Pando Days ’24/25 gives Southland colleges and universities the framework and resources they need to help implement regional sustainability plans. Read more about the Pando Days program series, now in its fifth season.
Pando Days brings educators together from across the arts, humanities, sciences, and trades to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the County — water, energy, food, housing, green space, biodiversity, jobs, equity, and more. And asks them to inspire each other. And their students. And Angelenos. And the world. With ingenious new solutions and plans.
Since the program’s founding on the Caltech campus in 2019, 25 colleges and universities have enrolled in the Pando Days program, with over 500 students producing 52 real-world projects implementing visionary change. Pando Days schools and projects come from all 5 Supervisorial Districts in the County, and beyond. See our impact.
The 2025 Pando Sustainability Awards will honor the projects from the Pando Days 2024/25 season at the Resnick Sustainability Institute at Caltech, Oct. 5, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
Spotlight water, power, and open call
Pando Days ‘24/25 spans the whole of the school year — fall 2024 to spring of 2025. Through the generosity of sponsors, it is throwing a spotlight on water- and power-based projects, with a bevy of supporting resources such as field trips and opening the doors to high-level experts who can advise on those projects that have a water- or power-focus.
Not all Pando Days ‘24/25 projects must be water- or power-related; there’s also an open call category for any project that responds to any of the goals of the LA County sustainability plan, including biodiversity, wellness, recycling, and much more.
But water and power are the areas where we’ll shine spotlight attention, and through the help of our partners on water, the Metropolitan Water District and LA County Sanitation Districts, and power, Clean Power Alliance and Calpine Energy Solutions, we will make content- and experience-based resources available across our region.
Spotlight challenges for the 2024/25 season:
Water
Power
Open call
How it works
The Pando Days season begins every year in the spring with outreach to fifty-some colleges, universities, and professional schools throughout the Southland.
Instructors from across departments and disciplines apply for the opportunity to enroll their 2024-25 courses, studios, or labs in the Pando Days program.
Pando Days projects may be instructor-led or student-led, developed in tight coordination with the needs of an NGO or developed in response to a college’s sustainability needs as prioritized by campus administration.
We provide a full curricular framework and a broad range of resources, including a Pando Fellowship opportunity for course instructors and honoraria of $1,500. The program is offered to participating institutions free of charge.
See Overview deck below for a full description of the program, timeline, and events. College and university instructors, see Instructor’s deck for additional information on curricular resources. Pando Days Subscribing Members, see Sponsor’s deck for information on how you can get involved advising and mentoring school teams.
Ready to apply? Go here.
*For a printable version of the Instructor’s deck, click here.
Pando Days ’24/25 events and resources
The Pando Days calendar launches in the spring with the opening of a six-week enrollment period, concentrates program effort over the fall and spring terms, and celebrates impact over the following spring.
Pando Days Launch
April 14, 2024, Caltech
Pando Days Blitz
September 21, 2024
Educational Materials
Fall and Spring 2024/25
Pando Days Consultants
Fall and Spring 2024/25
Pando Days Premieres
Ongoing
Pando Awards
October 5, 2025
Pando Days Advisory Council
Rita Kampalath and Gary Gero, Key Advisors
Advisory Council: CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer) Strategic Taskforce members Heidrun Mumper-Drumm (chair) — Professor & Director of Sustainability Initiatives, ArtCenter College of Design; Robyn Eason — Strategic Sustainability Advisor; Dan Joldzic — CEO, Alexandria Technology; Nurit Katz — CSO, UCLA; Dean Kubani — City of Santa Monica (ret.); Maribeth Larkin — Community Organizer, Sisters of Social Service; Pablo La Roche — Director, Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, Cal Poly Pomona; Emmanual “Cris” Liban — CSO, LA Metro; Marcela Oliva — Professor Architecture & Environmental Design, LA Trade Tech College; John Onderdonk — Senior VP, Agricultural Properies Wealth Management, Northern Trust; Cassie Rauser — Founder, MorphoStrategies; Andy Shrader — Environmental Affairs, consulting; Sandy Skees — EVP, Porter Novelli Global Lead, Purpose & Impact, Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Services; Mark Spears — Director, Sustainable Business Practices, Walt Disney Consumer Products (ret).
Related programs
Pando Days ’25/26
2025/26 Season
Southland colleges and universities come together to address some of the largest sustainability challenges in LA County.
Pando Days ’23
2023 Season
Pando Days ’23 brings together colleges and universities from across the Southland to solve local sustainability challenges.
Pando Days ’22
2022 Season
Pando Days ’22 brings 15 colleges and universities together to create a more sustainable region.
Pando Days ’21
2021 Season
Ten of the most creative college and university minds take on four challenges within the LA County sustainability plan.
Pando Days ’19/20
2019/20 Season
Southland colleges and universities come together with courses, studios, and labs to build County sustainability.
Selected blog posts
Thank you!
Pando Days is a collaboration with the CSO Taskforce for LA County with the ’24/25 season made possible in part by the support of our generous partners:
