Pando Days ’25/26 is on track to create uproar in higher ed this year, giving faculty and students the framework and resources they need to build a different future. Read more about the Pando Days program series, now in its sixth 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 750 students producing 73 real-world projects implementing visionary change. Pando Days schools and projects come from all 5 Supervisorial Districts in the County, and beyond — with the ’25/26 season offering enrollment opportunities to schools from across the country.
Pando Days ‘25/26 spans the whole of the school year — fall of 2025 through spring of ’26.
Review previous Pando Days projects. See our impact.
How it works
The Pando Days season launches in the summer 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 2025-26 courses, studios, or labs in the Pando Days program. The aim: create pandomonium with real-world, street-tested projects that will shake up the status quo and create a new way of living that’s more ecological, just, and democratic.
We’re open to projects that speak to sustainability in the broadest sense, but are giving special spotlight attention this year (as we did last) to the topic of water — including special resources such as field trips and advisory support to projects focused in this way.
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. Because of the generosity of our sponsors, Pando programs are offered 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 ’25/26 events and resources
The Pando Days calendar launches in the summer with an enrollment period that extends to mid-December to accommodate Pando Days classes over the fall, winter, and spring terms.
Educational Materials
Fall and Spring 2025/26
Pando Days Consultants
Fall and Spring 2025/26
Pando Days Premieres
December, April – June
Pando Awards
October, 2026
Pando Days Advisory Council
Rita Kampalath and Gary Gero, Key Advisors
Advisory Council: CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer) Strategic Taskforce members Heidrun Mumper-Drumm (past 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 — Assistant Vice President for Facilities Operations and Services, Caltech; Cassie Rauser — Grand Challenge at UCLA; Andy Shrader — Environmental Affairs, consulting; Mark Spears — Director, Sustainable Business Practices, Walt Disney Consumer Products (ret).
Related programs
Pando Days ’24/25
2024/25 Season
Pando Days is a program in higher ed that brings together educators from the arts, humanities, sciences, and communications to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing 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 ’25/26 season made possible in part by the support of our generous partners:
And by the generosity of the following individuals: John Buchanan, Jill Apperson, Andrew Tobias, Christine Johnson, Hope Hendricks-Bacon and Ed Bacon, Jay Farbstein and Bonnie Berman, Stephanie Landregan, Marcela Oliva, Rebecca Schmitt, Elizabeth Thompson, Pamela Brief, Tom Rau.