04/24/2009 Around the State for Earth Week
4/24/2009
April 20, 2009- Wisconsin Charter Schools Conference
On Monday morning, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton traveled to Waukesha to keynote the Wisconsin Charter Schools Conference. She discussed how we have come to value charter schools as laboratories of innovation, drivers of new ideas as we design the necessary transformation of our public school system to better prepare students for this 21st century global economy. She also introduced national keynote speaker Curtis Johnson, the author of Disrupting Class, a book that asserts the need to “disrupt” failing public schools with innovative curriculum.
April 20, 2009- Launching Earth Week Celebrations in La Crosse
Lt. Governor Lawton kicked off her Earth Week with members of the La Crosse Earth Week Coalition at a community event hosted by Gunderson Lutheran in La Crosse. Joined by newly-elected mayor Matt Harter, State Representative Jennifer Shilling, and State Senator Dan Kapanke, she celebrated La Crosse’s groundbreaking city and county sustainability partnership and connected those efforts to state, federal and global environmental initiatives.
“As we look to recast the very real challenges of global climate change as opportunities to create new jobs and establish a sustainable economy, we turn first to leaders at every level of government to provide the framework for our own responsible action as individuals and business owners,” Lawton said at the event.
Pictured above: Front left to right: Representative Jennifer Shilling, Jeff Thompson, MD (CEO Gundersen Lutheran), Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, Jenn Parsneau (Web Grinders), and Matt Harter (Mayor of La Crosse). Back left to right: Glen Jenkins (La Crosse Earth Week Coalition), Maureen Freedland (La Crosse County Board Supervisor), Tom Thompson (Sustainability Coordinator - Gundersen Lutheran), John Parsneau (WebGrinders), and Brian Rude (Dairlyland Power).
April 21, 200- Montello School District Brings Delegation to the Capitol
On Tuesday morning, Lt. Governor Lawton met with representatives from the Montello School District and many Montello community members who traveled to Madison for a public hearing on the School Finance Network’s proposal to reform the school funding formula. They came at the invitation of Representative Fred Clark.
As a declining enrollment district, Montello faces shrinking state aids and decisions they worry will compromise the quality of education for their children. Lt. Governor Lawton asserted her belief that reforming the school funding formula is one of the state’s most urgent priorities.
April 21, 2009- Lt. Governor Lawton meets with Chinese Consul General
Lt. Governor Lawton met with Consul General of China Ping Huang Tuesday morning. Lt. Governor Lawton and General Huang discussed the important bi-lateral relationship between China and Wisconsin and noted this year’s 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. They explored areas of potential mutual benefit in trade and opportunities to strengthen our sister state relationship with the province of Heilongjiang.
Lt. Governor Lawton led a trade and cultural exchange mission to China in 2008 for a delegation of lieutenant governors. While in China, Lt. Governor Lawton signed a student exchange agreement between the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) and Tsinghua University and she formed an agreement to explore the creation of a Global Manufacturing Institute between UW-Madison, Tsinghua and the University of Warwick. This institute will be designed to advance fundamental manufacturing research by coordinating international research and education projects involving sustainable manufacturing, digital manufacturing management, engineering and business management, manufacturing systems engineering, supply and logistics management.
April 22, 2009- Lawton in Green Bay for Earth Day and Green Innovations 2009
On Earth Day, Lt. Governor Lawton returned home to celebrate the launch of UW-Green Bay’s Environmental Management and Business Institute (EMBI) at a Green Innovations 2009 symposium. The campus-wide institute seeks to engineer a more sustainable future by integrating the tools of business management, environmental science, and policy studies. Lt. Governor Lawton also introduced symposium keynote speaker Bob Willard, a national expert on the business case for corporate sustainability initiatives.
April 22, 2009- The Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives
University of Wisconsin – Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin welcomed Lt. Governor Lawton to her official residence on Wednesday to help her celebrate the work of UW-Madison’s Office of the Multicultural Arts Initiative (OMAI) and the First Wave program. OMAI provides culturally relevant and transformative arts programming and outreach initiatives that promote positive social dialogue across perceived boundaries of race, class, gender, culture and sexual orientation. A component of OMAI, the First Wave Spoken Word and Urban Arts Learning Community brings together young artists and leaders from across the nation to live, create and study together in a dynamic, close-knit community.
April 23, 2009- Art in the Office Reception
From the day of her inauguration, Lt. Governor Lawton transformed the wall space of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor into a special gallery exhibition space for Wisconsin artists.
She welcomes all capitol visitors to stop by and get a sense of the extraordinary artwork being produced by talented artists in every part of our state.
Lt. Governor Lawton opens each new show inviting the public to a reception for the artist. The Art of the Marsh show is a unique partnership between two Madison groups ~ Friends of Cherokee Marsh (FOCM) and the Northside Artist Group (NSAG).
The FOCM work to protect, preserve, and restore Dane County’s largest wetland through a variety of events and outings. Their outreach and advocacy efforts have, since 2007, helped add over 200 acres of public land that will enhance the marsh’s ecology. You can visit their website at: http://www.CherokeeMarsh.org.
Pictured above: Lt. Governor Lawton introduces Carolyn Gantner and Jonathan Becker.
April 24, 2009- Lawton Featured Speaker for Kimberly Clark’s Sustainability Week
Lt. Governor Lawton wrapped up Kimberly Clark’s Sustainability Week at their corporate campus in Neenah.
In her speech, she applauded local leaders in Neenah, the city of Menasha, and the town of Menasha for asserting themselves as eco-municipalities and searching for ways to be sustainable in their own operations. She also unveiled her new online resource, Barbara’s Guide for Green Living, which provides tips on ways individuals and families can reduce their carbon footprint while simultaneously saving money.
“My online Guide for Green Living gathers on one site myriad simple tips to reduce your carbon footprint and save money for your family,” said Lt. Governor Lawton. “We must all make changes in our own lives that will contribute to a cleaner environment, stronger economy and improved quality of life to be enjoyed by our children and grandchildren.”
Pictured Left) Lt. Governor Lawton with the Kimberly-Clark Sustainability Community of Practice.
Lawton emphasized that we have finally come to understand with global climate change that environmental sustainability is a premise today for economic sustainability, and that integrating sustainable practices into business operations boosts the bottom line.
After her speech, she met with energy managers from the Appleton School District to learn about their efforts to meet her Energy Star School Challenge and improve the district’s energy efficiency by ten percent.
While at Kimberly Clark, she had lunch with members of the Women’s Interactive Network (WIN), a group organized as a personal and professional network to develop women leaders within the company.
