A lawyer, former Conservation Law Foundation president and author of “Harness the Sun: America’s Quest for a Solar-Powered Future,” Philip Warburg offers a Harward Center Civic Forum presentation on Nov. 14.

Philip Warburg, author and past president of the Conservation Law Foundation, gives a talk titled Harness the Sun: America’s Quest for a Solar-Powered Future in ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College’s final Civic Forum series event for 2015.

Presented by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, this event is open to the public at no cost and takes place at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave. For more information, please contact 207-786-6202.

Warburg’s ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ talk shares a title with his new book, an examination of solar energy prospects and technology. His work on energy issues dates back to the summer of 1973, when he staffed one of the nation’s first challenges to nuclear power in Plymouth, Mass.

After graduating from Harvard College in 1978, Warburg joined the staff of U.S. Sen. Charles Percy, where he pioneered legislation to promote renewable energy. Later, after graduating from Harvard Law School, Warburg worked in environmental issues in the U.S. and the Middle East, where his achievements included a stint as head of Israel’s leading environmental advocacy group.

In 2003 Warburg returned to New England and became president of the Conservation Law Foundation, the region’s oldest and largest environmental watchdog group.

There, he found himself in the midst of one of America’s most contentious wind farm siting battles — over the proposed Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound. That experience informed his book Harvest the Wind: America’s Journey to Jobs, Energy Independence, and Climate Stability (Beacon Press, 2012).

Warburg’s Harness the Sun, published in September by Beacon, was described as “the definitive guide to America’s solar transformation” by retired U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman, former chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College’s Civic Forum Series invites audiences to contemplate civic, political and policy issues significant to Maine and beyond.

The series is produced by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ office that supports students, faculty and staff in realizing the college’s civic mission through partnerships that connect the college and the community in mutually beneficial and transformative ways.

Becca Stevens is the founder of Thistle Farms.

“I’ve known Becca Stevens for almost 30 years, and she continues to amaze me,” says Darby Ray.

“She is a phenomenally brave and talented woman — both a visionary and a down-to-earth practitioner. She is also a fantastic speaker,” says Ray, director of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ Harward Center for Community Partnerships, which presents a talk by Stevens this week.

Founder of Thistle Farms, a social enterprise for women who have survived prostitution, trafficking and addiction, Stevens speaks at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

An author, popular speaker and Episcopal priest, Thistle Farms founder Stevens offers the talk Burning Desire: Our Longing for Justice and Hope for Healing in a Civic Forum sponsored by the Harward Center. Her appearance is part of a series of events she’s offering in Maine.

The event is open to the public at no cost. Thistle Farms personal care products will be offered for sale. For more information, please call 207-786-6202.

Stevens will talk about her work with Thistle Farms, located in Nashville, and its growth into a movement for women’s freedom. Two women who work at Thistle Farms will join Stevens in discussing the program.

Stevens will also consider economic empowerment as critical to healing and will challenge her audience to live in harmony with the deepest human desire to love one another well.

Stevens was featured in the 2015 PBS documentary A Path Appears and has been featured by The New York Times, ABC World News, National Public Radio and CNN. She is the author of numerous books, including this year’s Letters from the Farm: A Simple Path for a Deeper Spiritual Life (Morehouse Publishing), as well as .

She was named by the White House as one of 15 Champions of Change for violence against women in 2011; and was named 2014 Humanitarian of the Year by the Small Business Council of America.

Thistle Farms stands for the truth that, in the end, love is the most powerful force for change in the world. The program employs more than 50 survivors through social enterprises that include a natural body care company, Thistle Stop Cafe, a paper and sewing studio, and a global marketplace called Shared Trade.

Started in 1997 by Stevens under the name Magdalene, Thistle Farms includes a two-year residential program and advocacy services for up to 700 women yearly.

The Civic Forum Series at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ continues with four of the nation’s leading social entrepreneurs, including a co-founder of the fair-trade coffee importer Equal Exchange, discussing their work at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

Sponsored by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the Civic Forum Series invites audiences to contemplate civic, political and policy issues significant to Maine and beyond. Civic Forum events are open to the public at no cost. For more information, please call 207-786-6202.

The social entrepreneurs in the Oct. 24 panel:

Peter Murray is the co-founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based , dedicated to developing the next generation of progressive political leaders. He also founded three nonprofit organizations promoting economic mobility for low-income people.

Bethany Robertson is the co-founder and former executive director of , whose mission is to help engaged couples bring a charitable focus to their marriage. The organization has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, and Modern Bride, amongst other publications.

Jonathan Rosenthal of Watertown, Mass., is a co-founder of , North America’s first fair trade fruit company, and of , the first U.S. fair trade coffee company. He is now a principal in , a firm that provides innovative consulting services to mission-driven organizations.

Elizabeth Stefanski is the chief market maker of of Providence, R.I., an organization dedicated to transforming society’s most intractable systems through forward-thinking collaboration. She is also a consultant for the business-strategy firm Bazaar Strategies.

Dr. William Hsiao, an economist at the Harvard School of Public Health and architect of Taiwan’s universal healthcare system, offers the presentation Taiwan’s Health Reforms: Lessons for the U.S. and Maine at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

The talk is part of the Civic Forum series at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, presented by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ office that coordinates projects linking the college and community, the talks are open to the public at no charge. For more information, please contact 207-786-6202 or this kcloutie@bates.edu.

An international expert on health care finance, Hsaio is the K.T. Li Professor of Economics in the Program in Health Care Financing at Harvard. He served as principal adviser to Taiwan’s government as that country reformed its healthcare system in the 1990s. At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, he will share his experiences in Taiwan and the lessons they hold for the U.S. as the nation works to implement statewide and national healthcare reform law.

Hsaio is the co-author of Getting Health Reform Right (Oxford University Press, 2004). While in Maine, Hsiao will testify before the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Healthcare Reform Opportunities and Implementation. He has been engaged by Vermont’s legislature to design options for a state healthcare system that includes a single-payer option.

Civic Forum presentations explore civic, political and policy issues significant to the local community, Maine and beyond. They often feature panels of local and national experts and lively question and answer sessions. Most of the events are broadcast on Maine Public Radio’s “Speaking in Maine” series.

Exploring topics of broad interest, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College’s Civic Forum series begins in October with a panel discussion on education reform, followed by a presentation by an expert on health care finance.

In a discussion titled Wrestling with School Reform in Maine: National Strategies, Local Realities, national and regional education experts examine different approaches to reform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

The following week, Dr. William Hsiao, an economist at the Harvard School of Public Health and architect of Taiwan’s universal healthcare system, offers the presentation Taiwan’s Health Reforms: Lessons for the U.S. and Maine at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, also in Muskie Archives.

Presented by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College office that coordinates projects linking the college and community, the talks are open to the public at no charge. For more information, please contact 207-786-6202 or this kcloutie@bates.edu.

Educational reform looks different to different actors — communities, school staff, district administrators, state and federal officials. The educational reform panel is designed to give the public an understanding of these different perspectives and how they play out in our local community and in Maine.

The public will also have the opportunity to learn about different strategies that have been used elsewhere to bring communities into the process of reforming their educational systems. The panel will involve presentations and an open discussion with people who will offer different perspectives on educational reform in our community, in Maine and beyond.

Presented in conjunction with the education department at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, the education panelists are Glenn Cummings, deputy assistant secretary, U.S. Department of Education; Norm Fruchter, senior policy analyst at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University; Leon Levesque, superintendent of the Lewiston public school system; and Joan Macri, associate director of LearningWorks at Lewiston-Auburn College, University of Southern Maine.

An international expert on health care finance, Hsaio is the K.T. Li Professor of Economics in the Program in Health Care Financing at Harvard. He served as principal adviser to Taiwan’s government as that country reformed its healthcare system in the 1990s. At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, he will share his experiences in Taiwan and the lessons they hold for the U.S. as the nation works to implement statewide and national healthcare reform law.

Hsaio is the co-author of Getting Health Reform Right (Oxford University Press, 2004). While in Maine, Hsiao will testify before the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Healthcare Reform Opportunities and Implementation. He has been engaged by Vermont’s legislature to design options for a state healthcare system that includes a single-payer option.

Civic Forum presentations explore civic, political and policy issues significant to the local community, Maine and beyond. They often feature panels of local and national experts and lively question and answer sessions. Most of the events are broadcast on Maine Public Radio’s “Speaking in Maine” series.

“This year’s Civic Forum series reflects a range of issues that we hope will be of interest to the community at large,” says Peggy Rotundo, director of strategic and policy initiatives at the Harward Center. “Our presenters bring a wealth of knowledge and diverse perspectives, which we are eager to share with everyone.”

What will happen to the movement for civic engagement after the election?  Can it change the ways citizens engage their government? 

Come hear a nationally-known scholar and activist discuss the current movement for civic engagement and the stakes of the election for democratic renewal. Peter Levine is director of The Center For Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Tufts University.

This lecture is the first installment in the Harward Center for Community Partnerships’ series “The Civic Forum: Engaged Citizenship and the Election.”

The Harward Center for Community Partnerships at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College kicks off its “Civic Forum on Reimagining Maine in the 21st Century” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave., with a panel titled “Poverty and the Two Maines.”

Four panelists will share their perspectives and discuss means of addressing the problem of poverty in the state. Panelists include Hannah Pingree, House majority leader, Maine Legislature; Sarah Standiford, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ class of 1997 and executive director, Maine Women’s Lobby; Naomi Schalit, opinion page editor, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel; and Eric Smith, Congregational outreach coordinator, Maine Council of Churches.

The Harward Center’s civic forum series explores civic, political and policy issues of significance to the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community, Maine and beyond. Additional panels this academic year include “Reimagining Globalism: Maine in the World’s Economy” on Jan. 16, 2008, and “Re-Imagining the North Woods: The Changing Environment of Maine” on Feb. 27.

All of these events are free and open to the public. Please contact the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College at 207-786-6202 for more information.

The Harward Center leads ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ efforts in community involvement, including programs in service-learning, community volunteerism and environmental stewardship. The center works with community partners to meet community needs and, in the process, to integrate civic engagement with the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ educational experience.