophy of the City. Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education. New York, April 30. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2015
"Environmental Justice in Post-Sandy NYC: The Role of CUNY." Nature, Ecology, Society Conference, CUNY. New York, March 14. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2014
"Marsh Thought: Wild Urban Region @ Jamaica Bay." Talk for the Philosophy of the City Research Group at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association. Philadelphia, Dec. 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2014
"Agency, Inequality, and Participation: NYC After Hurricane Sandy." Center for Global Ethics, CUNY Graduate Center. New York, Dec. 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L66RrJeD8j0 (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2013
Co-organizer, Philosophy of the City Conference, Brooklyn College, Dec. 5-7. www.philosophyofthecity.org (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2013
"Corporate Responsibility or Social Solidarity: Two Approaches to Economic Democracy." Social and Political Philosophy Seminar. CUNY Graduate Center. New York, March 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012
"Participatory Budgeting, Democratic Theory and Field Philosophy." North Texas Philosophical Association Meeting. University of North Texas. April 14. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012
"Roundtable Discussion: On the Future of Environmental Philosophy." Panelists: J. Baird Callicott, Trish Glazebrook, Eugene Hargrove, Michael Menser and Kyle Powys Whyte. North Texas Philosophical Association Meeting. University of North Texas. April 14. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012
"How Best to Solve the Global Food Crisis? Sovereignty, the Right to Food and the Role of the State." Felician University. Feb. 18. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"Sustainable Agriculture, the Concept of Territory and the Status of Nonhumans: Organic Agriculture Versus Agroecology." International Association of Environmental Philosophy annual meeting. Philadelphia, Oct. 22. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011
"The Bioregion and Social Difference: What Might Environmental Philosophy Learn from Iris Young's Metropolitan Regionalism?" American Philosophical Association Eastern Meeting. Dec. 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011
"Using Climate Change to Reintegrate the Humanities and Social Sciences and Reterritorialize Economy and Ecology." Nature, Ecology, Society Conference. CUNY Graduate Center. New York, March 10. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011
"Food Sovereignty: Concepts and Places." Left Forum. New York, March 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
"Participatory Budgeting as Economic Democracy." Left Forum. New York, March 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"Territory, Social Reproduction and Food Sovereignty: The Brooklyn Food Coalition and La Via Campesina." Environmental Psychology, CUNY Graduate Center. Feb. 25. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"The Solidarity Economy as a Response to the Current Crisis" debate with David Harvey. Left Forum. New York, March 21. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"The Solidarity Economy Framework as Organizing Project at an Urban Public University." Forum on the Solidarity Economy. University of Massachusetts at Amherst. March 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
"The Solidarity Economy in Brooklyn and NYC." Union for Radical Political Economy Conference. St. Francis College. Brooklyn, N.Y., Oct. 6. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
"There Was, Is, and Always Will Be an 'Alternative': Antagonisms and Reterritorialization." Center for the Study of Place, Culture and Politics, CUNY Graduate Center. Nov. 30. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
Presenter at Town Hall Meeting on Sustainability. Brooklyn College. Dec. 8. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
"Autonomy as Transnational Democratic Self-Determination: 1968-2008." Annual Global Studies Association Professional Meeting. Pace University. New York, June 6. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008
"Autonomy, Social Change, and the Global Justice Movement." Left Forum. Cooper Union. New York, March 16. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2008
"Social Forums and the (Inter)nationalization of the Solidarity Economy." Annual Global Studies Association Professional Meeting. Pace University. New York, June 4. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Whither the World Social Forum." Left Forum. Cooper Union. New York, March 15. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2008
"Disarticulate the State! Bioregionalism, Transnational Anticapitalism and the Maximization of Democracy." American Philosophical Association, Eastern Meeting. Baltimore, Dec. 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007
"Disarticulate the State." Seminar on Political Economy and Contemporary Social Issues. Columbia University. New York, Dec. 6. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007
"Insurgent Cosmopolitanism: The Reinvention of Participatory Democracy in the Global Justice Movement." Fernand Braudel Center, Binghamton University (SUNY). Binghamton, N.Y., April 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007
"The Global Justice Movement and the Reinvention of Participatory Democracy." International Social Philosophy Conference Annual Meeting. Millersville, Pa., July 14. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007
"Transnational Dehegemonization in Practice: Via Campesina as Six Dimensional Democratic Combat." Dehegemonization Conference. George Mason University. Fairfax, Va., April 5. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006
"Toward U.S. and North American Social Forums." World Social Forum V. Organized by the Network Institute for Global Democratisation (an NGO based in Finland and Peru). Porto Alegre, Brazil, Jan. 30. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2005
"Bioregionalism." Green Festival Conference. Wagner College. Staten Island, N.Y., April 24. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2003
Professional Leadership
Gave lead presentation at "Take Our Power Back: Preparing for the Second Round of LIPA Commission Hearings," hosted by the Long Island Progressive Coalition, April 12th, 2023. (zoom event recorded here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ixd_QMdmlo
(Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2023
Testified at the Future of LIPA Commission Hearing, Suffolk County Legislature, NY, December 16, 2022.
https://totalwebcasting.com/view/?func=VIEW&id=nylipa&date=2022-12-16&seq=1 (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2023
Advisory Committee, Philosophy of the City Journal. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2022
created the new BC PAC teaching garden, formed its board and was appointed director by Dean Gould in Spring 2022. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2022
Member of the Advisory Committee to the NY State Legislative Commission on the Future of the Long Island Power Authority. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2022
Reimagine LIPA: Preparation for the Public Hearings on the Future of LIPA", November 17, 2022 (zoom) hosted by the Long Island Progressive Coalition (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2022
Served on BC Faculty Service Award Committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2022
Testified before the NY State Legislate Committee on Energy about the Building Public Renewables Act, July 28th, 2022. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2022
was named new Director of Urban Sustainability Studies (2022-2025) (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2022
Member of organizing committee of the conference, Our Economy: Economic Democracy and System Change"; April 12, 2019, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.
https://slucuny.swoogo.com/oureconomy/279745 (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2019
Selected to be a member of the Participatory Budgeting Advisory Council for the Civic Engagement Commission of NYC. Our mission is to design the new city-wide participatory budgeting process as mandated by the charter amendment passed by referendum in November 2018. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2019
Board Member of the Caribbean Studies Program. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2018
Deputy Director, Urban Sustainability Studies (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2018
Director, Center for the Study of Brooklyn, Summer 2018-Summer 2019. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2018
Honors and Awards Committee. Philosophy. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2018
Reviewer for Ethics, Policy and Environment (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2018
Executive Director, Philosophy of the City Research Group, American Philosophical Association (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2017
President, Philosophy of the City Research Group, American Philosophical Association. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2016
Stakeholder Committee, Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2015
Member, Honors and Awards Committee, Philosophy Department. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2013
Departmental Curriculum Committee, 2001-08. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2008
Grade Grievance Committee, 2008-present. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2008
Member, executive board, Center for the Study of Place, Culture and Politics, CUNY Graduate School, 2007-2013. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2008
Member, executive board, Environmental Studies, 2000-present. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2008
Honors and Awards Committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2005
Grade Grievance Committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2003
Honors and Awards Committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2003
Associate director (acting), Center for the Study of Culture, Technology and Work (formerly the Center for Cultural Studies), CUNY Grauduate School, 1997-2002. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2002
Pedagogical Achievements
Co created and taught (with Prof Ryan Hamilton) a seminar course for the Earth and Environmental PhD program (crossed listed with Philosophy) at the CUNY GC called "Environmental and Climate Justice: Food, Energy, Water, Governance." Fall 2022.
2022
created the new course Sustainable Urban Gardens and Social Justice (SUST 2301) 2022
Co-created the new certificate program at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies called "Advanced Certificate in Workplace Democracy and Community Ownership." 2021
Co-designed and taught the new course URB 602 Economic Democracy: Theory, History, Practice at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. 2020
Co created the undergraduate course for Carribean Studies called "Climate Justice in the Carribean" a special topics course taught in Spring 2019. 2018
Co-created the graduate level course taught in Spring 2019 called Economic Democracy and System Change for the School of Labor and Urban Studies in Urban Studies and Labor Studies, cross-listed with Earth and Environmental Studies. 2018
Community Activities
Worked to support the first Climate Justice Participatory Budgeting Process in NYC and gave the presentation on Climate Justice for the Participatory Budgeting Delegate meeting in District 39 (Council member Shahana Hanif, Brooklyn) January 26th, Park Slope Public Library. 2023
Co-wrote with Lisa Tyson the op ed "Wise to Terminate PSEG and Restructure LIPA," in Newsday, January 26, 2021. 2021
Member of the Community Advocacy and Action Working Group for Community Care of Brooklyn. 2019-present 2020
CUNY and the Green New Deal: there's no equitable, efficacious GND w/o massive investment in PUBLIC Higher Ed, invited talk for the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY retirees luncheon, June 10, 2019. 2019
"The Climate Crisis and Our Spiritual Home: 6 Ideas for Greeting the Unitarian Universalist Campus at Shelter Rock," November 13th, 2018, Manhasset, NY. 2018
Member of the Green Sanctuary Committee, Unitarian Universalist Church at Shelter Rock. 2018
Interviewed about my book "We Decide!" on WBAI radio's City Watch Program, December 9th. Starts around 32:00 mark in podcast here:
https://www.wbai.org/archive.php
2017
The Socio-ecological Resilience of Jamaica Bay's Communities," Gateway National Recreation Area Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Station, October 22nd. 2017
President and Chair, Board of directors, Participatory Budgeting Project. 2011-present. 2016
Presented Testimony at for "Oversight of OneNYC - Review of the City's Resiliency and Sustainability Plans," Committee on Recovery and Resilience, NYC City Hall. December 14th. 2015
Presented Testimony at the Committee on Recovery and Resilience, "Two Years After the SIRR Report: The State of Coastal Storm Resiliency in the City," October 22nd. 2015
Member, Alliance for a Just Rebuilding (working on Hurricane Sandy redevelopment). 2013
Provided technical and logistical support to Councilmember Jumaane Williams and District 45 Participatory Budgeting District Committee. Helped to organize the Neighborhood Assemblies (In October) and support the Delegate Committee, November-December. 2011
Member, Brooklyn Food Coalition. 2010
Member, U.S. Solidarity Economy Network since its formation in 2007. Currently serving on Education and Outreach Working Group. 2010
Other Professional Activities
Reviewer for the journal Urban Planning. 2021
Member of the Board, Center for the Study of Brooklyn 2019
Appointed to the doctoral faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, CUNY Graduate Center. 2009
Interviewed on KPFA radio program Against the Grain, on the World Social Forum and Participatory Democracy, Jan. 30. http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/40105. 2008
Referee, New Political Science Journal. 2008
Referee, Journal of Nietzsche Studies. 2007
