Klean Energy Kulture Brings Southern Culture and Community Power to Atlanta Climate Week
Atlanta nonprofit to lead conversation on the cultural wealth, creativity, and community power shaping the South’s climate future
ATLANTA, GA — October 2026 — As Atlanta prepares to host its inaugural Climate Week, Klean Energy Kulture (KEK) is bringing an essential perspective to the climate conversation: the American South is not simply a region facing climate challenges—it is a region rich with the people, culture, creativity, and community knowledge needed to build solutions.
On Wednesday, October 14 at noon, Klean Energy Kulture will host a special Climate Week panel featuring Corey Dennard, President and CEO of Klean Energy Kulture; Tinice Boudreaux, CEO of Feed the Second Line; and Marcus Hopkins-Turner, Co-Founder of BLACT.
The conversation will examine the future of climate action in the South through a different lens—one that recognizes the region’s cultural wealth and the power of communities that have historically been left out of environmental and sustainability conversations.
“The South has never been short on innovation, creativity, or community leadership. What we need is to recognize those assets as part of our climate infrastructure—and invest in the people who have been creating solutions all along.”
— Corey Dennard, President & CEO, Klean Energy Kulture
Reframing the Southern Climate Story
The American South is often defined by its challenges: environmental vulnerability, economic inequality, infrastructure gaps, and generations of historic disinvestment.
But there is another story.
It is the story of Black and Brown entrepreneurs building businesses, artists shaping culture, organizers mobilizing communities, chefs feeding their neighborhoods, and local leaders developing solutions with the resources they have available.
It is a story of resilience—but also one of innovation, ownership, creativity, and power.
Klean Energy Kulture believes those assets must be central to the clean energy transition.
Climate action cannot simply be about deploying new technologies or building new infrastructure. It must also be about who has access to opportunity, who owns the solutions, who benefits from investment, and whose knowledge is valued.
That is why Klean Energy Kulture is using Climate Week to elevate a broader vision for the South—one where culture and climate are not separate conversations, but interconnected forces for community transformation.
Culture Is Climate Infrastructure
Through its work connecting clean energy, arts, culture, entrepreneurship, and community development, Klean Energy Kulture is helping create pathways for communities traditionally excluded from sustainability conversations to participate in—and lead—the clean energy economy.
The October 14 panel will explore questions including:
What can the rest of the country learn from the South’s community-driven innovation?
How can culture become a catalyst for climate action?
What role can Black and Brown entrepreneurs play in building the clean energy economy?
How do we move communities from being the recipients of climate solutions to being owners and leaders of those solutions?
What would it look like to invest in the South’s cultural and entrepreneurial assets as climate infrastructure?
For Klean Energy Kulture, the answer begins with changing the narrative.
The South is not waiting to be saved. The South is already creating.
Atlanta’s inaugural Climate Week provides an opportunity to listen, learn, and amplify those stories—and to imagine what becomes possible when Southern creativity and community power are treated as essential to the climate movement.
Join the Conversation
Wednesday, October 14 | 12:00 PM
Register for FREE https://luma.com/18dkvmj6
Join Klean Energy Kulture, Corey Dennard, Tinice Boudreaux, and Marcus Hopkins-Turner for a conversation about culture, climate, creativity, and the future of the American South.
Follow Klean Energy Kulture for Climate Week updates, event details, and opportunities to join the conversation.
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