Home | South Africa Communities and families in the flood-stricken areas of Bloemhof and Christiana in the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality in the North West are pleading with both government and the private sector to come to their rescue. This after over 100 households were severely affected by the flooding of the Vaal River which has left many displaced and properties damaged. The Department of Water and Sanitation says it will gradually close more sluice gates at the Vaal Dam by the end of the day. Now that the water is subsiding, those affected by the overflow say they need assistance to move on with their lives. “People who have properties downstream also they had a lot of damage because the first floods went down and some of the walls fell down. So I think it will be nice to them if they help the people to build the property down here.” “The only stuff I could retrieve was three sets of clothes. I had nothing, three sets of clothes, toiletries, and that was all. So, I don’t know what is happening with the double store is also full of water, but I lost everything.” Meanwhile, the local authorities are equally concerned about the well-being of the affected families. Christiana Lazaridou spent the past year with Zarvista Capital Markets (formerly known as ZaraFX), serving as Chief Business Development Officer Her prior FX and CFDs brokerage experience includes acting as Global Head of Partnerships at Scope Markets Head Of Business Development for VT Markets and Business Development Manager at TIOmarkets Welcoming Christiana the team, Global Head of Business Development at EC Markets, Sherwan Zeybo “The strategic approach and the robust leadership background that Christiana brings are the ideal combination for further consolidating our position as a leading brokerage Beyond her extensive knowledge and experience what truly sets her apart is her ability to adapt growth models to the nuances of different markets and conditions while continually maintaining the unwavering interest of our partners and clients.” Christiana Lazaridou said of her new role at EC Markets “In today’s highly competitive and rapidly changing financial environment strategic partnerships are not merely a revenue channel they are the fundamental levers for market expansion As I assume the role of Growth Partnership Manager at EC Markets I am invigorated by the prospect of contributing to the company’s global expansion particularly in regions experiencing robust growth this role can significantly bolster revenue while also cultivating substantial and long-lasting partnerships.” EC Markets operates licensed subsidiaries in London (regulated by the FCA) as well as offshore entities in Seychelles and Mauritius EC Markets is controlled by London based Chinese entrepreneur Xiaoliang Lyu Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" With FNG's Newsletter you'll get all the latest breaking FX Industry news stories - in a concise daily email Get FNG's daily newsletter to receive notice of all articles like this one 2025 9:41PMThree people are recovering after a crash involving an ambulance in Delaware.CHRISTIANA (WPVI) -- Three people are recovering after a crash involving an ambulance in Delaware Wednesday at Churchmans Road near Geoffrey Drive in Christiana Police say an ambulance hit the rear of a vehicle that was stopped at the light We are told none of the injuries were life-threatening I study the linguistic make-up of literary texts Having researched into the poetics of deviance in contemporary crime fiction I maintained a strong interest in the portrayal of the criminal in the genre and have used stylistic models of analysis so as to explore the poetic structure of the 'criminal mind' I have been focused on that notion that has come to be known as 'mind style' I developed an interest in crime narratives across the true crime genre and media journalism also By employing linguistic and narratological methods of analysis my research worked toward developing a linguistic framework on the representation of criminal ideology I also share an interest in several other types of crime and crime-preventing discourses and – in 2017 – published my latest monograph in the area of crime narrative migration in the form of translation In addition to my textbook on English Literary Stylistics I have delivered crime writing workshops for aspiring crime writers attending the Newcastle Noir festival in 2015 and written a report on my research-led option teaching for the English Subject Centre I have been an associate member of PALA (as the Poetics and Linguistics Association is internationally known) since 2000 have attended most PALA conferences since then and have published widely on the subject of crime narratives a means of sharing ideas by facilitating interdisciplinary contacts and even engaging with non-academics who have an interest in the study of crime In addition to several journal articles and handbook chapters on the stylistics of mind style and crime fiction I have published work on such subjects as human trafficking as well as generated edited collections on crime fiction retellings crime narrative criticism and crime construction My own-authored books include a book-guide on English Literary Stylistics (Palgrave the Anthony and Edgar-nominated 'Crime Files' series monograph on Deviance in Contemporary Crime Fiction (Palgrave Ideology and Identity in Serial Killer Narratives (Routledge and a monograph on Crime Fiction Migration: Crossing Languages Though specialising in crime fiction and crime-related narratives more broadly I welcome proposals from potential PhD students who wish to engage in research in any area of (critical) discourse analysis In addition to researching on stylistics and I regularly contribute to the scholarly research into crime fiction by reviewing articles and books for journals and relevant book proposals for publishers I am editor of the book series Routledge Studies in Rhetoric and Stylistics and the Journal of Language and Discrimination I have served as an elected member of the Leeds University Senate and also contribute to wider UK Higher Education initiatives such as of the English Subject Center and UK Higher Education Academy (of which I am a Fellow) Further to presenting conference papers around the world (UK I have given invited talks in various universities not only in Britain (i.e France (Aix-en-Provence) and Germany (Vechta) and Spain in my role as Leeds School of English Study Abroad Tutor I externally examined undergraduate degrees at Wolverhampton University Sussex University's Applied Linguistics MA Recently graduated and current Leeds PhD students of mine work on subjects ranging from metafiction to crime fiction translation seeks to bridge climate action with global healing The summit explores how addressing the climate crisis requires not only policies and technologies but also a shift in human consciousness In this conversation, Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rican diplomat who led the negotiations for the 2015 Paris Agreement CEO of the Pocket Project and co-host of the summit Figueres shares her deeply personal perspective on optimism and the spiritual practice that sustains her leadership many people today feel that the time for optimism has passed and how do you define optimism in the context of climate change because so many people use the word in different ways and everybody obviously chooses to interpret the word in their own context ignoring the destruction that we’re witnessing and I’ll just sit here on the couch and delegate the responsibility deeply in-touch choice that we make to transform the pain into conviction and agency It is not the output of something that we have achieved—it is the input acknowledging the painful feelings that we all share I will pick myself up and turn up in the world with my full agency and my full commitment to this how do we foster collaboration rather than division The irony is that collaboration is the natural state of affairs Any ecosystem is the result of the most complex collaboration among many species because we are part of nature - not separate from it we have disassociated ourselves from nature we moved from being hunters and gatherers - deeply immersed in and dependent on nature - to sedentary human beings who intervened in nature wood - using and disposing without thinking about the consequences But I don’t think this extractive mentality is truly who we are So collaboration is not something we must force look deeply and question what is truly natural to us we realise that collaboration is not an external goal - it is who we really are you spoke about your disappointment in the fossil fuel industry As I said last year - and I’ve been very public about it - I am deeply disappointed by what the fossil fuel industry has chosen to do with their unprecedented profits since the invasion of Ukraine what is very interesting is to observe that despite the fact that the full fossil fuel industry continues to want to extract more and more fossil fuels we now have several confirmations that demand for fossil fuels is actually decreasing The burning of fossil fuels is now on a plateau and global greenhouse gas emissions have plateaued and will begin to decrease That is because clean sources of energy are so much more superior in performance Not only are they cheaper in most of the world but they continue to attract investment and improve efficiency while fossil fuel companies have already reached their maximum efficiency You’ve spoken about the role of meditation in your life and lead some of the most critical climate negotiations in history That’s when I discovered the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and Engaged Buddhism which is about applying spiritual wisdom to everyday life my spiritual practice is not separate from my work It is not in parallel - it is the foundation especially those fighting for climate justice That’s why integrating a spiritual or meditative practice is not a luxury - it’s a necessity for sustained leadership Many people want to take action but don’t know where to start 2.Ask yourself: What’s the planetary consequence of this action You’ll find things that are life-giving - keep doing them You’ll also find things that aren’t - and that’s where you can start making small shifts We all contribute one grain of sand to the bigger picture is there anything else you’d like to share We all work and influence right where we are So I just invite everyone to just try it out for maybe even an hour Try out for just an hour to see: What am I doing right now And then decide: Do I really want to continue doing it like that I want to continue because this is actually having a positive life-giving consequence on the planet - good for you Image by Pexels I hereby confirm that I wish to receive FairPlanet's newsletter. I have read, understood and confirm FairPlanet's Privacy Policy. *.Spread the wordsRepublish articleBy copying the embed code below, you agree to adhere to our republishing guidelines.  Floods in areas near the Vaal River have severely affected about 130 households in the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality in Bloemhof in the North West Last Friday, ten sluice gates of the Vaal Dam and seven of the Bloemhof Dam were opened to maintain water levels that are currently over 100% capacity the Water and Sanitation Department says two sluice gates will gradually be closed at the Vaal Dam by this afternoon A community representative leading a humanitarian aid programme in Bloemhof and Christiana “The need is very huge so we as a community have come together We have made account available where money is paid into and then every person that feels that they need a meal And then we had also the Sanlam Foundation that bought us some hampers yesterday and then there was a donation of hundred bags of mielie meal that we will utilise amongst these people.” the municipality yesterday partially closed a section of the N12 between Bloemhof and Christiana The 29th United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, ended late and with a massive finance shortfall of pledged climate finance for countries in the Global South roughly $1 trillion less than what was sought Many delegates were already on flights home when the final agreement was reached while other nations like Papua New Guinea chose not to attend the conference altogether while over 1,700 fossil fuel industry lobbyists attended Figueres joins Mongabay’s podcast to speak about why the world’s governments seemingly cannot agree to move decisively on climate action In this frank conversation, Figueres says why – despite these frustrations and disappointments – she remains optimistic about the global effort to decarbonize economies and transport systems, citing recent advancements in the deployment of renewable energy and the power of everyday actions “I used to think that it was our collective responsibility to guarantee to future generations that they would have a perfect world we cannot guarantee to future generations that they’re going to have a perfect world.’ We cannot We can do our darndest and we can wake up every morning and make a choice and say ‘where am I going to put my energy today?’” she says Figueres is also the co-host of the popular podcast, Outrage + Optimism which features conversations and analysis about the climate crisis Banner image: Sunrise over the Pinipini river in the Peruvian Amazon Mike DiGirolamo is a host & associate producer for Mongabay based in Sydney. He co-hosts and edits the Mongabay Newscast. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky COP29 ends in $300 billion deal, widespread dismay — and eyes toward COP30 Top Mongabay podcast picks for 2024 Christiana Figueres: I think the problem here is and the one that I struggle against constantly is a view of the world that is black and white I don’t think we’re either of the two And I would invite anyone to give me an example of where we stand in one of the two extremes of anything in life It’s just way too simplistic to think like that I understand the mental temptation because it’s easier for brains to work like that Mike DiGirolamo (narration): Welcome to the Mongabay newscast Bringing you weekly conversations with experts Working on the front lines of conservation shining a light on some of the most pressing issues facing our planet and holding people in power to account Today on the Newscast we feature Christiana Figueres who you may know is one of the co-hosts of the popular podcast Figueres is also a former executive secretary of the UN framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) And she spent roughly six years helping to facilitate global negotiations On climate change policy culminating in the historic 2015 Paris agreement At the conclusion of last year’s cop 29 and Azerbaijan Many delegates left the conference in dismay at the $300 billion deal to fund climate initiatives in nations Which was far less than the 1.3 trillion that was initially sought News outlets pointed out the heavy influence of oil and gas lobbyists at the conference of which there were over 1700 of them in attendance And Azerbaijan’s own president calling oil and gas Suffice it to say the response to the conference from many delegates has been that a frustration Forget us herself along with roughly 20 climate experts wrote to the UN in November telling them that the cop process is no longer fit for purpose and a refocus on implementation and inclusion of global south countries Rachel Donald asks Figueres why things are the way they are and what exactly can be done about it What ensues is a conversation about optimism Rachel: We invited you here to talk about the COP process how it’s changed since you were the executive secretary of the UNFCCC leading the process that led to the Paris Agreement between 2010 and 2016 And I would like to begin by asking you a hard question Given average warming last year was above 1.5C Do you think the Paris agreement has failed but I think it is very important to be able to see the different components of a pretty complex context here One is the process and the structure that we have at COPS That’s the formal negotiation of agreements that represents one reality It’s a complex reality and perhaps internally contradictory What are all of the other levers of change what governments prescribed for the decarbonization of the global economy simply on the COP process which is an important and vital part of the reality So I think we have to see not the COP process but rather what has been the Paris effect on the global economy where are we moving in terms of the global economy perhaps we have more progress than we thought Rachel: Let’s get into that because we are seeing a huge rollout of renewable energy but certainly Europe has really stepped up at an attempt to decarbonize I’m recording this from Scotland which is looking at almost a hundred percent of its electricity produced by renewable energy renewable energy is still only about 3 percent of the global energy mix and fossil fuel production and extraction is rising every year Mike (narration): An important clarification here The share of global electricity generation that comes from renewable energy reached 30% for the first time in 2023 according to a report from the think tank And it’s projected to reach 35% this year this differs from global energy consumption And the figure for renewable energy there is 13.4% as of 2021 according to the research think tank Our World In Data Rachel made a small error here in quoting 3% That is more akin to the share of global energy consumption from just wind Christiana and Rachel will tease out the details on this a bit more Rachel: So maybe this will relate to what you were saying about internal contradictions with the negotiation process but why is it that countries are failing to really mandate legally the phasing out entirely of fossil fuels when we know that there’s such a dramatic cause of heating in the world Christiana: You are right that governments have yet to mandate a quick phase out of fossil fuels let’s look at what is happening in the real economy which is quite different than the political reality because you’re speaking there wind and solar have already risen to new highs reaching a share of 30 percent of electricity generation solar and wind generation has been growing 23 percent per year for the last five years because you spoke about that has already announced enough clean tech capacity to supply all of the demand in the global South we are starting from ground zero with respect to renewable energy and clean technologies and anything that starts from ground zero that needs to develop its own capacity to produce and supply into the market always has this let’s call it this S curve of penetration where there is a lot of investment that has to go in in the beginning We are at that point because just to take last year’s data Almost two times as much into renewable energy generation than we did into new fossil fuels So it is not correct that we are actually investing more into oil and gas We’re actually investing every year less and less they’re very vociferous because they know that they’re losing market share and they know that their technologies basically have an expiration date on the horizon and they are fighting to extend that expiration date as much as possible the other technologies are standing on their own and renewables are not just competitive but actually even more interesting as investment in most jurisdictions around the world that we’re starting from ground zero with renewables So we’re starting from ground zero and going up we tend to think of technological process in linear form Communications and in the AI and in the IT sector we understand that technology progresses both in its effectiveness and its efficiency and its cost effectiveness and in its penetration to the market It is exponential and that we have understood but we have yet to understand that energy generation is also on an exponential path and we know from the numbers that that is correct that we are actually increasing two X and then four X and eight X every year We just have to understand that that is the shape of the S curve and that there is no way that fossil fuels can continue to compete in the medium and long term because there is not that much innovation anymore in fossil fuels They have actually already extracted from the easy fields And there is frankly less and less social tolerance for for fossil fuel as electricity generation So all of this put together means we are beginning to see the advance of wind and solar that that will overtake fossil fuels Mike (narration): Hey listeners happy 2025 We have a big year ahead of us on the podcast but last year featured some really in-depth conversations that you don’t want to miss So I recommend if you’re a new listener or returning one that you catch up on the previous conversations we had in 2024 we’ve put together a list of our top episodes for you 13 in total which you can find linked in the show notes Of this episode or by clicking on my byline@mongabay.com and if you don’t want to miss any more conversations I recommend you subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts from Let’s get back to the conversation with Christiana Rachel: I’m always really interested in having these conversations because I think it really reveals just how complex the picture is and why it’s quite difficult for the public as well to really get a firm grasp on what is going on Because whether you take a look at the numbers in Europe or whether you look at them on a global scale it actually cuts a very different picture in Europe that you kindly highlighted because this is where I’m dialing in from But then when you look at that global scale and you see that renewable energy is only 3 percent of the current energy mix and that right now it’s only adding to energy generation rather than substituting that our economies are still growing It doesn’t really look like it’s substituting fossil fuels how much of the energy that we’re using is actually electricity versus transport fuel And you still see that fuel is the predominant fuel we don’t have enough words for all of this in the energy mix And then you think about the fact that renewable energy is only producing some of the electricity that we’re using and we still have to decarbonize everything And then you think about the deadlines that we’re on It seems like such an incredible feat that we have to pull off Christiana: I’m interested in your 3 percent where Christiana: You dropped…the world has already passed 30 percent of electricity– let’s just take a deep breath and understand the components of this So we’re already at 30 percent of electricity generation and we will go beyond that Mike (narration): Christiana may be exaggerating a bit here for emphasis by saying we were at 0% renewable electricity 10 years ago But her point is that the progress over the last decade has been very large the world has been producing at least 19% of its electricity renewably 20 years ago But that really changed over the past 10 years as both wind and solar have grown significantly now accounting for 13.4% of electricity generation Ember’s report says that this has slowed the growth of fossil fuels by two thirds in the past decade And solar power remains the fastest growing source of energy going on 19 years And we will pass that also very quickly of electricity when you say energy is because you are looking at electricity we have to understand that that is Absolutely Admittedly a sector that has not advanced as quickly as the as the electricity sector for sure But we also know that electrification of light vehicles is going up exponentially Electrification of even of heavy vehicles is going up exponentially It is a completely different technological path But there’s no way that you could argue that the automotive industry is investing more and more into fossil fuel cars The automotive industry has taken almost all models So what that actually means is that that penetration of the market they are producing more and more electric vehicles The market is demanding more and more electric vehicles So you have to see each sector for the path that it is following the path of transformation that it is following because they all have their different characteristics all of them are being submitted to decarbonize technologies Rachel: How do we ensure that some of these technologies that we’re depending on for decarbonization are actually going to achieve the goal rather than just be like a sustainable aviation fuel I think is a really The people within the aviation industry themselves are pretty open to be like it’s just a thing that we need to allow us to jump through certain hoops It’s definitely not going to be the future of whatever sustainability looks like There might be no way to do this industry sustainably because of the impact essentially of growing these biocrops and turning them into fuel and like the impact ecologically on the land So if we are turning to the market to lead us through this transition which also then suggests it’s a predominantly technological problem How do we ensure that they are meeting standards without incredibly stringent government regulation Christiana: If we had mandates of governments that provide strict expiration dates for different types of technologies Definitely one of the ones who are very much advocating for clear it doesn’t have anything to do with the COP process That is national domestic mandates to have expiration dates and Europe has it and we see that Europe has moved forward very quickly because Are we staying stuck because of the absence of ubiquitous mandates this is an imperfect world about everything in life And so what I think the challenge here is to realize that we are in a messy transition there are different levers of change that are pushing and pulling us forward into a cleaner world that yes would you A strong price on carbon that is universally applied Are we standing still in the absence of that or while all of that is being developed So can I say I am a totally undisciplined person Our reality is much more shades between extremes than it is the extremes About taking extreme positions and juxtaposing them and asking myself or anybody else choose between those two extremes My answer is we’re somewhere in between the important thing is understanding that we’re somewhere in between is what path are we following If the economy is moving in a direction toward more fossil fuels and more intensity of carbon in all aspects of the economy the economy is moving toward decarbonization sector by sector technology improvement by technology improvement So I just caution us against extreme choices This certainly isn’t a show where we tell anybody what to think or force that kind of binary But the reality is also that Antonio Guterres has said that this is a final warning for humanity that just this week a paper was published showing that the Arctic has become a carbon source rather than a carbon sink that the Amazon is on its tipping point that the Atlantic meridian ocean current which 10 years ago was looking at Maybe collapsing in 300 years is now looking at quite likely collapsing within the next 25 Mike (narration): Small note here and open letter to the Nordic council of ministers signed by 44 climate scientists this past October including Michael Mann of the university of Pennsylvania \ States that the last IPC assessment greatly underestimates the risk of it collapsing this century and the scientists state that the triggering of a tipping point happening in the next few decades Rachel: Things ecologically are getting worse And this is what I meant about the horizon of time that we have to work with the real human economy might be moving towards decarbonization getting worse because we are still emitting and we are still polluting and we have not made any moves putting a pause even while we get our grips of the situation And I’m curious as to why you think that hasn’t been done because you said that’s– This idea of like international mandates because we’ve had international treaties when it’s come to nuclear an international treaty to stop the use of CFCs because they were causing a hole in the ozone layer Why can we not see international mandates on expiration dates for fossil fuels at the COP process the comparison is the comparison of why aren’t elephant the size of ants or why aren’t ants the size of elephants And the reason why it was relatively simple to to fix and I hate that word is because it only was about one industry The industry that uses refrigeration and so that was pretty easy the fact is that we live in a society and in an economy that is Absolutely pervaded with fossil fuel it’s very different to finance a fossil fuel plant than it is a renewable energy plant because the renewable energy plants need upfront capital Fossil fuel plants need or fossil fuel fields and production needs capital up front and a lot of operating capital because the fields lose their capacity 6 percent a year So you have to continuously be digging more and more and more that is so much a part of our financial system that that has actually been dug in and burned into our financial architecture changing the entire way that society and economy works we cannot under underestimate the magnitude of the transformation that we have already embarked on And it is one of the most exciting transformations that humankind has ever embarked on but it is the deepest and most complex transformation that we have ever embarked on That is not to say that I don’t share your concerns and your alarm bells we are not standing still because as we see these tipping points and it’s really important to understand these tipping points that make us all very nervous And I appreciate and thank you for being nervous I wish everyone were as nervous as you are I think that is really important to be aware of The positive tipping points that we are seeing in technology we’re seeing both of these at the same time We’re seeing the negative tipping points that we’re seeing in nature for sure and that I would call the ecological tipping points Let us not close our eyes to the fact that we’re seeing technological tipping points that are not proceeding as quickly as you and I want but harping on the fact that we are behind schedule is helpful to the extent that it leads us to the conclusion It is not helpful to the extent that it leads anybody to the conclusion of we are doomed The fact is that we are facing probably the most dramatic and deeply consequential choice one choice certainly is to simply sit back and and let those ecological tipping points take over and those who are either taking that position or those who decide that it’s too late to do that Or those who are indifferent to the tipping points that you have named and many others that we can name Indifference is the equivalent of turning your back on that reality none of those choices is a choice that I have made in my life And I hope that more and more people are going to make that choice of being courageous and saying we have the greatest threat that humanity has ever experienced I am not saying that there’s a guarantee of success I certainly know that there’s no way to fix climate change because there is already so much baked into the system I don’t want to paint a picture of perfection What I want to say is let us recognize where there is progress and let us put our energy in nurturing and cultivating that progress that’s the only option we have if we want to bend the curve of what we’re seeing right now and have any chance of living in a better world that’s the philosophical answer to your question of why can’t they take the mandates Because we have an industry that has been dominating the and they know that their life is actually a short or medium term life They know that they’re not going to continue into long term and they are fighting with everything they can they’re fighting in people’s imaginations that is such an extraordinary phrase Christiana I had so many questions for you and I had them split into talking about the kind of economy climate problem and then the optimism And I think that you have really beautifully merged them and created a network of thought between them in your last answer You obviously have optimism for the future and you’ve made the really compelling argument as to why it’s an important faculty for our future Christiana: So first let’s agree about what we talk about optimism it is something that I cultivate as a choice It is not ignoring what is happening in the Amazon It’s not ignoring what is happening in in It is not ignoring what is happening in the cryosphere Optimism for me is also not an irresponsible position of saying Optimism for me is much closer to conviction and determination It’s not the result of having achieved something because nobody can say we’ve actually achieved the answer that we were capable of giving to climate change just to name the four COPs that we’ve just had So we should actually celebrate our little wins more but that’s not what I’m talking about I’m not talking about the result of an achievement I’m talking about the input to the possibility of an achievement Do you think you’re ever going to hike to the top with that attitude And that is something that wakes me up at night also because I used to think that it was our collective responsibility to guarantee to future generations that they would have a perfect world I really look back at that and I go my God We cannot guarantee to future generations that they’re gonna have a perfect world We can do our darndest and we can wake up every morning and make a choice and say Where am I gonna put my energy today Am I going to put him into the doom and gloom pot I’m not saying that that’s not a choice I’m just saying it’s not my choice I make a deliberate choice every morning to say I’m going to dedicate my time my agency to collectively contribute to all of those efforts that are really sincerely trying to make us bend the curve where we have to I’m just gonna go and bake the chocolate cake I’ve heard this kind of polarization before where it’s either I have spent not nearly as many years in this field as you have but I personally have never met anybody who thinks The Doomers as they’re are tend to be qualified or people that go I don’t think anything that we can do is systematically going to change anything I just want there to be more than two options And those who choose to make a difference in their locality what this really comes down to is the lived experience of every single human being and other forms of life on this planet That is what we’re really talking about where it really counts is Are we actually moving toward making a difference in the experienced life Are we contributing to life on this planet Or are we contributing to destruction on this planet And if your contribution to life is to do it with your family Community bless you bless you because you’re making a difference in the quality of life of those people And those who want to work on the systemic and the global and the transformation bless you also but finally it comes down to our lived experience Rachel: Thank you so much for your time today Mike: I just really like the journey that you two went on in this conversation the aspect of kind of breaking down the binary when talking about major systemic problems was a really delightful exchange to watch between the two of you And it mirrors some of my own sentiments on how I feel about the situation as well but I really enjoyed listening to this a lot Rachel: I really enjoyed speaking with her There were moments where it felt almost difficult to navigate when you when you are speaking with somebody with whom you share so much of a world view and then perhaps differ on certain details I have a friend who calls it the vanity of small differences with somebody who has had so much success as well in that way sharing their worldview and building genuine effective policy around their worldview Had to have that conversation respectfully but also still be able to push at the edges and I was really grateful to her for being so willing to do that I also thought it was a really cool conversation but it sounded like she was validating your worries and was quite grateful for them and and even expressed a desire that more people share them But I think her sort of hammering home the point that optimism is a choice and a courageous one was something I think that probably more people need to hear And I liked how she defined what optimism actually means But rather a courageous decision to keep moving forward I thought that was pretty important to hear for people to listen to Cause I definitely get wrapped up in my own anxieties about the situation Rachel: I think what she was really effectively And I think the kind of optimism that turns people off in the climate movement is the very passive optimism or systems change can’t be that hard Because these kind of provide lots of excuses for not really doing the hard work of systemic change That optimism is not a mood that you put on to get through the day or to deceive yourself about the reality of our situation But rather it is a mindset which helps you take the next steps forward to doing the hard work I thought that her suggestion that we need to celebrate wins more because that also puts the wind In your sails you can apply this to a lot of things in your own personal life Rachel: Can I tell you a little anecdote from Colombia Because I’ve decided to quite rashly become a filmmaker having never made a single film in my life before And they talk about the fact that they were protesting essentially for about this fight’s been going on against this massive multinational mining company for 15 to 20 years what do we need in order to keep doing this fight effectively In order to keep protecting this territory that we love We need to be creating things The new systems and structures and ecology and agriculture And it’s been incredible to see how engaging with care and with love and with an optimism that they can have some autonomy and sovereignty in their territory That was what gave them the strength to keep engaging in that really hard fight very small group of Colombians going up against a huge company with a huge amount of resources Mike:  That is such and excellent anecdote but I think this just all speaks to what Christiana was saying and what and what you are seeing on the ground and that it is these can get bogged down a bit in the enormity of the problem and the negativity of it I don’t like to use the word negativity usually but I’m using it because it’s the only one I can think of If we get bogged down in the negativity of something it’s an active choice to look at the things that are working I’ve been thinking about this conversation with Christiana Us having this chat because I think it was yesterday when I was having a conversation with this Colombian group that I realized I might have changed my mind that my mindset is already starting to shift with regards to the kind of because part of what makes this amazing land that I’m in so incredible and beautiful and strong is its diversity There are five ecosystems within about a 2 And there’s also a very diverse ecosystem of these activists working together and collaborating on different things a massive mining project that’s going to destroy nature and face to face in conflict with the energy transition then that’s a very difficult conversation that we’re going to have to have the plurality of thought with regards to how to tackle this problem is critical this is something I’ve thought about and even written about and yet I realized that I hadn’t applied it to That isn’t destructive and violent and that works directly with the communities and the territories that they’re in And if we don’t have people like Christiana championing that possibility then essentially we give all of that room of imagination over to multinationals who will just continue to do it in their way Mike: I don’t even want to comment on that Mike: But I thought it was a really beautiful conversation I really did in a great way to start off 2025 I am feeling much more optimistic than I did last year Rachel: I’m really pleased to hear that Even though things are looking like they’re getting worse on the award that you won at the end of last year for an episode of this podcast and if listeners haven’t heard that episode I think that’s a great place to end it say good night to the beautiful forest you’re sitting in I’ll see you on the next conversation Rachel: I’ll see you on the next one Through the Kings 50/50 Raffle, fans at the game raised $27,645 that will be donated by the Kings Care Foundation to the Las Vegas Victims' Fund.In addition, Kings players will be making their own donation directly to Chrissy's family in her honor."We lost Chrissy and a lot of Kings fans in this senseless tragedy," said Kings defenseman Drew Doughty "We want everyone to know they won't be forgotten and our thoughts are with their families and friends." Kings players wore a special "CD" sticker on the back of their helmets during the game and all Kings staff members donned a special pin bearing Chrissy's initials in her honor The Kings are still encouraging everyone to help support Duarte's family through their official GoFundMe page:LAKings.com/Chrissy Chrissy started with the Kings this summer as a Fan Service Associate Her previous work experience included the Los Angeles Rams (Corporate Sponsorships Training Camp Intern); Arizona Diamondbacks (Sales Intern); Tuscon Roadrunners Hockey (Operations and Promotions Intern); and the University of Arizona (Operations and Marketing Intern) She graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration this past May and was active on campus and was a Member of the Sports Marketing Association in Tucson Nigeria's Para table tennis power couple Christiana and Kayode Alabi met through the sport and spend most of their waking hours striving to get better aiming for success at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games In September 2023 they won their respective events at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) African Para Championships in Giza which doubled as a qualification opportunity for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games That gave them plenty of time to prepare for the Games – and they sure do They met at the 2017 national trials in Lagos "I won all my matches and was playing very well," Alabi said "So Ifechukwude (Christiana) came and said she would love to be performing like me but if you want to perform like me you need to train hard and train like me We started to play together and I told her Christiana had grown up playing table tennis even though there had been no table nor any bats even when I was very little and I used to play on the street," she said "There was no table tennis table in my village we used little wooden benches on the street We played with golf balls using bathroom slippers as racquets I didn't know that I could have it as a career." One day she met a man from an indoor sports club who invited her to play table tennis there "He asked me if I wanted to be a sportswoman and I said yes He took me to a stadium and there were some girls already playing The coach asked me to come back and play some other time "I went to my father and asked him for a racquet But when I brought the racquet to the stadium they were laughing at me because it was made of plywood and didn't have the right shape." she has been training with Kayode and both of them are now the best in Nigeria Christiana won a bronze medal at the French Open "He taught me everything about table tennis – how to serve how to be in the right position - everything," she said Kayode was more than happy to help Christiana to the top "I loved her from the first time I set my eyes on her because she's very calm in everything she's doing," he said kept talking about how she wanted to improve her table tennis She did not have any family in the former Nigerian capital "I kept on encouraging her that I will take care of her and after a bit more than a year she decided to come to Lagos I started training her to become what she is today,” Kayode said "That's how we started living together five years ago because I am the one who trained her from the start They tied the knot in November 2022 and continue to strive to become better athletes together But if you push your efforts and overcome those challenges you become what you want to become in life We are trying our best to put this together," Kayode said the couple arrive at the sports hall to start training at 11 a.m then take a long break for lunch and rest before doing a second training in the evening they usually stay in the sports hall for more than seven hours a day Being together makes their journeys easier "It's not very easy to be a disabled person We just train here to be what we want to be in life It's a lot of work getting from our home to the training," Kayode said we have to go to the bus stop together and then roll to our house there is no shuttle bus taking us to where we live they have increased their workload and added one gym session per week to the training schedule the preparations for their Games debut do not end as they leave the sports hall Arriving at home they go through video clips from their training We normally set up the camera ourselves in our training going through it to see where we have made mistakes so that the next day we can correct them," Kayode said we watch ourselves and other people playing as well as players we have played before." such as China's Ma Long or Nigeria's Quadri Aruna the first African player to be ranked in the top 10 in the world he is also an aggressive player and I try to do some of what I see them do." The aggressive playing style has given Kayode his nickname "the lion king" When he is playing he plays like he wants to break the ball," Christiana said The king and queen of Nigerian Para table tennis are not just going to the Paris 2024 Games to participate "I believe that for both of us to be the No.1 in our country we can be the No.1 in the world," Kayode said "So we are not just going there to participate – we are going there for a mission that we want to achieve Discover more about Para table tennis and the 22 sports in the Paris 2024 Paralympic sports programme  With the holidays quickly approaching it's time to get ready for the many unwelcomed traditions that come with the seasons: the uncle who knows everything and won't shut up about it; caroling chipmunks (or Mariah Carey) on a loop; traffic at the mall Not sure Delaware Online/The News Journal can do much about the first two But as far as minimizing time spent in traffic when heading to the state's busiest shopping center – Christiana Mall – Delaware Online has compiled some possibly helpful solutions including best times and days to go shopping this holiday season We're mainly providing information on getting around Christiana Mall because no other location in the state comes close to the super-regional mall primarily because it draws more out-of-state shoppers stores and the Rehoboth Beach outlets along Route 1 will be busy a Delaware Department of Transportation said it does not implement any specific traffic controls or monitoring like what is done at Christiana Mall – Center Boulevard the road that cuts between the mall and Christiana Fashion Center on one's way to Costco That number increases during the holiday season Delaware Online has also provided a list of the busiest shopping days in the U.S Getting around Christiana MallSteve Chambliss senior general manager with Christiana Mall Retail recommends hitting Christiana Mall on weekdays anytime and before noon on Saturdays but more manageable in the morning," he said The challenging times consistently are Saturdays between noon and 5 p.m Check here for times and special hours Chambliss said there are DART bus options to the mall and ride services where one doesn't need to worry about parking watch for the signsThere are indeed several DART bus options to the mall Some of the routes that serve Christiana Mall are 5 "We see an average of over 3,500 people riding weekly to and from the mall and is an alternative to driving," C.R "Drivers can even go to the Park & Ride at Route 273 and Route 7 and take the Route 54 or 64 bus into the mall complex to avoid driving in and around the mall during peak times." McLeod said message boards will be deployed near the entrance points to the complex communicating messages about which lots are full "There are seven traffic signals surrounding the mall and fashion center complex that DelDOT manages," he said no change in signal timing can prevent backups from occurring." He said the mall contracts with Delaware State Police to have a presence at intersections to primarily keep vehicles from blocking intersections and inhibiting traffic flow DelDOT also has emergency patrol units on-site during peak times to assist with incidents and report conditions back to the Transportation Management Center Sensormatic Solutions, which provides retail insights and solutions to businesses, issued its predictions of which 10 days will be the busiest this holiday season This might help shoppers decide what days and times to hit the stores: 14 — The second Saturday before Christmas.Saturday 30 – The Saturday after Black Friday.Thursday 7 – The third Saturday before Christmas.Saturday 20 – The Friday before Christmas.Good luck to all of us heading to the stores Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com Show all news, opinion, videos and press releases matching → Former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres has expressed confidence in Brazil as host of this year’s United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) talks, despite the Latin American nation’s oil expansion plans There is a “substantial difference in intention and integrity” between a COP presidency that comes out of a petrostate and one that represents a country that is home to the Amazon rainforest known as the largest green lung in the world Figueres said in an online press briefing held by the Oxford Climate Journalism Network on Thursday “That is not something that is going to happen in Brazil and that’s why I think it is really important where COPs take place.” COP30 will be hosted by a responsible government with one of the highest performing foreign services in the world and a presidency with long years of experience in multilateral diplomacy putting the conference in “very good hands” Christiana Figueres speaks to journalists from the Oxford Climate Journalism Network in an online press briefing on 27 March 2025 COP30 president-designate André Aranha Corrêa do Lago is a veteran climate diplomat who has served as Brazil’s chief negotiator in global climate talks unlike previous climate summit presidencies helmed by oil and gas executives has raised hopes that this year’s conference will be free from the shadow of fossil fuels after the last two were held in major oil-producing countries But Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been contradicting his climate leadership stance ahead of COP30 by signaling that he wants to extract more climate-warming oil in the Amazon He has argued that funds could finance the country’s transition to green energy Apart from oil drilling, tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest has been cut through to build a highway in preparation for the COP30 summit in the Brazilian city of Belém The highway aims to ease traffic to the city composed of dozens of world leaders and hundreds of the biggest companies and nonprofits The Amazon plays a crucial role in absorbing carbon for the world and as a home to high biodiversity, and the forest clearance to build the road has drawn scrutiny for contradicting the very purpose of a climate summit Your support helps to strengthen independent journalism which is critically needed to guide business and policy development for positive impact Unlock unlimited access to our content and members-only perks Former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres speaks during a debate at UN headquarters in New York Christiana Figueres is best known as one of the architects of the Paris Agreement the 2015 international treaty designed to keep global temperatures from rising well below two degrees.   In the years since the agreement was signed, this Costa Rican diplomat has become a powerful figure in the world of climate action and communication outside of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), co-hosting the popular podcast Outrage + Optimism and speaking around the world on the challenges and opportunities of addressing climate change.   She recently spoke with the Institute’s Oxford Climate Journalism Network a growing community of 700 journalists from more than 120 countries "Take complexity and communicate it with simplicity,” Figueres told our members I would argue that that is your most important job It is not about taking complexity and communicating it in a complex fashion because then the value added is very little The difficulty that you are putting your teeth into is how do you take complex issues and communicate them simply in a way that inspires people to take action and to assume responsibility Here are five takeaways from our conversation with Figueres from how to think about this year’s COP30 process and the challenges of communicating climate risks Figueres used a phrase in Spanish to describe the current state of action on climate change: “Vamos bien “This is a phrase in Spanish that means we're moving in the right direction both at the same time,” she explained.   But she also argued that the world is also on an exponential curve trajectory of many of the climate solutions: last year also saw twice the level of investment into clean technology versus fossil fuels and falling prices in technologies like solar and electric batteries.  “I think of those two curves – the exponential curve of impacts and the exponential curve of solutions – as competing against each other we don't know when,” she said.   She said the decarbonisation of the global economy is now irreversible “with or without the craziness in the United States.”  “What is still not at the level [needed] is speed and scale,” she said With her organisation, Global Optimism, Figueres champions a theory of change that says that all change starts at a personal level. In an age where journalists are feeling a profound mental health impact due to their experiences covering climate change Figueres’ invitation comes as a possible way forward.   “We first have to look at our interior world to figure out where we are on this Because all of us carry that to a certain degree but most of us are not even aware of how it is blocking the impact that we could have in the work that we do,” she said.   Figueres offered the analogy of composting to understand this idea that has been at the top of its performance: a flower But then something happens (it’s half-eaten reaches the end of its natural life) and decomposes.  “Decomposition does not mean that it loses its potential for regeneration and that is the basis of composting,” she said but sometimes something happens out there: there's all this bad news “is to take that and change it around and be able to derive the power from the pain and precisely because of that pain and because of the anger I'm going back out and I'm going to fight the good fight.”  Figueres stressed that this requires a serious degree of mindfulness and understanding: but it is entirely possible: “It's the most transformational experience that we can have for ourselves and the best way that we can prepare ourselves to have more impact.”  Figueres supported involving fossil fuel companies in climate conversations: they had smart people deep pockets and an understanding of our energy systems Now she says that these companies have decided to block climate solutions.   “They have the possibility to be a part of the solution “As of Russia’s illegal invasion in the Ukraine They just abdicated their responsibility.”  So, how should journalists consider these companies? “They have to be covered from a deep sense of accountability,” she said, “holding them accountable for what they're doing, holding them accountable for the fact that they have known [about climate change] since 1960s We cannot afford to just give them an escape card at this point.”  she focuses on the silent role of fossil fuel companies in the new US administration “One of the root causes of what is happening is the pressure and the financial support from the fossil fuel industry,” she said “What is very interesting to me is that while they have their fingerprints all over this craziness that they have managed to hide themselves behind some pillar.”  Asked by a member of our climate network whether climate campaigners have lost connection and support from the public and why Figueres agreed and offered three possible reasons: because they offer data that is often not visible because they choose the “high horse of morality and preach to people and make them feel guilty or make them feel like they're not doing the right thing or blaming them” and because the message gets too complicated.   “The messengers on the other side [those seeking to slow efforts] have a very clear purpose and a very clear message: delay climate policy as long as possible “[while we] are trying to be true to what we know is true The complexity that we know to be true is not necessarily one that must be continually messaged because it loses people.”   but speak with simplicity,” she said.   sharply declining trust and rising news avoidance – as documented by the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report – means that journalists have to be proactive in reaching audiences with climate coverage.  “We have to be very creative and meet people where they are We cannot have the attitude of ‘If we will build it We have to actually go and find where they are and provide them with the information where they are.”  COP30 will take place in Belém, Brazil in November 2025. This year’s event will be a landmark conference, marking a crucial deadline for countries to submit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) plans they present every five years with their efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.   But the summit will also be a symbolic event hosted in a city often called the “gateway to the Amazon” – at a time when international politics on climate appears particularly divisive.  Figueres said there was a crucial difference between recent conferences hosted in “petro states” – the two previous COPs were hosted in Azerbaijan and the UAE – versus in a country that that is a country that really understands its responsibility but also its leadership worldwide,” she said Figueres cautioned that COP30 should not be framed as a make-or-break event “Let us not commit the sin that we commit every single year Christiana Figueres is currently the founding partner of Global Optimism and the vice-chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy she was a diplomat and served as executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010 to 2016 She has served as director of international cooperation for the Ministry of Planning; chief of staff to the minister of agriculture; and director of the Technical Secretariat of the Renewable Energy in the Americas (REIA) program of the OAS Figueres founded the Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the participation of Latin American countries in the Climate Change Convention Figueres has represented Costa Rica as a negotiator of the UN Convention on Climate Change and has provided critical international strategy for achieving developing country support and approval of the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Figueres joined the Dialogue as a Member in 1995 The Dialogue is a hemispheric organization that builds networks of cooperation and action to advance democratic resilience and sustainable development across the Americas and enhance collaboration to unlock meaningful change in the Western Hemisphere Inter-American Dialogue1155 15th Street NW | Suite 800Washington, DC 20005P: +1-202-822-9002F: +1-202-822-9553 We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns (Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the last name of Dr Christiana Hospital in Stanton is overrun with cases of flu creating long waits for emergency room patients ChristianaCare confirmed on Friday that hospitals across the region are experiencing “extremely high volumes” of patients primarily driven by a “high prevalence” of flu and other illnesses that may require hospitalization The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this past week that respiratory illnesses are increasing in much of the country with levels rated as being "very high" in Delaware As of Monday, Jan. 13, COVID-19 activity has increased in most areas in the U.S., while seasonal flu activity remains elevated across the country, the CDC said RSV activity is very high in many areas of the U.S. ChristianaCare system chief medical officer Kert Anzilotti in an emailed statement encouraged Delawareans to utilize urgent care centers and visit primary care physicians as a first line of defense before coming to an emergency room it is especially important for people to understand the best place to go for care based on their symptoms so that emergency and hospital resources are available for people who need that higher level of care,” Anzilotti said who has worked in pediatric internal medicine at the Stanton hospital for nearly 10 years and a union organizer at Christiana confirmed he’s seen more “patients in beds in the hallways” than he’d ever seen CASES RISE: Delaware seeing 'very high' levels of COVID, flu and RSV, CDC says. How to keep safe He pointed to doctors and nurses also falling ill creating additional strain on the hospital Haimes encouraged ChristianaCare to work with the doctors “The front-line union clinicians want to be involved in creative problem-solving with Christiana when there are patient surges that can overwhelm the hospital,” Haimes said “It is difficult to problem solve when those making decisions look solely at numbers instead of actually being involved in these tough working and patient care conditions.”  Christiana’s administration has increased staff in critical areas and shifted resources Anzilotti said the hospital has also canceled nonessential meetings and activities and is working with community partners to provide support “We also have worked to expand availability of virtual and in-person primary care visits,” he said “Thank you to our caregivers who are working round-the-clock and making personal sacrifices to meet the needs of the community during this time.”   Delaware already ranks ninth for the longest emergency room wait times in the country Visiting primary care doctors or an urgent care center for cold and flu symptoms is the first line of defense for Delawareans feeling under the weather Should your symptoms require emergency medical attention your primary doctor or a physician in urgent care can refer you ER VISITS: Why Delaware has the 9th-longest ER wait times. See how we compare with nearby states Most locations are open seven days a week until 8 p.m The Middletown location is open until midnight If you are experiencing severe trouble breathing or having “excessively high fevers,” you should call 911 or visit an emergency department Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com is a Costa Rican diplomat recognized globally as a leader in climate change Figueres served as executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010–16 Following the Copenhagen conference in 2009 Figueres took the helm of international climate negotiations guiding the process toward a widely accepted regulatory framework Figueres presided over UNFCCC conferences in Cancun (2010) culminating in the landmark Paris Agreement that was signed on 22 April 2016 This legally binding international treaty on climate change was adopted by 196 countries at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris The US withdrew from the agreement in 2020 and announced its withdrawal again this year Figueres is celebrated as one of the architects of the Paris Agreement and has since become a prominent figure in climate action and communication outside the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change co-hosting the popular podcast Outrage + Optimism and speaking globally on the challenges and opportunities of addressing climate change Transforming tragic circumstances into hope and optimism through a meeting with the Buddha Just as she entered one of the most important periods of her diplomatic career a major shock in her former marriage brought significant upheaval to Figueres’ life She had dedicated herself to instilling strong values and principles in her family and after 25 years she had what she considered an ideal marriage and family which she would call a “picture book marriage” or “picture book family.” However an unexpected revelation from her ex-husband shattered their relationship particularly as she was simultaneously leading negotiations for the Paris Agreement This chaotic period proved exceptionally challenging Figueres chose to conceal her suffering from colleagues She inspired her team to collaborate with dedication and enthusiasm to achieve their goals for the global public good Figueres was leading a dual life: a nocturnal reality steeped in sorrow and a daily reality defined by professionalism and international high stakes it became increasingly difficult to reconcile her professional identity with her authentic The emotional burden felt increasingly insurmountable Figueres was guided to the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022) the revered Vietnamese Zen teacher and a pioneer of engaged Buddhism Figueres embarked on an unfamiliar journey entering a monastery in Waldbrol without any preconceived notions or ideas about Buddhism This monastery was once a mental institution with 700 patients and had at one time been occupied by the Hitler Youth with minds redirected toward cultivating bodhicitta and benefiting all beings Figueres became deeply involved with the Plum Village tradition which focuses on the application of mindfulness in everyday activities She gained significant insights into her suffering and instead of avoiding or suppressing her grief ultimately regaining control over her circumstances Applying the Buddhist teachings in personal and professional settings The Buddhist teachings learned from the Plum Village tradition not only transformed Figueres’s personal life but also enhanced her professional endeavors she now believes that achieving the Paris Agreement would have been considerably more challenging without guidance and insights gained from the Buddhist teachings Figueres discussed the impact of these teachings on her work: because the truths that I was learning apply to me as an individual but also apply to everyone else collectively And I honestly think that if I had not had that guidance and those teachings I don’t know how we would ever have gotten the Paris Agreement Figueres credits Thich Nhat Hanh’s wisdom for playing a pivotal role in helping her develop the strength and compassion that was critical to forge ahead with the unprecedented deal at the Paris Agreement She has noted: “I don’t think I would have had the inner stamina the depth of the inspiration if I had not been accompanied by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh,” (Huffpost) Having discovered Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings Figueres found them instrumental in maintaining her agency and spirits She noted that they provided her with the inner stamina and commitment required for seeing through this milestone in a multilateral She also expressed conviction that these teachings could benefit others leading her to offer retreats that provide a supportive environment for colleagues Figueres sensed a profound sense of duty among the staff: that they were called to alter the course of the climate crisis and biodiversity crises for future generations This self-imposed obligation made the task extremely challenging as many variables remained beyond their control the power of the Buddhist teachings revealed that humans represent a small aspect of a vast Understanding the distinction between the small differences one can make through daily labor and the ultimate reality influenced by other forces provided her with significant clarity and even comfort Figueres emphasizes that transforming systems must begin internally Recognizing that climate change is anthropogenic she highlights that phenomena such as unregulated capitalism and overconsumption are unique to humanity This insight encourages reflection on the importance of acknowledging personal contributions to climate change Figueres has reflected often on the intense emotions generated by the climate crisis She also has shared thoughts on how we can transform universally experienced pain Transformation does not involve ignoring or suppressing emotions the challenge lies in purposefully harnessing these feelings and channelling them into constructive action in the world as she articulates that her spiritual practice is not separate from her work: “For me It is not in parallel—it is the foundation especially those advocating for climate justice Embracing a spiritual or meditative practice is crucial for sustainable leadership This emphasis on personal wellbeing enables leaders to face challenges with resilience and clarity developing a more effective and compassionate approach to their work All Authors >> var _ctct_m = "e13686134fe4ed809d4f346e45779db5"; Be sure you have your GPS enabled and try again initially set out to follow in her brothers’ footsteps and become an engineer Her father reminded her of her childhood interest in healthcare and her dream of becoming a nurse “I would watch my grandmother at her clinic and while I couldn’t give injections or treat patients “That was the beginning of my interest in nursing.” Ndukaife was a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing which is open to nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship She was a member of the PNW chapter of the American Red Cross Club a student academic tutor for nursing courses and a community assistant for student housing After a class assignment introduced her to the Sojourner Truth House in Gary a day shelter for at-risk women and children Ndukaife started spending time there as a volunteer She also volunteered her time for the American Heart Association Ndukaife will concentrate on passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) a standardized test that nursing students must pass to become registered nurses before beginning her career at Corewell Health in Michigan she hopes to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) degrees she would like to return to Nigeria and run her own medical clinic They said it was a great school and I would love it That made me want to learn more about PNW.” “I liked the small class sizes and the resources the school provides for students The number one thing I liked was the ratio of students to teachers where the class sizes were over 100 students to each professor class sizes were never over 30 people and most of the time the professor had a teaching assistant to help.” What did you like most about the nursing program at PNW “The professors are very knowledgeable and really interested in student success I also loved the well thought out plan they have for clinical rotations I had the best experiences in each of my clinicals and was able to get an understanding of what each area was all about – that helped me narrow down what areas I wanted to work in.” How do you think your involvement in campus organizations and activities helped define your success at PNW “The volunteer opportunities I participated in I had to be able to deal with all types of people be compassionate and understand how they are feeling In nursing you have to understand your patients and their feelings – it’s not only about their physical illness.” What words of advice would you share with prospective students looking to attend PNW The professors are great and they’re here for a reason – they’re trying to teach you to do better Don’t expect to be given a grade you didn’t earn Was there anyone at PNW who inspired or encouraged you along the way She has been there every step of the way for me She is the one person that I can go to with questions and she will always answer I wish everybody could have her as a professor.” Discover what inspires our remarkable Fall 2024 graduates—and how they are Powering Onward to their futures We have been notified of spam calls to our families requesting paypal payments for their services Please do not provide any information or make any payments over the phone and contact us directly should you receive these calls On August 19, 2024, Christiana Ekundayo Bimbola Redwood-Sawyerr (née Atere-Roberts), affectionately known as “Bim”, passed away after an incredible and miracle filled 8.5yrs of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Born on October 31, 1950,... View Obituary & Service Information The family of Christiana Redwood-Sawyerr created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories © 2025 Heritage Funeral and Cremation Services Made with love by funeralOne Learn About Our 50th Anniversary Campaign In this Meet our Community Impact Team blog series we’re interviewing each of our San Diego Foundation (SDF) team members so you can learn more about the individuals who are helping lead programs and direct resources to build a more equitable and resilient San Diego Today, we’re getting to know Christiana DeBenedict My favorite part about working at SDF is the people I have the opportunity to collaborate with a stellar group of individuals that are aligned in our values and goals to support the environment and communities of the San Diego and Cali-Baja region The CBOs we work with are dedicated to addressing critical environment and social issues working directly within communities to provide support and resources I enjoy the diversity and scope of work we are supporting through our environment-focused areas that include outdoor access climate resilience and growing green spaces I enjoy building relationships and learning about the many interventions and programs Building partnerships is critical and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be inspired and activated to support our community partners in growing and strengthening their impact in our community who bring a wholehearted commitment and dedication to addressing some of the most pressing issues we face today I am particularly inspired by the role of philanthropy and its role and capacity to enable community-driven climate solutions through partnerships and funding that can catalyze innovative endeavors and higher risk investments that fund areas where other government funding cannot be directed I am inspired to think more broadly about our role as humans and the ways we are intimately connected to the Earth and reliant on its natural systems and resources for life systems-level approach that supports action and solutions that consider the interconnections of racial We need to think creatively about advancing multiple benefit projects that create economic environmental and community resilience at the same time I am inspired by the opportunity to think about a future that creates a sustainable and healthier environment for everyone to thrive and how we can lean into strength and opportunity over fear and loss I have always been drawn to work that has a social impact My first career-defining job was with The Synergos Institute an international development organization with a focus on solving the root causes of poverty globally I worked on the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership project which at the time was managed by The Synergos Institute The goal was to support a network of community foundations to provide the resources networks and convening capacity to support our binational communities along the U.S.-Mexico border Community foundations were identified as key organizations that could bridge and connect public and private sectors with the goal of investing in critical areas of need to build a strong civil society I learned about San Diego Foundation through my work at the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership I learned about the role of SDF as a community foundation and the critical resources it provides in the role of a funder and a community partner I then had the opportunity to work closely with the SDF environment team as partners on the Climate Education Partners project a National Science Foundation project working to develop communications and outreach efforts to translate climate science to leader audiences in San Diego Balancing care for people and the planet for me starts with prioritizing my own self-care and commitment to making time for meditation and reflection I listen to a podcast on Buddhism teachings and enjoy reading books that explore topics of human development personal growth and our connections to ourselves I believe that I bring my best self to caring for the people and planet when I give focus to doing the internal work needed to face my own bias self-criticism and fear that create emotional barriers to taking progressive action environment nonprofits make up only 2% of 12,000 nonprofits The sector is small and given the large environment and climate challenges faced we recognize the incredible work being advanced by this small but mighty group When you look at the profile of these environment nonprofits over 50% have budgets under $250,000 and they are reliant on 56% of funding from individual funders and foundations to support their work Here is where our donor community really steps up to enable our environment nonprofits to protect and connect natural areas and advance regional action on climate change vibrant place where we enjoy a temperate climate and outdoor environments that contribute to a high quality of life But the region faces multiple threats due to the impacts of a changing climate and to our frontline communities that are most vulnerable to its impacts Climate solutions must address the historic and systemic injustice that has created an inequitable environment and economic burden for these communities The ongoing degradation of our natural and living systems has a direct impact on these communities that will continue to face unprecedented challenges today and are threatened by future compounding impacts that will affect their health environment and financial capacity to “bounce back” from increasing disasters and impacts climate and economic justice solutions that build resilience and assets for communities most impacted Being on the beach and looking out on the ocean brings me a sense of peace and gratitude for this amazing place I call home Meet More of the SDF Team Subscribe to our SDF News monthly newsletter to receive timely updates on impacts across our region Designed and managed by $838K in Grants to Local Nonprofits to Create More Inclusive Equitable and Accessible Outdoor Experiences we awarded $838,704 in Opening the Outdoors grants to 24 nonprofit organizations that offer equitable access to outdoor spaces in San Diego County “San Diego Foundation is proud to once again support its partners committed to increasing community-driven efforts to enhance accessible outdoor space encourage youth to learn more through hands-on education and create the next generation of environmental stewards in the San Diego region,” said Christiana DeBenedict This year’s grantees will help address these inequities and enhance access to the outdoors throughout San Diego County See Grantees Nathan is one of the world’s foremost experts on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and generosity The Generosity Crisis; the Case for Radical Connection to Solve Humanity’s Greatest Challenges has been dubbed as “Required reading for our generation of professionals in the nonprofit sector” by NonProfit Pro Nathan serves as Chief AI Officer at Virtuous Software an advocacy organization focused on the Responsible and Beneficial use of AI for the global fundraising community He is co-host of the weekly Fundraising.AI podcast one of the top nonprofit technology podcasts globally Nathan is regularly featured in publications such as Forbes Nathan serves as an advisor for the OpenAI Users Forum the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) He holds a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from University of Notre Dame a certificate in International Economics from University of Cambridge a certificate in Artificial Intelligence from MIT a certificate in Philanthropic Psychology from the Institute of Sustainable Philanthropy and is a certified fundraising executive (CFRE) Mallory Erickson is the founder and CEO of Practivated and host of the What the Fundraising podcast She is dedicated to transforming the nonprofit sector by helping fundraisers move beyond transactional approaches to build lasting Mallory has trained over 60,000 fundraisers explores how shifting away from a scarcity mindset leads to greater impact and sustainability she continues to drive innovation in fundraising through technology If you’re ready to fundraise with confidence and alignment A fundraising and community-building professional for nearly 30 years Mark Stuart has devoted his career to helping donors realize their hopes Since joining San Diego Foundation as President and CEO in May 2019 SDF raised and deployed $67 million for COVID-19 relief efforts and in its most recent fiscal year granted a record $150 million SDF has launched a new strategic plan and vision for just and has been named a Top Work Place by The San Diego Union-Tribune four years running Mark managed a staff of 64 and a budget of $14 million at San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG) He led SDZG’s first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign Mark serves on the Board of Directors for Certified Fundraising Executives International the League of California Community Foundations San Diego Regional Policy and Innovation Center and San Diego Symphony Foundation San Diego Foundation President & CEO Mark A Stuart will welcome attendees to the first-ever San Diego Fundraising Conference and share what’s in store for the day ahead Moving Your Fundraising Forward in 2023 and ’24 Let’s look at trends and predictions for fundraising in 2023 and ’24 The giving environment continues to change – and donors are changing as well We’ll review the strategies you need to focus on this year what’s working – and what’s not working in fundraising today Join us to take a ride through the events and issues on the philanthropic landscape both now and in the near future The Conversational Ask: An Easier Way to Raise Money from Happy Donors but do you know how to bring up the idea of a potential gift Don’t get stuck in endless cultivation – here’s how to move right into a Gift Conversation Gail will show you the path that will lead a donor from Discovery directly to an Ask Conversation You’ll learn how to read your donor’s signals and how to politely put an Ask on the table We’ll have some fun learning Power Discovery Questions that can light up your donor’s heart You’ll have a chance to actually practice them and you’ll see for yourself how they can unlock a donor’s enthusiasm and generosity You’ll discover how asking permission keeps your donor engaged and comfortable These conversation-based asking and closing techniques will help you close more mega gifts Wisdom is more than the accumulation of wins and losses It is found at the intersection of knowledge The goal of the Fundraising Wisdom Project is simple: we asked talented fundraising leaders to consider what wisdom they might share with their much younger selves What guidance would they want to provide to those who might be newer to our profession to put those careers on a brighter and better trajectory Come to the conference’s closing session to hear five-minute (or less) stories from our presenters and other wise leaders who have more than 200 years of collected wisdom to inspire and enhance your impact on the San Diego region is an economist and the Director of Research at the San Diego Regional Policy and Innovation Center equity-focused research on the region’s most pressing economic She has published and presented research on artificial intelligence and the future of work in a variety of top-tier academic venues and was an editor for JASIST’s Special Issue on “Artificial Intelligence and Work.” where she studied ethics in the curation of training data for machine learning models She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Information studying the ethical implications of automated emotion recognition algorithms designed for use in the workplace She also has an MBA from the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego (2011) and a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University is Vice President and West Region Director at Campbell & Company She brings 30 years of passion for nonprofits focusing on strategic and fundraising planning that builds a shared understanding of mission leveraging strengths of organizations to achieve long-term success Cassie was Associate Vice President for Development and Director of Campaigns at Hawaii Pacific University Associate Vice President for Development Operations Cal Poly and Executive Director of the Montana Outdoor Science School Currently she serves at the Co-President for the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Greater Los Angeles Chapter as board chair for the Foundation for Pierce College and is a member of the faculty for the Center for Nonprofit Leadership at Cal Lutheran Cassie has a doctoral degree in Teaching and Learning with an emphasis in public administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s in biology from California State University Kirsten Farrell is the Director of The Goodman Center which teaches communications and marketing professionals how to reach more people with more impact She is publishes the monthly newsletter free-range thinking and The Do Good Better Blog both of which are Goodman Center resources that share tools and guidance for public interest professionals to connect to and communicate with their audience The Goodman Center is internationally known for speeches and workshops on storytelling Kirsten has facilitated innumerable workshops and webinars for clients including The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The National Museum of African American History and Culture She served on the advisory team for The Corporation for Supportive Housing’s Speak Up where leaders with lived experience of homelessness train to tell their stories and advocate for permanent supportive housing she performs as a company member of the nationally recognized Impro Theatre doing long-form narrative improv Danny Kim catalyzes individuals and organizations to perform at their best Danny is a skilled facilitator who creates psychologically safe environments for individual thinking and group collaboration he asks insightful questions at pivotal moments to help leaders gain clarity and take courageous action he supports leaders when the stakes are high and decisions are complex Danny’s career in organizational development began in the non-profit sector providing leadership in the areas of recruitment and employee development for organization effectiveness As a career coach he conducted over 400 coaching conversations in career exploration and strengths-based leadership he began a doctoral program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology Danny gained experience as an external consultant at an organizational consulting firm serving clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies Culture and Diversity at San Diego Foundation in Biological Sciences and a Master of Divinity in Transformational Leadership he holds a doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology is a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths coach and on-call faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership Stephen Mally brings over three decades of fundraising and non-profit consulting experience Having served as a fundraiser in the United States Stephen transitioned to consulting in Asia-Pacific He is the CEO and Director of FundraisingForce a boutique consulting firm based in Sydney and charities gaining a vast amount of exposure to diverse organizations and fundraising programs Stephen acquired his Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) credential in 2011 Stephen was named a Fellow of the Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) in 2017 
He served on the FIA Board for six years and currently serves on the CFRE International Examination Committee and CFRE International Board as its Vice Chair He is also on the board of Pink Elephants Support Network in Australia Grant Oliphant is CEO of the Conrad Prebys Foundation a major independent foundation working to strengthen San Diego’s future through a focus on impact in the arts Grant was president of The Heinz Endowments in Pittsburgh one of the nation’s largest regional philanthropies where he focused the foundation’s giving on sustainability He also launched major initiatives to support democracy and worked with his board to bring the foundation’s investments into alignment with its social and climate change priorities Grant was President & CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation one of the nation’s largest community foundations where he doubled the foundation’s size while helping to reinvent the national model of community philanthropy through an emphasis on regional leadership and impact An outspoken advocate for philanthropy that is both effective and clear Grant launched and hosted a popular podcast “We Can Be,” and writes and speaks frequently about philanthropic leadership He is the immediate past chair of the Center for Effective Philanthropy a national organization working to promote better giving which promotes better use of communications by philanthropy Devoted to community leadership at the intersection of business Grant served on the boards of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development the August Wilson African-American Cultural Center and the Pittsburgh Promise along with Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania and Riverlife which also included a brief stint in advertising Grant launched a magazine in Washington D.C on American politics and co-hosted a radio talk show before joining U.S “Ring of Years.” Grant and his wife Aradhna are delighted to be making their home in Mission Hills and are looking forward to being active members of the San Diego community Stephan Coleman is the Market Managing Director at PNC Institutional Asset Management He is responsible for the strategic direction and execution of PNC’s Institutional Asset Management business in the San Diego His teams consult with a broad range of clients including nonprofit organizations Christina Chase is a highly accomplished finance and accounting professional with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector including more than a decade in higher education she serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Services at UC San Diego and is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the UC San Diego Foundation As Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Services at UC San Diego Christina leads a comprehensive range of services that support the university’s fundraising and engagement efforts As CFO and COO of the UC San Diego Foundation she is responsible for the financial stewardship and operational management of the foundation’s assets working closely with the Board of Directors and various committees Christina served as the Controller and CFO of the UCLA Foundation and CFO of the UCLA Investment Company Christina is a licensed attorney and a certified public accountant in California She earned her Juris Doctor degree with a specialization in taxation from the UCLA School of Law and her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Georgia State University She is an active volunteer and leader in various professional organizations including the University Credit Union Supervisory Committee and the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program Christina continues to make significant contributions to the advancement of higher education and the non-profit sector Rachel Stroud Hunsinger is Managing Senior Executive Director of Development for Health Sciences Advancement and a member of the Advancement Leadership Team at UC San Diego She works closely with university and health leaders to raise support and develop short- and long-term strategies for Health Sciences fundraising initiatives She leads a talented team of development professionals who are focused on raising funds for UC San Diego’s tripartite health sciences mission which includes its research Rachel joined UC San Diego in 2017 as part of Leadership Strategy & Engagement to work on UC San Diego’s successful $3 billion campaign Rachel was at Oregon Health & Science University Foundation where she focused on cancer center fundraising leading the cancer development team for 12 of her nearly 16 years there she was the lead development officer for OHSU’s first $100 million gift which named the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute She also was part of the leadership team that successfully met – ahead of schedule – Phil and Penny Knight’s ambitious matching gift challenge to raise $500 million for cancer in an all or nothing two-year campaign resulting in $1 billion dollars for the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Rachel began working in major gifts at the University of Oregon Rachel has nearly 30 years of nonprofit management and fund development experience working for both institutions of higher education and statewide nonprofit organizations Writers’ Network and Oregon Governors’ School She has served on many boards throughout her career including the National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers from 2011 to 2016 and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of North Carolina Adriana is a fundraising consultant with Campbell & Company and an extensive background in fundraising and campaign strategy Adriana managed development and communications activities for multiple revenue streams As Development Director at The Representation Project she led all development initiatives and spearheaded the organization’s first virtual fundraising event During her time at Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles and Scripps College launched peer fundraising and monthly giving programs and supported the College’s 175M comprehensive campaign Adriana holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Policy with a minor in Business from Northwestern University She lives in Southern California and enjoys reading Kate brings 15 years of fundraising and nonprofit management experience to her work with clients She understands that data-driven donor engagement strategies paired with sound operations are critical pillars for any successful fundraising endeavor Kate leads Campbell & Company’s methodology taskforce and is involved in Campbell & Company’s qualification services Prior to joining Campbell & Company in 2018 Kate held leadership roles with the Taproot Foundation and worked for several human services and healthcare organizations in the Bay Area managing institutional fundraising efforts and donor databases in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland – College Park and completed the Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service at NYU Wagner School of Public Service Kate is currently pursuing her master’s in business administration at University of Washington Kate is a member of Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and is active in the nonprofit fundraising community is a dynamic nonprofit leader based in San Diego As the current Manager of Development at San Diego Foundation Miguel has pioneered a 7-figure philanthropy and grantmaking program and created innovative grantmaking strategies including a significant Latino-centered economic mobility initiative he spearheaded the establishment of the Foundation’s prospect research department playing a critical role in enhancing its fundraising capabilities and donor relations Miguel is an accredited Certified Fundraising Executive dedicated to professional development He has contributed his expertise to various boards and committees including the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA and the Association of Fundraising Professionals His leadership extends to mentoring emerging professionals in philanthropy underlining his commitment to cultivating an inclusive and effective nonprofit sector Bill Stanczykiewicz serves as senior assistant dean for external relations at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Bill directs The Fund Raising School while also serving on the academic faculty Bill has been associated with raising more than $120 million over the last 25 years as a nonprofit executive director and board member and they enjoy talking fundraising while strolling along San Diego Harbor or watching the sunset from Point Loma Director of Philanthropy & External Relations We’ve all been part of the “rubber chicken event circuit” – those sometimes dreaded often dull events that run together in our minds Do you even remember why the last rubber chicken dinner you attended was held Donors today want to make an impact and they expect to see how their investments are being used to make a difference Many nonprofits fall into the trap of holding the same event over and over each year same video program and often forget WHY people are there lessons learned and the importance of re-evaluating your event program to include goals consistent messaging and an understanding of the purpose and true cost of holding events In this session you will learn how to create events with impact to further the mission of your organization Fewer than half of nonprofits have boards of directors fully engaged with fundraising Using data from BoardSource and interviews with successful nonprofits this session reveals six research-based findings pointing toward practical steps you can take toward 100 percent board giving and fundraising Don’t miss this opportunity to gain strategic insights and tools to increase the lifetime impact of your supporters Discover how to maximize the lifetime value of your supporters through various campaign types Learn about the essential elements of an effective stewardship strategy and how an all-in-one fundraising solution can unlock valuable donor insights Gain practical knowledge on engagement strategies such as nurturing first-time supporters into repeat donors and engaging your recurring supporters at your next fundraising event The Classy expert team will also discuss how to identify and cultivate your next generation of peer-to-peer fundraising leaders Krista Lamp is the Senior Director of Brand a GoFundMe affiliate and Public Benefit Corporation that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about Classy’s giving platform provides powerful fundraising tools so nonprofits can convert and retain donors Classy has helped nonprofits raise over $5 billion Krista spent 10+ years at some of the nation’s top public relations agencies Director of Demand Generation and at Classy She is a strategic marketing leader with a decade of expertise across digital and owned marketing channels Passionate about staying up to date with the ever-changing digital landscape Elizabeth enjoys advising nonprofits on how to maximize the impact of their online fundraising strategy she has developed a strong understanding of the unique challenges nonprofits face and is invested in their success Alyssa Celones Senturk (or Ally) is a Filipino-American creative storyteller with a multimedia marketing and science communication background She specializes in building communities around causes for the common good – like clean water She is the Communications and Outreach Director for San Diego Coastkeeper an environmental nonprofit working to protect and restore fishable Fostering donor loyalty is an ongoing activity The way you engage with donors after they make a gift is as important Keeping all levels of donors involved and inspired can be the difference between a good fundraising practice and a great one you will learn how to make your supporters feel every bit as important as they are as you learn effective communication strategies to showcase impact and inspire major donors to continue to provide financial support to learn how you can increase donor loyalty through creative stewardship and meaningful engagement strategies This helpful resource provides you the information you need to better understand the impact and benefits of donor-advised funds grassroots organizations led by people of color and positively impacting the lives of San Diegans This valuable resource will help you understand how to set up a legacy fund and the lasting impact planned gifts can have for you The Private Foundation Solution Brochure helps you better understand donor-advised funds and the benefits they provide for you or your family Our Custom Corporate Giving Guide teaches you the basics of building and sustaining a successful corporate giving program that unlocks benefits for your employees and your brand Subscribe to receive news on El Camino Fund and our work to advance economic mobility and wealth generation for San Diego’s Latino/a community The Advisor monthly e-newsletter provides 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for your business This helpful resource provides you the information about how donor-advised funds provide the benefits of a private foundation without the complexity This helpful resource will show you how you can leave a legacy to your family your charity or your community that complements your will and trust(s) Are you interested in staying up to date on the San Diego Fundraising Conference Subscribe today and receive email updates for current and future conferences This 10-Step Checklist guides nonprofits through partnering with SDF to accept and realize gifts of real estate Submit the form below to download the checklist "(Required)" indicates required fields This guide is will help you navigate the rewarding journey of philanthropy during your retirement years Christiana Mall is in for a few more changes Savvy mall regulars noticed a food court staple looked all but shut down just across from a major clothing storefront on its way out the door A new store also opened next to the Lego store in the mall Here’s what to know before you hit the mall: Walking into the Christiana Mall food court it’s hard to miss the wall where Sbarro’s Pizza used to be A yellow sign is posted that states “Closed by order of Delaware Health and Social Services” as of Wednesday According to the department’s health inspection database the most recent inspection was in November of 2023 Christiana Mall representatives confirmed that Sbarro’s shut down due to a “small fire” and would reopen after repairs were made Reps did not confirm when the repairs would be made or when the pizza shop would open back up Five years after filing for bankruptcy, Forever 21 announced in mid-March that it would be shutting down its remaining U.S storefronts – which means one of the largest non-department stores in the Christiana Mall is on its way out the door the company pointed to “rising costs and increased competition from abroad” that has rendered the national retailer’s business model unsustainable Neither Christiana Mall representatives nor the Forever 21 corporate office confirmed when the retailer would leave the mall but signage in the store and online state that customer gift cards and store credit would be accepted through and including Tuesday and no new gift cards or store credits will be given out to customers New Crocs storeA Crocs storefront opened its doors in the Christiana Mall the weekend of March 22 The store is located in between the Macy’s and Nordstrom department stores and near the Lego store More shopping news: Wilmington streetwear brand Carry My Own Weight unveils reimagined flagship store New Life” program allows customers to bring old Croc shoes into the store in any condition either for donation or to be recycled into new shoes Additional discounts are available for students Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at mmcvety@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety (Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement provided late Monday afternoon by ChristianaCare.) Delaware State Police are conducting a death investigation after the death of a 42-year-old woman who was found unresponsive outside Christiana Hospital Saturday night The woman has been identified by Delaware State Police as Amie Bradley of North Carolina State police troopers were dispatched to a retention pond at Christiana Hospital for a report of a woman with an unknown emergency near the roadway Arriving troopers found Bradley unresponsive and began life-saving efforts Bradley was taken to the hospital where she later died "It should be noted that she was not an employee of the hospital," Ali said in a statement "The cause of death remains unknown and autopsy results are pending." MORE TO READ: Delaware's marijuana industry lottery winners begin to navigate uncharted waters ChristianaCare officials responded to a Delaware Online/The News Journal query about the Saturday incident late Monday afternoon "We are deeply saddened by this incident that occurred on Christiana Hospital property," a ChristianaCare spokesperson said in a statement "Our hearts go out to Amie Bradley’s family .. Chick-fil-A’s new location will open in Christiana this week just under four months since the chain announced the location Free entrées are on the table for the location’s opening day for customers willing to don their favorite cow print for the occasion As first reported in November by Delaware Online/The News Journal Christiana’s new Chick-fil-A will be located at 954 Christiana Bypass next to the University Plaza Shopping Center The building is just under 5,200 square feet on the inside with three drive-thru lanes and an outdoor seating area The parking lot connects to the Wawa next door According to spokespeople from the location, as well as the site’s Facebook page the newest Chick-fil-A will open on Wednesday and will operate on the chain’s standard schedule Restaurant news: A meal to remember, immersive experience for those who want to 'explore' Titanic Promotional materials also state that the new location has added 125 jobs to the area any customers who show up with some cow-printed garments will get one free entrée either in store or in the drive-thru from 6 a.m The franchise will also donate $25,000 to the Food Bank of Delaware on opening day (This story has been updated to correct an inaccuracy The new Chick-fil-A in Christiana will offer a free entree to those wearing cow print garments from 6 a.m In the logic of our ever-expanding American retail season this means you're apparently already weeks late to shop for Christmas While much shopping nationwide has moved online the malls are booming in duty-free Delaware is the tax-free shop to rule them all – filled with shoppers from Maryland to Philadelphia Notable openings last year included jewelry and accessories store Kendra Scott jeweler Radcliffe (with a wee Rolex annex) Last year: New stores, restaurants coming to the Christiana Mall for the 2023 holiday shopping season Some are big legacy brands like Abercombie & Fitch and Carhartt Some new clothing stores have never been seen before in Delaware or New York menswear bellwether Portabella remodeled at Christiana this summer to meet the needs of a new retail world Here are the new stores at Christiana Mall as the mercury drops and shopping season heats up For more updates, you can join our Facebook group What's Going There in Delaware and subscribe to our free What's Going There in Delaware newsletter Christiana resiliency: 5 reasons why the Christiana Mall is bucking doomsday predictions for retail Bee & Co.Opened Aug and a host of wellness products derived from honey and pollen "Nobody works harder than the bee," says the store website has taken inspiration from these mighty little creatures and curated a well-rounded collection of products that promote natural and wholesome well-being." Building a better bee hive: Can this Delaware-invented beehive help save bee colonies from dying? Japanese casualwear company Uniqlo is devoted to the simplest of the simple things: plain T-shirts classic clothes that don't go quickly in or out of style The Christiana location, in the former Pottery Barn will be Delaware's introduction to the clothing brand that has come to dominate the retail landscape of modern Japan: Uniqlo controls more than 5% of the entire Japanese clothing market with 200 locations of the back-to-basics retailer projected by 2027 The Christiana location is a mid-sized entry with more than 10,000 square feet of sales floor South-Carolina-founded Splash looks like a candy store It is instead a "natural" branded beauty store devoted to a wild rainbow of soaps we really mean it: "Whipped soaps" look like jarred scrunchies made of liquid neon and come in flavors from mango to coconut to just plain "sexy." Watermelon "sugar soap" is colored both bright green and bright red Lavender-scented shower gels are wildly purple Body butter seems to have as many flavors as a Baskin-Robbins while a candle might look and smell like a cereal-topped ice cream sundae Dry GoodsOpened Oct Dry Goods is one of the country's fastest-growing new clothing stores. And though its name might still be unfamiliar in these parts, it lays some deep historical claims. Though Dry Goods' first store opened in 2010 in Illinois, the chain's branding materials claim roots in legacy department store Von Maur's original 1872 "dry goods" store in Iowa. Each store is likewise branded to be "vintage." But the brand will nonetheless be quite new to most in these parts – a contemporary young women's store selling dresses The Christiana Mall location will be the first in Delaware Dry Goods expects to boast 84 locations in 24 states Carhartt opened its only Delaware store on Oct The workwear company is a bit of a unicorn in the United States – a privately held clothing company owned since 1882 by the same family the famously rugged brand has become nearly a lifestyle in parts of the American West – not to mention a hardy staple of hip-hop punk and skateboard culture since the 1990s.Though sold at housewares stores and at farm stores like Tractor Supply Carharrt does have about 50 or so of its own company stores Abercrombie & FitchOpened in October Legacy collegiate lifestyle brand Abercrombie & Fitch is on the upswing again these days – boasting double-digit sales growth and leaving far behind the days when it ranked as the nation's most hated brand, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. In the meantime, Christiana leasing manager Bill King said that Abercrombie had been on the hunt for a new space to launch an updated Abercrombie store. When home furnishing store Williams Sonoma decided to leave Christiana, Abercrombie & Fitch jumped right back in. Portabella is a menswear brand not just well known but ubiquitous in New York City, with 40 locations around the city. Lately, it's been expanding a bit farther out of the New York orbit. The brand specializes in slim, flashy, dressy men's garb. This might mean yellow or baby-blue tuxes and suits in addition to classic three-piece silhouettes from designer Mehment Emin Teke; button-down shirts from subdued to striking; chinos in plaid patterns; jeans in less customary colors like burgundy' and sweaters with svelte silhouettes. They also sell a variety of shoes, from Faranzi or Stacy Adams slip-ons to a whole lot of Florsheim. The one opening we cannot announce yet is the Christiana P.F. Chang's. Awaited for nearly two years, the eternally pending Christiana location of the Chinese-American chain is, well, still pending. The last word from P.F.Chang's management is that it will open sometime in winter, which may mean 2025. Nonetheless, it's been visibly under construction at the former Panera location since at least this summer. Stay tuned! adding experienced Cyprus-based executive Christiana Lazaridou as the company’s new Chief Business Development Officer Christiana Lazaridou joins Zara FX from Scope Markets where she served as Global Head of Partnerships in a variety of business development and partnership / affiliate management roles Zara FX is an offshore (Mwali domiciled) Retail FX and CFDs broker operated mainly from Dubai targeting traders in the MENA and Asia regions The company is run and controlled by Indian national Jamsheer Thazhe Veettil has been appointed chief nursing officer of Christiana Hospital on the Newark campus she brings expertise in providing patient-centered care in large driving positive outcomes in quality and safety and employee engagement Gandhi comes to ChristianaCare from JPS Health Network in Fort Worth where she most recently served as assistant chief nursing officer She has held leadership positions in nursing and clinical operations and in clinical informatics at JPS Health Network a major teaching hospital with one of the busiest emergency departments in the country Gandhi will oversee all nursing operations at Christiana Hospital She will work closely with Nursing caregivers to advance the highest standards of patient care and will lead initiatives to enhance the overall patient experience Her leadership will be instrumental in driving ChristianaCare’s mission to provide high-quality Gandhi holds a Doctor of Nurse Practice from Duke University a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas at Arlington in 2023 Gandhi was named an Essential Hospital Women’s Leadership Academy Fellow and received the JPS Most Impactful Research Award She has been named among the 100 Great Nurses in Dallas-Fort Worth and as a COVID-19 Health Care Hero She is active on professional boards and as a community volunteer Christiana Spens looks to Berlin and Christiane F the cult film of heroin addiction and sickness I remember first finding a DVD of Christiane F and because the label covered the last two letters of the title And she looks like me too!" (Christiana was not a common name in Fife lives with her mother in a high-rise estate in Berlin listening to David Bowie and experimenting with acid and hash But then she switches to hard drugs and gets addicted to heroin eventually turning to prostitution to afford her habit.” I felt a little disheartened by Christiane's fate I was drawn not only by the strange resemblance Christiane looked like me but she was doing things she shouldn’t be doing; she looked and acted how I felt and wanted to but could not and the music all fades away to the dissolution of dependency They both resort to prostitution to pay for their drugs Their friends start dying around them; one girl’s face is in the papers as the epidemic of addiction being approached to tell her story in a memoir Sign up for our free Friday email newsletter An 84-year-old man was killed Tuesday after Delaware State Police said he turned his vehicle into oncoming traffic in Christiana Police are withholding the Newark-area man's name until his family and relatives are notified The man was stopped in the westbound left turn lane of Christiana Road attempting to turn into University Plaza about 6:20 a.m. TRAFFIC FATALITIES: Police ID 2-year-old boy killed in Hockessin-area crash on Sunday entering the path of a 2018 Honda Pilot that was heading east on Christiana Road was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries were also taken to an area hospital with not life-threatening injuries Faith Omoboye Faith Omoboye $(document).ready(function(){(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({})}); You don't have permissions to access this page Ghent University is awarding an honorary doctorate to Christiana Figueres for her tireless commitment to climate action and her unique ability to unite people and nations around a common goal She has turned her stubborn optimism into a lifestyle we spoke with Christiana Figueres about optimism deep listening skills and the power of collective action Costa Rica) is an internationally renowned climate diplomat negotiator and visionary leader in the fight against climate change As head of the UN Climate Convention (2010–2016) she played a key role in the historic Paris Agreement in which 195 countries pledged to keep global warming below 2°C Her optimism and resolve were indispensable After her stint at the UN she founded Global Optimism the business world and governments to take faster climate action In her book The Future We Choose (2020) she advocates ‘stubborn optimism’: the conviction that change is both possible and necessary This is her determined reply when asked how to remain optimistic in the fight against climate change despite the reality we are all confronted with on a daily basis: “We must acknowledge the fact that we are lagging behind Regardless of whether it’s rising temperatures But at the same time we must face reality without feeling overwhelmed Especially with the madness we see in the world today we must cultivate our influence and our impact more than ever Optimism is not passive; it is a brave step forward to meet the challenges we face head-on.” optimism is not the denial of problems but a conscious choice to take action “The challenges are gigantic but we must hold on to the conviction that change is possible Hope and decisiveness go hand in hand: without hope we can’t even begin the fight because it would be lost before it started.”  Figueres’ diplomatic success is often ascribed to her exceptional ability to bring people together Self-knowledge and emotional self-control are absolutely crucial It is important to have an in-depth understanding of your own thoughts and reactions so you don’t let your emotions take over Stability and calm are essential in difficult situations.” Figueres also underlines the importance of flexibility and deep listening skills “It’s no use entering into negotiations and stubbornly clinging to your own opinion or viewpoint You have to be prepared to reconsider your standpoints and genuinely listen to the needs of others What you should strive for is the best possible shared outcome for everyone around the table.” she shares a fundamental principle: “No decision is final until everything is decided In negotiations you have to think of the puzzle as a whole You can make preliminary arrangements but a workable agreement only emerges when all aspects come together Patience and strategic thinking are indispensable in this regard.” Figueres emphasises that change requires collective action “We have to abandon the idea that climate change is too huge and too complex to make an individual contribution while placing the blame almost completely at the feet of governments and major industries It is a fact that they are not taking responsibility but we do wield enormous power both in terms of our personal choices and our collective voice when we see from a geopolitical perspective that top-down responsibility is not being exercised This means it is time for a bottom-up approach.”  On 21 March 2025 Christiana Figueres will receive an honorary doctorate from Ghent University Ghent University underscores the importance of leadership hope and collective action in the fight against climate change Figueres’ life work shows that true change is possible if we have the courage to not only believe but also act accordingly she continues to fight worldwide for an ambitious climate policy and the strength of young generations in the transition to a sustainable future How do microorganisms in polar regions respond to change and what does this teach us in the fight against global warming this question has occupied biologist Bjorn Tytgat and the team he is a part of you have to have local data.” So say meteorologist Steven Caluwaerts and bioengineer Pieter De Frenne Deep in the Congolese rainforest stands a tower 57 metres high that is helping in the fight against climate change the Ghent University climate tower has been measuring both the amount of CO2 captured and stored by the tropical rainforest and the levels of water exchange between the forest and the atmosphere Helena Van Tichelen was in secondary school when the school strikes and marches around climate change erupted she has not lost the commitment she picked up then she put aside the lessons and courses of her third bachelor in bioengineering to travel to Egypt for the largest climate conference in the world: COP27 will be the location for its next health care campus that will feature a neighborhood hospital and a health center This is one of two facilities that ChristianaCare plans to open in Delaware County The hospital will be built in partnership with Emerus Holdings the nation’s leading developer of neighborhood hospitals The site was chosen based on a market assessment of historical and projected demographic data and health care service availability as well as a consumer survey community input and feedback from elected officials and business leaders The study identified gaps in health care accessibility concluding that Aston would be an ideal location for a health campus “We are thrilled to be bringing high quality health care services to our neighbors in Aston in Delaware County,” said Jennifer Schwartz “Our goal is to make access to health care easy convenient and close to home in a way that is sustainable and right-sized to meet the needs of the local community.” The neighborhood hospital will operate 24/7 with approximately 10 inpatient beds and an emergency department The emergency department will treat common emergency care needs such as falls The hospital will also provide diagnostic capabilities the hospital will benefit from access to virtual consults — such as neurology and cardiology — to support safe and effective care ChristianaCare will add a health center on the second floor of the hospital offering outpatient services These services will be developed based on community needs and are expected to include primary and specialty care practices plus an array of other clinical services Today’s announcement comes as construction is already under way on ChristianaCare’s first Pennsylvania neighborhood hospital these three new campuses represent a new layer of care coming to southeastern Pennsylvania ChristianaCare has been providing health care services to the residents of southeastern Pennsylvania for many years ChristianaCare offers primary care in three Chester County practices that are located in Jennersville ChristianaCare is now the medical home for 25,000 residents in these communities Delaware State Police are investigating a 911 call about possible shots fired outside Christiana Mall Sunday night which reportedly occurred after the mall was closed for the evening Troopers responded to the mall parking lot about 7:30 p.m troopers determined there was "no active threat to the public," police said "The preliminary investigation revealed an unknown black male displayed what appeared to be a firearm while walking through the parking lot near Macy’s," a news release said "The mall was closed at the time of the incident and there were no reported injuries or victims." Police ask witnesses to call with information 302-660-3786 Our exclusive interview with EISA’s Christiana Stewart-Lockhart acts as a stark reminder as to how advisers can maximise tax efficiency for clients ahead of the tax year-end With the tax year-end just around the corner advisers are looking for smart ways to reduce their clients’ tax liabilities – both for this tax year and next In this insightful conversation with our Content Editor Director General of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA) shares expert strategies for maximising tax efficiency through EIS and SEIS investing these are powerful tools that not only deliver generous tax reliefs as well as the prospect for long term investment returns but they also support the UK’s vibrant early-stage business ecosystem In the following Q&A which featured in our special 50th issue of GBI Magazine Christiana outlines practical strategies for minimising tax burdens highlights some of the most valuable tax-saving opportunities and explains the impact of recent changes to CGT on tax-efficient investments GBI: What are some of the more effective strategies that you think advisers can use to minimise their clients’ tax liabilities before the end of the tax year Christiana: The EIS and SEIS are some of the most powerful Government initiatives to encourage investment in early-stage businesses These schemes are world leading and are a significant reason why many talented entrepreneurs from across the world chose to base their businesses in the UK high reward investments but the generous tax incentives included in the schemes make them very important tools for investors investors can receive tax reliefs on their investments in eligible companies including 30% income tax relief and capital gains tax (CGT) freedom making it an attractive option for individuals looking to support early-stage businesses Each year more than £2 billion is invested through the schemes and the EIS has been crucial in supporting early stage investment for more than 30 years GBI: Which tax-saving opportunities should advisers be considering before the tax year closes – and why Christiana: Early-stage investing is high risk and the EIS and SEIS offer a generous combination of tax reliefs to incentivise more investment in this area Investment through these government schemes is focused on driving growth in innovative startups and scaleups across the UK These investments are typically also illiquid however investors can benefit from significant tax reliefs including 30% income tax relief and loss relief is available if the company fails investors can benefit from 50% income tax relief loss relief is available if the business fails you could also reduce your CGT on gains made elsewhere by up to 50% These are crucial government schemes which have facilitated £32billion of investment into 56,000 businesses over the last 30 years These include many household names such as Revolut Zoopla and Deliveroo and according to Beauhurst 46.5% of UK unicorns since 2013 have received EIS investment there are many potential investors who are missing out largely due to a lack of awareness about the schemes One common misconception is that the EIS and SEIS are only for those investing very large sums whilst there are a significant number of very large investors it is important to recognise that HMRC data shows that the majority of those using the EIS invest up to £10,000 each year making it an accessible tool for a wider range of investors interested in supporting innovative startups The EIS has helped to democratise access to early stage investing and has helped to ensure that more people are able to invest in high growth businesses addressing some of the greatest challenges we face GBI: In what way(s) do you think that the changes to CGT and IHT have impacted tax efficient investments we have seen renewed interest in the EIS and SEIS More investors are now exploring the S/EIS as part of a diversified portfolio and a recent survey by IFA magazine found that 56% of IFAs had clients who were now considering investing through the EIS who hadn’t before the Budget Not only are capital gains free from tax under the EIS but investors can also defer CGT from other gains by reinvesting them through the scheme EIS shares can also qualify for up to 100% business relief after two years of ownership With the SEIS there is also a 50% CGT reinvestment relief for investors Recent changes to CGT and IHT have made the S/EIS increasingly important tools for investors looking to support early-stage businesses whilst also investing in a tax efficient way now is a critical time for financial advisers to guide clients toward tax-efficient solutions The EIS and SEIS offer compelling opportunities to help clients reduce their tax liabilities while investing in high-potential early-stage businesses that offer real long term growth potential and loss relief available through these schemes advisers can demonstrate significant value and encourage clients to build more diversified As changes to CGT and IHT drive increased interest in tax-efficient investments advisers play a pivotal role in ensuring clients fully understand and leverage these powerful government-backed initiatives A big thank you to Christiana Stewart-Lockhart for sharing her expertise with her on this occasion We hope her insights empower you to help your clients make the most of the opportunities available as the tax year-end approaches – and into the new tax year too.  It really is the time for action Christiana is Director General of the EIS Association (EISA) the trade body for the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed EIS ecosystem EISA has more than 400 members including entrepreneurs Christiana previously spent more than a decade working in Westminster and holds a BA in Politics from the University of York She was included on the 2025 Women in Trade Associations powerlist is a member of TISA’s 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