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DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia are blessed with many skilled speakers whose environmental work is rooted in their faith traditions, and with passionate environmental educators who know how to share green skills and enthusiasm with diverse religious groups. The speakers and teachers below are ready to offer guest sermons, text studies, adult forum presentations, youth group programming, and skills workshops on environmental themes in local congregations. Unless otherwise noted, honorarium for guest sermon or 1-hour workshop is $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date). To schedule one of these speakers for your congregation, email program@gwipl.org

Table of Contents

Omar Bagnied
Religious Tradition: Muslim
Programs offered: guest sermon, youth program, adult education, how-to workshop, holiday/liturgical program
Program description: Environmentalism in Islam, principles drawn from the Qur’an, sayings and practice of the Prophet Muhammad, examples from the time of early Islam and scholarly wisdom. Environmental stewardship and practical ways to be energy efficient and water resourceful in places of worship, business and residence. Interfaith, common ground environmental principles that unite faith communities.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Northern Virginia
Location availability: Anywhere
Omar Bagnied is the Director of Community Outreach at Green Muslims. He is a consultant in the field of sustainable energy and environmental policy, having worked with the World Bank, private firms and non-profits. Omar received his Masters from the University of Washington, Seattle.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Lisa Bardack
Religious Tradition: Jewish/Unitarian
Programs offered: adult education
Program description: The unconventional natural gas extraction process known as fracking may soon be coming to Maryland, especially given the current construction of Dominion Resources’ Cove Point liquid natural gas export facility in southern Maryland. The potential impacts to public health and safety are serious and real, yet most Marylanders know little about fracking and the Cove Point facility. Lisa offers a presentation that looks at the basic facts on fracking and Cove Point, as well as the moral consequences inherent in fracking. Does fracking honor the basic covenant, to love thy neighbor as thyself? Does it honor our role as stewards of this sacred living Earth, the critical need to protect our natural resources? Does it honor our obligation to children and future generations, to leave the world a better place than we found it? Quality time with congregants to reflect on Maryland’s energy future will follow the presentation.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Baltimore, MD
Location availability: Baltimore area. Willing to present within a 50 mile radius of Baltimore. Will consider other locations on a case-by-case basis.
Lisa Bardack is a writer, social media video producer and multimedia presenter focused primarily on the moral issues inherent in fossil fuel energy and the need to protect our sacred natural resources that sustain life. She has worked for such environmental organizations as The Wilderness Society and Center for Respect of Life and the Environment, where she was involved in the ethical principals for living sustainably on the Earth. Lisa has been involved in the issue of fracking for over three years as both an educator and advocate for a clean energy future.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Kristin Barker
Religious Tradition: Buddhist
Programs offered: guest sermon, adult education
Program description: Kristin can offer a talk that draws upon teachings in the Buddhist tradition that convey the importance of caring for the earth and recognizing the interdependence of all beings. Kristin can also share what Buddhism has to say about inaction, climate denialism, and the causes of climate change, which are ultimately rooted in cravings of the human mind, as well as hope and wise action in the face of tremendous suffering for people and the planet. The talk can further touch upon numerous Buddhist teachings on wisdom and compassion aimed at transforming hearts and minds to be peaceful, loving, and socially engaged.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Washington, DC
Location availability: DC metro area
Scheduling availability: Weeknights and weekends
Kristin Barker is a board member of the Buddhist Insight Network and an active member of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC (IMCW) and dedicated to practicing a Buddhist response to environmental and social injustice. She is the founder of One Earth Sangha (“Sangha” is a Buddhist word for “spiritual community”) to support awakening and responding to the climate emergency through education, sustainable living and advocacy. She is also co-founder of White Awake whose mission is to develop awareness around race dynamics among white people engaged in spiritual communities and progressive causes. Kristin has a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University and currently works at a DC non-profit engaged in environmental work.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org
Has spoken at: University of Maryland, Asian American Studies Program

Rose M. Berger
Religious Tradition: Roman Catholic
Programs offered: guest sermon, adult education
Program description: Some themes for sermons or adult Bible study:
Caring for the Least of These: Matthew 25, Christians, and Climate Change
Birds of the Air: Luke 12, Ecology, and Economics,
Standing on Holy Ground: Christian Theology of Creation Care or any topics on which Ms.  Berger has written for Sojourners Magazine, or a theme to be tailored to the needs of the individual congregation.
Program suitable for: Christian (any denomination)
Lives in: Columbia Heights, Washington DC
Location availability: Prefer DC and Maryland
Rose Marie Berger is a Catholic peace activist and writer. She is a longtime associate editor at the award-winning progressive Christian magazine Sojourners and a regular columnist on spirituality, creation care, scripture, nonviolence, and social justice. Berger is the author of “Who Killed Donte Manning?: The Story of an American Neighborhood” (2010).
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org
Has spoken at: Our Lady Queen of Peace, Church of the Epiphany, St. Camillus Catholic Church, Church Women United

Dr. William Blair
Religious Tradition: Christian/Presbyterian
Programs offered: youth program, adult education
Program description: Global Warming and Climate Change from Scientific and Faith Perspectives. As a scientist, Dr. Blair attempts to cut through the misinformation and misunderstandings that are so rampant in the public discussion of these issues, but as a person of faith, he is also motivated by his personal awe and fascination with God’s Creation. Dr. Blair knows how to “bring it down to earth,” providing engaging and understandable presentations for all ages.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Towson, MD
Location availability: Typically within an hour of Baltimore, although special cases will be considered.
Dr. William Blair is an astronomer by training and is a research professor in Physics & Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a science educator, and has given many public talks, including topics related to science and religion, astronomy, and climate change issues. Dr. Blair also directs the Creation Care Group in the Presbytery of Baltimore, a group that seeks to engage and support churches in establishing and growing creation care ministries.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org
Has spoken at: St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church

Dottie Bockstiegel
Religious Tradition: 8th Day Faith Community of the Church of the Savior
Programs offered: guest sermon, youth program, adult education
Program description: She offers a talk, a poem and a video about Mountain Top Coal mining and the terrible affects it has on those who live near it and how it affects all of us. It includes the struggle of a small group of people in south west Virginia trying to save the mountain that sits right over their town.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: DC
Location availability: Anywhere
Dottie Bockstiegel is one of the founders of a L’Arche community which provides homes for people who have intellectual disabilities. She has been active in the Church of the Saviour in DC for over 37 years. She visited the people who live in Appalachia, a town in south west Virginia, who are trying to save their mountain and she became very interested and concerned about their struggles.
Suggested honorarium: $50
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Kolya Braun-Greiner
Religious Tradition: Christian/United Methodist/Presbyterian
Programs offered: guest sermon, youth program, adult education
Program description: Leads a worship service with sermon focused on environmental stewardship. Offers an interactive/reflective class, workshop, or day retreat for adults or youth on care for Creation, rooted in biblical teaching and church tradition.
Program suitable for: Christian, including Catholic (trained in Catholic Social Teaching)
Lives in: Takoma Park, Maryland
Location availability: Especially, but not limited, to Metro-accessible; Metro DC/MD
Scheduling availability: A Sunday morning or afternoon is best.  
Kolya Braun-Greiner attended Union Theological Seminary in New York City (’92), M.Div., where she helped form a student group, the “Ecologians.” Kolya’s passion for faith-based social justice and ecological concerns spans her career. She served on the staff of United Methodist Women (’93-’00) where she addressed social justice issues impacting women and children. An experienced facilitator and speaker, Kolya has led groups on the environment, Native American land rights, advocacy for farm workers, and non-violence for youth and adults. From ’07-’14 , she worked for the Catholic Climate Covenant, where she wrote the curriculum “Creation Cries for Justice: Climate Change Impacts & Faithful Response,” for JustFaith Ministries. She currently serves as Program Manager for the Trees for Sacred Places Project at the Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org
Has spoken at: Emanuel United Methodist Church, Church of the Covenant Presbyterian

Bill Breakey
Religious Tradition: Presbyterian
Programs offered: adult education
Program description: Bill can offer two presentations that aim to involve the audience as much as possible in exploring important issues facing humanity today. Each lasts about 1 hour.
“Let’s Talk About Power” uses a PowerPoint presentation including clips from Jeff Barrie’s award-winning film, “Kilowatt Ours.” It addresses our production and use of electric power from a perspective of stewardship and simplicity.
“The Food We Eat” uses a PowerPoint presentation and film clips, including several by Michael Pollan, to address how our food consumption patterns affect the Earth, our neighbors and our own health and are manipulated by the food industry.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Towson, MD
Location availability: Central Maryland  
Bill Breakey is retired from active practice at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is a member of Maryland Presbyterian Church in Towson, Maryland and has been active in advocating for greater concern and action among people of faith for earth stewardship. He has had leadership roles in Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, the Creation Care Group of the Baltimore Presbytery and the Baltimore Green Forum.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Barry Chenkin
Programs offered: how-to workshop
Program description: Learn how to conserve water by installing a rain barrel on your congregational building. Participants can put together their own rain barrels to take home.
Program suitable for: Any congregation
Lives in: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Location availability: Maryland, Northern Virginia, or DC
Scheduling availability: Weekends are best.
When Barry Chenkin couldn’t locate very functional rain barrel products, so he developed his own. Now, his efforts have blossomed into Aquabarrel, a rain barrel education and marketing business.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org
Has spoken at: Providence Presbyterian Church, Silverbrook United Methodist Church

Lenard Cohen
Religious Tradition: Unitarian Universalist
Programs offered: adult education
Program description: Two myths cause people and organizations to avoid sustainable investing strategies: (1) socially responsible investing will reduce investment returns, and (2) we cannot get corporations to be more environmentally and socially responsible. Lenard can present proof that these two myths are false and strategies to pursue investments which will make a difference in the world and return competitive results.
Program suitable for: Any congregation
Lives in: Montgomery County
Location availability: Anywhere, generally
Lenard Cohen has been an independent financial advisor since 1981 and his practice emphasizes Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing strategies. He is a Certified Financial Planner and an Accredited Estate Planner. He is a Past President of the Suburban Maryland Estate Planning Council. He is active on several committees of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Rabbi Andrea Cohen Kiener

Programs offered: guest sermon, youth program, adult education, how-to workshop, holiday/liturgical program
Program description: Learn about local food systems, community building and resilience, and reclaiming the simple skills and values of traditional cultures. Hear how local and national policy issues can support sustainable/resilient economies.
She is able to offer sermons which frame the religious values of this approach, as well as hands on activities for various ages. As an example, she has run Natural Spas for teens at churches and synagogues (they made our own shampoos and lip balm). She has also led workshops on cooking seasonally as well as fermenting and canning.
The philosophy and practice of agrarian living – i.e. living seasonally in a regional food system – is the best way to summarize Rabbi Cohen Kiener’s approach.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Montgomery County, MD
Location availability: DC metro; up to an hour from MoCo
Scheduling availability: Flexible, with advanced planning
Rabbi Andrea Cohen Kieneris a social entrepreneur and thought leader in Jewish culture and practice, intergroup relations and conflict transformation. After a career in interfaith environmental activism as the founding director of Connecticut’s Interfaith Power and Light, Andrea moved to an intentional community in the Finger Lakes region to study and practice food production and seasonal living. Andrea has recently relocated to the Greater Washington area to continue to learn and teach about local food systems.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

MJ Crom
Programs offered: how-to workshop
Program description: As a part of MJ’s work with the Capital Area Food Bank, MJ offers gardening workshops to organizations interested in growing produce to distribute to those in need. MJ currently teaches workshops on gardening basics, how to get the most bang for your buck in a garden, gardening with kids, and container gardening. MJ is developing workshops on composting, rainwater harvest, and food preservation.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Takoma, Washington DC
Location availability: DC area. Metro accessible, or within 7-8 miles of Takoma, DC.
Scheduling availability: any time with proper notice
MJ Crom grew up in Memphis, TN, attending a Methodist church, and came to DC in 2002. She fell in love with the commitment to justice – both social and environmental – of so many in this city. She sees widespread urban gardening as a major piece of the solution to many of society’s problems – from hunger, to health, to climate change.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date)
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

William D. Dinges
Religious Tradition: Catholic
Program Description: Addresses adult education groups on a variety of issues relating to religion and ecology, as he has done in Catholic parish settings for years
Program Suitable for: any congregation
Location Availability: DC metro area
William D. Dinges is a professor of religion and culture in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, where he has taught a course on Religion and Ecology for the past 23 years.  He is also a member of the Washington Archdiocesan Environmental Outreach Committee and the St. John the Baptist (Silver Spring) Eco-Ministry group. William has been active in the Chesapeake Covenant Communities group and various environmental initiatives at Catholic University.  He is a native western Kansan, a certified Master Composter, and a serious gardener.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb
Religious Tradition: Jewish (Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation)
Programs offered: guest sermon, how-to workshop or class
Program description: Addresses Jewish environmental education and activism; greening congregations (including solar panels, organic gardens, and Sacred Grounds Initiative; and/or interfaith approaches to Creation care.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Washington, DC
Location availability: Bethesda or NW DC have best odds for availability; can occasionally travel further afield, to most anywhere in the metro area
Scheduling availability: M-F during the day preferred; weeknights and Sabbath (Saturday) more difficult.
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb’s full-time commitments are as Rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation (an EPA Energy Star congregation in Bethesda Maryland), and as family with Minna, Sara, and Gilad. He is also the immediate past Chair of the Steering Committee of Interfaith Power & Light (MD•DC•NoVA), among other religious environmental volunteer efforts, including serving on the steering committees of Religious Witness for the Earth and the national Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life. Besides much eco-Jewish research and writing, he received a 2009 Doctor of Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary, with a thesis on religion and ecology.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date), all of which goes to IPL (MD•DC•NoVA).
To schedule: program@gwipl.org
Has spoken at: Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network, InterFaith Conference assembly meeting, All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church, All Souls UU Church, Bethesda United Church of Christ, Saint Camillus Catholic Church, Temple Beth Ami, Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning, Tar Sands Action Interfaith Prayer Vigil, Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, Interfaith Power and Light national conference

Rev. Terence Ellen
Religious Tradition: Unitarian Universalist
Programs offered: guest sermon, youth program, adult education, how-to workshop
Program description: As the Executive Director of Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice and a board member of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network — which Bill McKibben has called the best regional environmental advocacy organization in the US — Rev. Ellen can speak to the moral imperative for religious communities to address climate warming. Further, he can present the wonderful possibility of using one of the greatest wind-power resources on the planet, just off our shore, to move not only this area, but the whole US, toward sustainable energy and so move the U.S. toward being a leader, rather than an obstructer, of the whole planet in meeting this, the greatest moral issue of our time.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Baltimore, Maryland
Location availability: Flexible
Scheduling availability: Flexible
Rev. Terence Ellen has been a Unitarian Universalist minister for 25 years, serving mostly in parish settings until the last five years in a social justice ministry. He was previously an insulation installer in New England during the initial oil embargo days of the 1970′s, where he learned the importance of energy usage as a moral issue. Convinced by Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme of the primary religious importance of the preservation of the Earth as we have known it, and by Bill McKibben, James Hansen, Mike Tidwell, and others of the threat of global warming to ourselves, other species, and all future generations, Rev. Ellen sees the response of religious communities to this threat as the primary work given to us as members of this sacred wider community of which we have the supreme privilege of being a part.
To schedule: program@gwipl.org
Has spoken at: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg

Rebecca Elliott
Religious Tradition: Christian
Programs offered: guest sermon, youth program, adult education, how-to workshop
Program description: All spiritual traditions call on us to care for those in need. As climate change brings conflict, disease, and hunger to the poorest people, we believers face pressing ethical questions. A short series of workshops for adults or children presents the who, how, and why of climate change. The workshops use props and interactive games to make the science clear. Honest discussions about our own actions and values, including the creation of a personalized carbon tracker for participants, bring viable next steps to light..
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Falls Church, VA and Shaw, DC
Location availability: Metro DC area
Scheduling availability:
Rebecca Elliott is the former managing director of Live Green, a TEDx speaker, and the recipient of an Ashoka ChangeMaker Award. She is a member of the leadership team of DC EcoWomen, a congregant at New Community Church, and has presented workshops and sermons on social justice and climate change to congregations around DC.
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Peter Ensign
Programs offered: how-to workshop
Program description: Learn about green infrastructure and low impact development technologies and their benefits. Participate in a hands-on demonstration by assembling a green roof model. Look at options for rain gardens, rain barrels and green roofs on your building site.
Program suitable for: any congregation
Lives in: Washington, DC
Location availability: DC, Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties
Scheduling availability: Flexible
Peter Ensign is Executive Director of DC Greenworks, a 501c3 non-profit that is leading the growth of a green industry that improves the environmental health of our communities in DC and across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed by restoring and renewing waterways, habitats, and communities – unlocking long-term economic opportunities for the region and its inhabitants.
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Rev. Mary Gaut
Religious Tradition: Christian/Presbyterian
Program types: guest sermon, adult education
Program description: Rev. Mary is able to do presentations in a variety of formats (adult discussions, sermons, speaking) to help people understand the urgency of addressing environmental issues from an ethical/moral/faith based perspective. Mary uses scientific data and insights to explain the nature of the issues but also believes that science alone will not change hearts and behaviors. Rev. Mary is most eager to address issues of climate change but have also addressed watershed issues, specifically storm water fees and why controlling run off is essential. Rev. Mary has several sermons that address our responsibility from Biblical and theological perspectives including one titled: From Tree Huggers to Earth Lovers.
Lives in: Towson, MD
Location availability: I would prefer the greater Baltimore metro area but, scheduling permitted, go to the DC or Annapolis area.
Scheduling availability: Sunday availability is limited. I will consider opportunities on a case by case basis.
Rev. Mary Gaut is an ordained minister of 32 years in the PCUSA having received her divinity degree from Princeton Seminary in 1981. She also hold degrees in Journalism and Psychology. She is a pastor of Maryland Presbyterian Church, which has received denominational and ecumenical recognition for its environmental stewardship focus. She is a member of the 2014 fellowship class of GreenFaith, which is an interfaith and international organization committed to addressing environmental issues from a faith based perspective.
Suggested honorarium: $150 (including $50 deposit to confirm date)
To schedule: program@gwipl.org

Miriam Glaser

Programs offered: youth program, adult education, how-to workshop
Program description: Miriam is a trained environmental educator and science teacher and is able to offer environmentally themed programming for students and adults. She can focus on sustainable living and greening homes.
Program suitable for: Jewish (any denomination)
Lives in: Baltimore, MD
Location availability: Within 30 miles of Baltimore
Scheduling availability: Any time
Miriam Glaser has a background in environmental education and science education. She has worked in both private schools and informal outdoor education centers. She is currently the Director of Community Sustainability for the Baltimore Jewish Community helping Jewish day schools, synagogues, and other institutions in the Baltimore are with their greening and sustainability efforts. She was raised in a Conservative Jewish household and has lived in Israel. Sugg