For All Generations: Shaping Our Future

The Opening Address is presented by The Akwesasne Freedom School, a sovereign Mohawk immersion institution dedicated to preserving the language and culture that colonization sought to erase. The Opening Address (Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen) is the central prayer of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy). It expresses gratitude for life and the natural world, opening and closing all social and religious gatherings. Recited daily at sunrise, it gives thanks and acknowledgment for Mother Earth and all she provides: water, fruit, trees, birds, medicine and more.

Roots explores how in the Dominican Republic, baseball is more than just a sport — it’s a way of life. Every child dreams of playing in the “big leagues,” and nearly every adult knows someone who has. However, as the nation’s passion for baseball flourishes, its natural environment is under threat from rapid development. Essential mangroves, which provide vital ecological benefits, are being destroyed to make way for new infrastructure. A new initiative aims to ignite a nationwide passion for environmental conservation through the country’s love for baseball.

My Grandmother's Sketchbook is a documentary short showcasing the creative persistence and grit of filmmaker Max Romey as he retraces the footsteps of his late grandmother and artist, Lucretia Leonard Romey, with the help of the Mountainfilm community.

Carlos Fernández is the State Director for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. Carlos joined TNC’s Colorado Chapter in January 2015 and leads a staff of more than 60 employees. Carlos and his team recently developed an ambitious five-year strategic plan to tackle Colorado’s most pressing environmental challenges and address the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Prior to taking on the role of Colorado State Director, Carlos served as TNC's Southern Andes Conservation Program Strategies Manager, based in Bariloche, Argentina.

Ernest House Jr. is an enrolled member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado, and a leader in Native American affairs. He served as Executive Director of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA) for 12 years, fostering communication between Colorado’s tribal nations and state agencies, while maintaining government-to-government relations under Governors Owens, Ritter, and Hickenlooper. Currently, as Senior Policy Director and Director for the Center for Tribal and Indigenous Engagement at the Keystone Policy Center, he focuses on tribal consultation, energy, conservation, healthcare, natural resources, and cultural resource management. Ernest is a Gates Family Foundation and German Marshall Memorial Fellow, and serves on various boards, including The Gates Family Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, National Western Center Authority, and the Telluride Institute. He is the son of the late Ernest House, Sr., a long-time tribal leader, and great-grandson of Chief Jack House, the last hereditary chief of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.

Cristin Carlin is the Marketing and Communications Manager for the North America Activation & Integration team at the Nature Conservancy, where she leads visual storytelling efforts that connect audiences to conservation through film and immersive media. In this role, she produces several short‑form documentary films each year in support of fundraising and engagement campaigns, translating complex environmental work into clear, compelling stories. She also leads TNC’s virtual reality program, expanding the organization’s use of immersive storytelling as a conservation and engagement tool. Cristin’s background spans documentary, television, and live production, and she is an Emmy‑nominated producer with experience producing award‑recognized films and broadcasts. Her career also includes post‑production work at Showtime, contributing to major network productions, and supporting film festivals including Sundance, Cannes, and Tribeca. She grew up in Newtown, Connecticut, earned a BS in Cinema and Photography and a BA in Archaeology from Ithaca College, and currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Chris Hawkins is the Colorado Cities Program Director for The Nature Conservancy.  He enjoys working along the Front Range to help make our cities more resilient. Prior to this role, he was a member of the Chief Conservation Office and Global Cities team at The Nature Conservancy, supporting organization-wide initiatives to improve conservation outcomes and leading the development of the Urban Water strategy.

Before joining TNC in 2014, Chris spent six years in the New York City Government, including time with the New York City Department of Education Office of Charter Schools, Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and four years at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the city’s drinking water and wastewater utility.