On Saturday, November 22, Rye Country Day continued its commitment to sustainability on campus by hosting the 2nd Student Action Summit in the Cohen Center for the Creative Arts. Piloted with the Institute for Global Learning in 2024-25,  this year’s summit was guided by the theme “Sustainability and Policy for a Collaborative Future.” The summit featured a full day of speakers and breakout sessions with students and faculty from Holy Child, French American School, Montclair Kimberly Academy, Mount Vernon STEAM Academy, New Rochelle High School, and Yonkers Montessori School. 

RCDS Alum Adam Berenzweig ‘93  gave the keynote address to start the summit as Co-Founder of Long Future Farms in Cobleskill, NY, and Research Scientist at Meta (formerly CTRL-Labs, which joined Facebook Reality Labs in 2020). Mr. Berenzweig shared his journey on the environmental problem that led him to create Long Food Farms and explained how regenerative agroforestry addresses deeper structural issues and connected lessons from food system failures to broader sustainability challenges. 

Following, RCDS students Eliana Chorost ’26 and Chase Talpins ’27  gave the student keynote address, sharing their findings on how food justice connects access, equity, and environmental responsibility within modern food systems. 

The day included breakout and dialogue sessions and presentations, featuring the work and research of students. 

Rye Country Day School’s Project Topics and Discussions included: 

• The Story Behind Rye Country Day School Apparel

Presented by Rye Country Day Students Max Agulay ’27, Aarush Dey ’27, Peter Valenton ’27

• Relax, AI Isn’t Frying the Planet (Your Netflix Habit Still Wins)

Presented by Rye Country Day Students Michael Goneos ’27 and Kaitlyn Wong ’27

• Tour of ZEUS Anaerobic Digester and Sustainability Programs on the RCDS Campus

Presented by Rye Country Day Director of Sustainability Kerry Linderoth and Science Teacher and Ecotone Renewables CEO Dylan Lew

• PlastiLess: A Highly Efficient and Reusable Nanocomposite for Photocatalytic Degradation of Polyethylene Microplastics Under Simulated Sunlight

Presented by Rye Country Day Student Shawn Wei ’27

• Integrating Dialogue across the School Community

Presented by Rye Country Day Director of Global Studies Daniel Murray