The Adirondack Diversity Advisory Council (ADAC)’s 2016 Symposium, “Towards a More Diverse Adirondacks,” will be held this Saturday, August 13th at the SUNY ESF Adirondack Interpretive Center in Newcomb.

This year’s theme is the intersection of diversity, economics and social justice. The symposium will engage attendees with business and economic leaders from throughout the Adirondacks and New York State in a dialogue about vital ways in which this intersection can make life better for everyone in the Adirondacks.

The heart of the symposium will be a panel discussion featuring Adirondack business and economic leaders. Panelists include:

· David M. Kahn, Executive Director of the Adirondack Museum

· Kate Fish, Executive Director of the Adirondack North Country Association

· Scottie Ginn, ADAC Advisory Board member, Adirondack resident and Former Vice President and Diversity Advisor at IBM

· Don Papson, co-founder of the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association

Professor Wallace Ford will deliver a kickoff presentation. Ford is Chair of the Public Administration Department at Medgar Evers College, and has taught at Columbia University, New York’s School of Public Affairs, and others institutions. He has held positions ranging from Counsel to the New York State Assembly Committee on Banking to President of the State of New York Mortgage Agency. As the direct appointee of New York State Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo as well as New York City Mayor David Dinkins, he has also served as Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Commerce and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Business Services.

The keynote speech will be given by Aaron Mair, President of the National Sierra Club. Mair is the first African American to lead the United States’ largest environmental organization. Mair founded the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation, which was a member of the White House Council on Environmental Quality from 1998 to 2000. He also founded, served as board member, and lectured at the W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center in the Albany Capital region of New York. In 2000, Mair received an EPA Environmental Quality Award for clean-up of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the Hudson River. Mair also served as a board member at the New York League of Conservation Voters in 2000.

The Symposium will begin at 9 am with refreshments and coffee. The proceedings will kick off at 9:30 am and continue until 4 pm with a reception after. Lunch will be provided. The registration fee is $25. Attendees can register here, or at the door.

The SUNY ESF Adirondack Interpretive Center is located at 5922 Route 28N, in Newcomb.