On May 8th I attended the Women in Conservation Event held in the Union to fulfill my non-IA requirement. This event focused on the contributions and successes of women in the field of environmental science across the nation and globe, as well as the steps young women today can take to become a part of the movement. There were three main speakers during the event. Firstly, there was Michelle DePass, whose main accomplishments are working in the EPA during the Obama administration, helping with international environmental treaty negotiations, and creating the Office of International and Tribal Affairs. She talked about the intersection between social justice and environmental science, and how there cannot be true freedom within any country if the environment is not at the forefront of our public policy and discussion. She also mentioned how her spark to become an activist began when she learned that her home country of Jamaica had been badly contaminated with garbage, and she sought to restore it. The second speaker was Frances Beinecke, who is the former president of the Natural Resource Defense Council. During her time as the president of the NRDC, she helped in making a staff in China to create stronger environmental policy within the country. She was also appointed by President Obama to help with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. She talked about how collaborative efforts led by women have been extremely successful in beginning and sustaining environmental efforts, and discussed many modern influential women such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg, who is combating climate change in her home country of Sweden, and many others. The third woman who spoke was Heather Taylor-Miesle, who is located in Ohio. She works for the Ohio Environmental Council and has twenty years of experience in advocating for environmental change through working with large companies on becoming more sustainable and holding key positions in the NRDC and on Capitol Hill. She led much of the discussion between the three of them and asked the advice of both Michelle DePass and Frances Beinecke. Many common themes during the evening centered around a need for young people to become involved in environmental and sustainability initiatives, and how the unique mindset and skills of women often lead to a very open and collaborative environment that allows for a great deal of change within the community. DePass especially urged environmentally-driven people to begin their work in the government, so they can understand the processes needed to get initiatives working in communities and gain expertise in their respective field. As a woman myself, it was inspiring to see the passion and determination these female leaders had for their work, and how they had used their strengths to aid in something much larger than themselves. It was also incredible to learn all of the small ways I can impact and advocate for the environment, and what steps I could take to become a strong female leader in an often male-dominated world.