SitemapKent State East Liverpool is preparing for its 13th annual Earth Day Environmental Justice Conference to be held April 25, beginning at 8 a.m. in the Slak Shak in Purinton Hall.
This year’s event features four speakers and honors the late Dr. Roxanne Burns, a biology professor on the East Liverpool campus who helped organize the first Earth Day event here in 2002.
This year’s speakers include Ian Beniston, Jack Daugherty and James “Big Jim” London, all from Youngstown, who will present together in the morning; and Brad Melzer of Oberlin, Ohio, speaking in the afternoon.
Beniston is the executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. (YNDC) and provides urban planning and neighborhood development in the private, non-profit and public sectors. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Youngstown State University and a master’s of city and regional planning from the Ohio State University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and studied the European approach to reinventing older cities at the Technical University of Dresden in Dresden, Germany.
Beniston and his partners at the YNDC were recognized for their efforts to restore Youngstown neighborhoods through strategies to curb population decline, improve neighborhood safety and increase community pride.
Daugherty is the neighborhood stabilization director for the YNDC, leading a team of professionals in implementing and planning neighborhood stabilization programming. He also leads the pursuit of grant funding and develops new strategic initiatives.
Daugherty was born and raised in Youngstown and, most recently, worked in Buffalo, N.Y., on a HUD Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan. He earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in geography and sociology from SUNY Buffalo, as well as a master’s of urban planning.
London is the founder, president and driving force behind the Idora Neighborhood Association in Youngstown, a nonprofit organization formed in 2007. Intent on starting an association hailed by civic leaders as a model for other groups in Youngstown, London focused his energy on the INA and organizations under its umbrella, all staffed by volunteers.
Over the years, the association received generous grants to supports its efforts and its impact has been extraordinary. The group worked with various organizations on several rehabilitation and beautification projects and London is a “grassroots leadership model” who has helped others make positive changes in their neighborhoods and advocate positive change through determination. He is regarded as a positive influence and a major community hero.
Aside from his work with the association, he is the leader of the award-winning Idora Wildcats 4H Club, which has enriched the lives of dozens of at-risk neighborhood youth by building strong connections between youth and community. His efforts have inspired a citywide movement to take action against blight and crime at the grassroots level.
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