EcoAction Arlington’s 45th Anniversary Celebration
Creating a Connected Community
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Pre-event cocktail reception at 6:30
Event from 7-9 p.m.
The Museum of Contemporary Art
EcoAction Arlington’s Fifth Annual EcoExtravaganza highlighted the meaning of our mission: Everyone in Arlington is collectively engaged in creating a sustainable community by bringing community members and leaders, donors, volunteers, sponsors, elected officials, and business representatives together to demonstrate the power of our connected community’s commitment to averting the climate crisis.
It was a spectacular evening at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, where we celebrated forty-five years of environmental work and renewed our ongoing commitment to engage, advocate, and act to create a sustainable environment.
As guests arrived, they enjoyed passed libations and hors d’oeuvres from Chaia Tacos, where they believe in celebrating the authenticity of food and people and being in tune with the environment. Attendees mingled and connected in spaces throughout the museum where they listened to the melodic jazz sounds of the Arlington Allstars Jazz Combo, comprised of incredibly talented students from Arlington high schools, including H-B Woodlawn, Washington Liberty, and Wakefield; explored their creative talents at a collaborative drop-in art workshop with Molly McCracken, and bid on their favorite auction items.
EcoAction Arlington Board Chair Jenn Yates kicked off our program by inviting Virginia Delegate Alfonso Lopez, EcoAction Arlington Executive Director Elenor Hodges, and Senior Manager of Community Engagement for our presenting sponsor Amazon, Patrick Phillippi, to offer welcome remarks. Our featured presentations from the Head of Service Design, Strategic Initiatives for The Rounds, Evan Abel, and the Mid-Atlantic program officer for The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, Kendyl Crawley Crawford, enlightened us with innovative strategies that advance sustainability and thought-provoking perspectives on our responsibility to work collectively to build a better, healthier world. Nothing demonstrated the meaning of those words more than Mike Hemminger from the NAACP, who closed the program with a generous donation of $60,000 to support our Tree Canopy Equity Program.
Our Journey
Creating a Connected Community in 2023
In celebration of EcoAction Arlington’s 45th anniversary in May 2023 we are pleased to highlight our community outreach events through this map. Follow our journey and join us in making connections around our vision: Everyone in Arlington is collectively engaged in creating a sustainable community. Register for all of our events at ecoactionarlington.org/events.
Connect With Us
You won’t want to miss the fun!
Date: Thursday, May 18 | PreReception at 6:30 | Event 7-9 | Location: MoCAA
No black ties or tails are required; it’s not a formal affair. Just wear your favorite, festive cocktail attire or dress with flair.
Join us for an enjoyable evening connecting with members of our community.
Help us celebrate forty-five years of working towards a sustainable community. The Fifth Annual EcoExtravaganza will pay tribute to EcoAction Arlington’s history, recognizing our past work with a vision toward the future serving as stewards of the air, land, and water for current and future generations.
Be inspired as you join us, our volunteers, supporters, and community partners in our ongoing mission to advocate, educate, and act to create a sustainable community by improving our natural environment, encouraging environmentally-friendly behaviors, ensuring environmental justice, and addressing the climate crisis.
Festivities include local delicacies – silent auction – speakers – toasts – and Three Cheers for EcoAction Arlington and our community partners as we celebrate our vision of everyone in Arlington collectively engaged in creating a sustainable community.
Questions? Contact Elenor Hodges at (703) 228-6427 or elenor@elenoroactionarlington.org
Speakers
Kendyl Crawley Crawford,
Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund Mid-Atlantic Program Officer
Kendyl Crawley Crawford, Mid-Atlantic Program Officer at the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, a foundation using education and advocacy to build a movement to stop climate change and create an equitable energy future. She also serves on the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, the Virginia Clean Energy Advisory Board, the Virginia Conservation Network Board, the Virginia Interfaith Power & Light Board, and the Virginia Community Rights Network Advisory Council. Kendyl has a bachelor’s degree in marine and environmental science, a master’s in environment, science, and society from University College London, which she attended on the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, and a master’s in nonprofit studies from the University of Richmond School of Professional and Continuing Studies.
UPDATE: Evan Abel,
The Rounds Head of Service Design, Strategic Initiatives
Evan Abel is a consumer-focused innovator with over 15 years’ experience building novel products, services, and business models. He currently leads service design and sustainability at The Rounds, a modern-day milkman model for zero-waste delivery of household essentials. Previously, Evan led circular economy initiatives at Walmart, including Reuse and Beyond the Bag. Evan co-founded Frank, a peer-to-peer money lending platform grounded in behavioral economics principles. He also co-founded Friends of Rockaway, a disaster-relief nonprofit after Superstorm Sandy. Additionally, Evan teaches a product design and development course as an adjunct professor at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering. Evan is an avid bicycle-commuter, novice surfer, and proud Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Master Composter.
Collaborative Art Workshop
Weaving Together a Connected Community
At this year’s EcoExtravaganza, MoCA Arlington will be offering a fun and collaborative drop-in art workshop to attendees. Participants will create an abstract landscape on paper with tempera paint sticks. After the event, your pieces will be woven together by local artist Molly McCracken and assembled in a contemporary paper quilt as a finished piece highlighting the connections within our Eco Action Arlington community.
Molly McCracken
Molly McCracken is an Arlington, Virginia based artist, who works in mixed media collage, assemblage and acrylic painting. In her abstract, process-oriented art, Molly’s intention is to bring personally important issues to light in a way that is sensitive, visually appealing, potentially humorous, and thought provoking. Her inspiration springs from bold color, shape, joy, frustration, beauty and wonder. Find Molly at www.artistmolly.com and on Instagram @mollyfmccracken.
Music
The Arlington Allstars Jazz Combo plays straight ahead jazz for your listening pleasure. The group is primarily made up of students attending local Arlington High Schools including H-B Woodlawn, Washington Liberty and Wakefield.
Host and Honorary Committees
Honorary Committee
The Honorable Barbara A. Favola, Virginia State Senator
The Honorable Paul Ferguson, Clerk of the Circuit Court
The Honorable Patrick Hope, Virginia House of Delegates
The Honorable Takis Karantonis, Arlington County Board
The Honorable Alfonso Lopez, Virginia House of Delegates
Host Committee
Alex Chacaltana, Freedom Bank
Elizabeth Elee, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
The Honorable Jay Fisette, Arlington County Board member 1998-2007
David Forney, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Sampak Garg, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Eliza Gromada, EcoAction Arlington Student Board Member
Aisha Husain, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Angelo Ioffreda, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Ruth Ivory-Moore, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Joan and Tom Kelsch
Mike Lowe, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Jim Lyon, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Melody Mobley, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Levi Novey, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Andrea Reese, EcoAction ArlingtonBoard Member
Alan Rowsome
Joseph Testa, EcoAction ArlingtoBoard Member
Laura Vickers, EcoAction Arlington Board Member
Jenn Yates, EcoAction ArlingtonBoard President
EcoAction Arlington’s 45th Anniversary 2023 Sponsors
EcoAction Arlington thanks its generous sponsors for being part of this wonderful event.
Amazon
JBG Smith | Ferro & Ferro Graphic Communication
NorthWest Federal Credit Union | Freedom Bank | fc production
Getting to the Venue:
Orange & Silver Lines Virginia Square Station | Metrobus Line 24P / ART Line 41, 75 | Capital Bikeshare station Wilson Blvd at the Virginia Square Metro station
Parking
Limited on-site parking and street parking is available, as well as residential parking on the west and south sides of the grounds.
Accessibility
The Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington is fully ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible. Please use the elevator entrance on the parking lot side of the building.
Can’t Make it to the event, but still want to
support our mission?
All Donations made during our Earth Month Challenge, April 1-30, will be doubled!