Northwest DC is home to many dynamic, knowledgeable voices. Join us for NNV’s free Speaker Series, featuring engaging talks from local experts designed to inform and inspire.
Zero Waste Living: Aiming for Progress, not Perfection
Feeling eco-anxiety? What actions could you take today that would help solve the climate and waste crises? In this talk, we will cover the easy steps that busy people can take to reduce their carbon and waste footprint and live more sustainably. Drawing on the messages in her book, Zero Waste Living, the 80/20 Way, Stephanie Miller will discuss actions that fall within what she calls the “magic three”: focus on food, purge plastics and recycle right. You will leave the conversation feeling empowered to take action today and help others around you do the same.
Many of us feel powerless to solve the looming climate and waste crises. We have too much on our plates and may think these problems are better solved by governments and businesses. Zero Waste Living, the 80/20 Way unlocks the potential in each “too busy” individual to be a crucial part of the solution. Stephanie Miller combines her career focused on climate change with her own research and personal experience to show how a few, relatively easy lifestyle changes can create significant positive impact. Using the simplicity of the 80/20 rule, she shows us those things (the 20%) that we can do to make the biggest (80%) difference in reversing the climate and waste crises.
Stephanie J. Miller is the former Director of Climate Business at the World Bank Group and the author of Zero Waste Living, the 80/20 Way. She founded Zero Waste in DC where she reaches a wide audience through sustainability consultations, keynote presentations, and learning events. She is also the founder of DC Reduces, a grassroots initiative that helps businesses and consumers in the DC community reduce single-use packaging.
Echoes of Little Saigon: How One Immigrant Population Changed the DC Suburbs
Just over 50 years ago, the end of the Vietnam War sent refugees to safe havens across the globe, with many thousands settling in the United States with assistance from the U.S. military and refugee sponsors. These new arrivals created communities around the country, including a significant population in the northern Virginia suburbs, first in Arlington and later in Falls Church.
In Arlington’s “Little Saigon,” Vietnamese refugees forged livelihoods and support networks, determining how to become American while still holding onto what made them Vietnamese. One Vietnamese priest likened the challenge to “catching two fish with two hands.” Drawing on historical photos, oral history interviews, and other research, this program will examine the Vietnamese diaspora to the Washington, D.C., area, the development and preservation of Vietnamese enclaves like the ones in northern Virginia, the celebration of customs and cuisine, and more.
Kim O’Connell is a freelance journalist whose writing has appeared in national and regional publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Huffington Post Personal, AARP, Undark, National Parks Traveler, Washington Business Journal, Virginia Living, Arlington, and others. As the daughter of a Vietnamese immigrant and a white American father, Kim has made Vietnamese heritage and cuisine a particular focus of her work; she is the author of the booklet Echoes of Little Saigon: Vietnamese Immigration and the Changing Face of Arlington, Virginia, and wrote the text for a historical marker about Little Saigon in Arlington that was installed in 2025. Her website is www.kimaoconnell.com and she lives in Arlington.