Olympic medallists to speak at collegiate sport sustainability conference

In IN FOCUS
May 21, 2018
Matthew Campelli

Second annual Pac-12 event takes place in Colorado in July

Mary Harvey, the Olympic gold medal-winning soccer player, and Winter Olympic 2018 snowboarding star Arielle Gold will deliver keynote speeches at the Pac-12 Sustainability Conference in July.

Harvey, who won her medal in 1996 as a member of the US Women’s National Team, is now the special advisor for sustainability at United Bid 2026 – the team behind the US, Canada and Mexico joint World Cup bid.

By the time she delivers her speech on 12 July, Harvey will know whether her sustainability work on the bid will continue as FIFA plans to choose a winning host on 13 June.

Gold won a bronze medal at the latest Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in the women’s halfpipe event. She is a vocal figure on the issue of climate change and how it is dramatically affecting winter sports, and is an ambassador for Protect Our Winters (POW).

NCAA administrator Joni Comstock and Pac-12 chief operating officer Jamie Zaninovich will also address delegates at the event at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Focusing specifically on enhancing sustainability in collegiate sport, the second annual Pac-12 Sustainability Conference will explore themes including sustainable tailgating, zero waste and the student athlete impact on sustainability initiatives.

Arizona State University, which contributes to lots of sustainability work through its Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, will be the focus of one of the sessions. An opening fireside chat with Pac-12 Power Women, including Pac-12 vice president of marketing Heather Vaughan, University of Washington assistant athletics director Karen Baebler and Comstock, will also occur on 12 July.

“The Pac-12 is proud to have been the first college sports conference to convene a high-level symposium with last year’s inaugural event and we are excited to continue this important initiative this year with the 2018 Pac-12 Sustainability Conference in partnership with the University of Colorado,” said Zaninovich.

“All of our member athletics departments are committed to sustainability efforts and we look forward to again welcoming some of the brightest minds across the collegiate landscape to Boulder.”