Thursday, September 22, 2011

Chicago Enviro Groups Want Controls on Coal Fired Plants

Fisk & Crawford Plants
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was presented with a petition on Wednesday that included more than 6,000 signatures urging support for a proposed ordinance that would control the emissions from two coal-fired power plants that spew tons of contaminants into the air in Latino neighborhoods. The effort is being spearheaded by the Chicago Clean Power Coalition

The environmentalists are demanding an ordinance directed at the Fisk and Crawford plants, located near the Latino neighborhoods of Little Village and Pilsen, respectively.  Both plants are owned by Midwest Generation. The coalition notes that Fisk, built in 1903, and Crawford, which dates from 1924, "are subject to more lenient federal pollution limits because of their age."

The environmentalists cite a 2001 Harvard University study which found that pollution from Fisk and Crawford could be responsible for 42 premature deaths, 66 heart attacks and at least 2,800 asthma crises annually.

Chicago's proposed Clean Power Ordinance has not been resolved despite months of discussions within the 50-member City Council. The measure recently was returned to the Council's agenda on the initiative of Aldermen Daniel Solis and Joe Moore, but no date has been set for a vote on it.

Kim Wasserman-Nieto, executive director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, demanded the mayor's intervention to "put this problem behind us once and for all."

The ordinance under study would obligate the plants to stop burning coal to generate electricity and to switch over to natural gas or stop operating.

It establishes that if an installation has a quarterly emissions average that exceeds the federal and state limits, it will be fined up to $10,000 and will have to suspend its operations until pollution controls are installed to ensure it complies with the standards. (Fox New Latino, 9/20/2011)

Monday, September 19, 2011

6th Annual State of EJ in America Conference

ANNOUNCING THE 6TH ANNUAL STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN AMERICA CONFERENCE

EJ Conference, Inc. announces the 6th Annual State of Environmental Justice in America Conference will convene April 3-5, 2012 at the DoubleTree Crystal City.

Since 2007, EJ Conference, Inc. has presented a premier environmental justice conference in Washington, DC, each spring.


The 2012 Conference will follow the same pattern as the previous conferences, and will endeavor to feature activities, including:

Meet the Agencies, Small Town/Rural Community Business Forum

Minority Alternative and Renewable Energy Forum and new activities aimed at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and

Other Minority Serving Institutions.


The Conference Call for Papers and Presentations will be released by the end of September.

Intern with GREENPEACE for Spring Semester 2012

Why intern with Greenpeace?

As a Greenpeace intern you can:

· Promote solutions to the global warming crisis

· Stop the destruction of the world's last ancient forests

· Empower consumers and shareholders to hold corporate polluters accountable

· And yes - save the whales!

A Greenpeace Internship is a great way to learn first-hand how an international environmental campaigning organization works. You’ll gain issue expertise, build valuable career skills and make connections. In addition to job training, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in trainings such as corporate campaigning, non-violent direct action, media relations and grassroots outreach. You’ll get to meet awesome people and work alongside experienced staff in a casual, high-energy environment.

Apply now for a Greenpeace internship

Available Internships:

Global Warming, Toxics, Campaigns, Grassroots Organizing, Student Organizing, Activist Recruitment, Actions, Strategy, Media, Photography, Video, Online Organizing, IT Support, Human Resources, Membership, and more! Visit our website for a full list and details on the specific tasks and requirements for each internship.

Locations:

Positions are available in Washington, DC, San Francisco, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, LA, New York City, Philadelphia, and Tampa. Not all internships are available in all locations. Visit our website to see details on where each internship is offered.

Program Details:

Our fall internships start January 30th and end May 4th. Part time and full time positions available. We are flexible with your schedule and can help you receive class credit. All internships are unpaid. Unfortunately Greenpeace cannot provide travel or housing.

Requirements:

Applicants must be over 18, but do not have to be current students. We’re looking for people with excellent verbal and written communications skills, strong online research skills, the ability to work well independently, commitment to non-violence as a means of affecting change and enthusiasm for protecting the environment.

Diverse perspectives and experience enhance the way Greenpeace selects and approaches issues, as well as the creativity and effectiveness of our campaigns. Greenpeace strongly encourages applications from women, people of color, and other under-represented communities.

Apply now for a Greenpeace internship

Friday, September 16, 2011

Cali High Speed Rail Project Must Include Minority Businesses

FEDERAL AGENCY ORDERS CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL TO OPEN UP CLOSED CONTRACTING SYSTEM FOLLOWING CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT BY MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES

Decision Cites Evidence of Agency Misrepresentations, Incompetence

In a 12-page decision issued today, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) ordered California's High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) to open up its closed contracting system to resolve a civil rights complaint filed by small minority-owned businesses. Citing evidence of insular bidding practices and misrepresentations regarding receipt of federal funds, the FRA ordered far-reaching reforms to CHSRA's system for awarding contracts to private businesses.

The complaint, filed last December by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area on behalf of the Associated Professionals and Contractors (APAC), asserted that minority-owned small businesses are being largely excluded from contracting opportunities available through the California High Speed Rail, the country’s largest public infrastructure project. Although CHSRA is mandated to ensure that 25 percent of contracting business is allocated to small businesses, over the past five fiscal years, less than four percent of contracting dollars have gone to small or micro-businesses, with nearly all contracting dollars begin funneled to large, majority-owned firms. The complaint asked federal agencies to open a formal investigation into the CHSRA’s contracting practices under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

When and if completed, the controversial California High Speed Rail will travel through 14 regions throughout the State and cover over 800 miles from Sacramento to San Diego. Nearly half of the estimated $43 billion cost for the project is expected to come from federal funding, with more than $3 billion already awarded.

Today’s decision by the FRA orders far-reaching reforms in CHSRA’s contracting practices. Among other requirements, the order requires CHSRA to appoint within 60 days a high-level official “with direct, unfettered access” to California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Roelof van Ark to oversee the needed reforms to its bidding practices. Also within 60 days, the agency is required to submit a “comprehensive plan” for opening up its contracting processes that sets goals for small and disadvantaged business utilization and that ensures broad outreach. The complete list of required actions is on pages 10 and 11 of the decision.

In reaching its decision, FRA cited evidence of misrepresentations and incompetence by CHSRA. Specifically, FRA criticized CHSRA for incorrectly representing when it began receiving federal funds. FRA noted that the agency had in fact received federal funds as far back as 2002, yet represented in correspondence to FRA and in statements to the public that it had only recently begun doing so (Decision, page 5-6). The decision also found a “disconnect” between official statements of FRA concerning its contracting and the on-the-ground reality of contracting opportunities being put out to bid with little to no public notice and the absence of a "coherent policy" for ensuring a fair and open contracting system (Decision, page 8, 9). (Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, NBCC)

The Federal Rail Authority’s Decision

Original Complaint

Thursday, September 15, 2011

EARTHSEED Consulting

Using regenerative strategies and new media approaches, EARTHSEED Consulting engages multiple stakeholders in the design and implementation of environmental projects aimed at diverse communities.

With over 25 years of combined professional experience in business, media, education and environmental sectors, EARTHSEED Consulting leverages their broad networks to foster collaboration and ensure measurable success.

Pandora Thomas & Zakiya Harris

Whether successfully delivering Toyota’s first African American Green Initiative, integrating permaculture and environmental literacy into San Francisco's Unified School District, producing an original urban green living television series and training youth to produce the bay areas largest solar powered hip hop music festival, their work represents a new model of engagement at the intersection of culture, media, environmental awareness and sustainable solutions.


Their services cannot be put into a box, but are customized to meet the individual needs of each of their clients. Here is a taste of what they offer:

Strategic development & implementation

Marketing and communications

Curriculum and workshop design

Public speaking

Group facilitation

Multimedia content development

Green event production

Youth leadership training

Pandora Thomas’ life and work are rooted in creating a world where all people have access to empowering and hands on environmental education experiences. She is passionate about deepening her and others connection to the natural rhythms of our earth in order to heal our communities.

She is co-founder of Earthseed Consulting LLC, a holistic consulting firm whose work deepens the impacts of environmental advocacy in the lives of diverse communities. Most recently she directed the Environmental Service Learning Initiative as well as serving as the environmental educator for Grind for the Green. Both programs aim to reconnect youth of color to the earth using innovative strategies.

Her education has sought to link issues such as global affairs, womens rights, the environment and sustainability, racial justice and youth empowerment. She studied at Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs, Teachers College, and Tufts University.

She is a credentialed multiple subjects teacher, a naturalist and outdoor education instructor, as well as a certified green building professional and permaculture teacher who has created and delivered curriculum to pre-k through adult audiences throughout the US around multiple themes including human rights, environmental justice, and outdoor and environmental education.

She has lectured extensively around issues of diversity, women's leadership, the environment, and human rights. Her writing includes a childrens book, various curricula and a greenbuilding manual for youth. She has studied and lived in over ten countries and some of her other achievements include presenting at Tedx Denver, being awarded fellowships to Columbia University Human Rights Program as well as Green For All’s Green Fellow Program. She also volunteers regularly and served as a Global Peer to four Nigerian women working to bring safe water technology to their communities through the Global Women’s Water Initiative.

Zakiya Harris is a California native, who has been working as an artist, educator and activist for the past 10 years. She received her B.A. in Political Science and History from Rutgers University and attended New College of Law in San Francisco before leaving to pursue her life long passion of teaching. She has taught elementary through collegiate level in a variety of public and private settings. In 2003, she became the lead trainer at the DJ Project where she facilitated job training and entrepreneurship modules using the medium of hip-hop culture. In 2007, she Co-Founded Grind for the Green the largest youth led “green” social media and events program in the nation, which is committed to moving young people of color from the margins to the epicenter of the environmental movement using hip-hop, art and culture. The program has been heralded for its innovation and production of the 1st Solar Powered Hip-Hop Music Concert in the Bay Area. In 2008, she became the first African-American Regional Director of the San Francisco Green Festival, the largest sustainability event on the planet, where she served for two years.

Named one to watch by Grist.org, some of her achievements include receiving the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Future Leaders award, serving as a Fellow for Green For All under the direction of Van Jones and presenting at Tedx Denver. Recently she co-founded Earthseed Consulting LLC her first for profit venture, the firm is dedicated to the reconnection of communities of color to the earth. She is also an accomplished dancer, vocalist, actor and member of the west coast based neo folkloric ensemble Ase Dance Theater Collective. Her highest honor in life is being a mother to her beautiful 5 year old daughter.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Compton To Catalina Program

Introduction: The Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy (Center), and its membership arm, the African American Environmentalist Association (AAEA), are expanding our environmental outreach in the West. We have established a partnership with the Greater Union Baptist Church (GUBC) to operate an environmental tour program called “Compton To Catalina,” which will take students and other young people from Compton, California to Catalina Island.

The purpose of the program is to expose young people from Compton to the Pacific Ocean and an incredibly beautiful island. People take it for granted that the vast majority of this kids never get on the water and many people live their entire lives without directly experiencing the Pacific Ocean even though they live within five or ten miles of it. We believe that such early exposure to this environment could lead to a lifelong environmental stewardship ethic.

Due to the on-going water, energy management and air pollution problems in California, we focus a significant percentage of our attention on these issues. We have an extensive history in energy policy, water and clean air programs.

Program Organization: AAEA will work with GUBC to recruit people to participate in the Compton To Catalina (CTC) Program. We will make arrangements for the tours and facilitate educational experiences for the students. Each tour will be a daylong affair that will include transportation to Long Beach, where the tours will originate. Participants will have escorts at all times and activities on the island will be arranged to maximize the environmental experience.

We will utilize the services of Catalina Express. Passengers on board Catalina Express can expect to arrive in Catalina in about an hour, from Long Beach, San Pedro or Dana Point. Catalina Express offers year round service and the convenience of up to 30 round trips daily. We will use the Long Beach Downtown and Long Beach Queen Mary locations. We will alternate between the Avalon and the Two Harbors locations on the island. For the Two Harbors tour we will leave from San Pedro Terminal because service to and from Two Harbors is only available from the San Pedro Terminal. Most boat trips are only about an hour. There are numerous activities available on Catalina Island, including: hiking, biking, camping, swimming, snorkeling, diving, sightseeing, dining, shopping or relaxing, to name a few. Our main activity will be a submarine ride to view submerged vegetation and fish species.

Round trip tickets are approximately $70.00. We will provide roundtrip van or bus service to Long Beach. We will also provide lunch. We are planning to take 5-10 people on each tour.

AAEA Experience: AAEA has operated river programs on the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers in Washington, D.C. and the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. AAEA utilized our 22-foot Boston Whaler to operate these programs. We would explore various ways to include inner city youth in navigation, pollution education programs and ecology. Our water resources program will include everything from sponsoring tours to Catalina Island and electricity power plants to water conservation projects in housing in Compton.

Center President Norris McDonald has been a member of Seafarer’s Yacht Club in Washington, D.C. Seafarer’s was the first black boat club established in America in 1945. He has served on its board for four years and is an experienced boater. McDonald was also director of environment for the Maryland town of Highland Beach.

The Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy was established in 1985 as a non-profit--501(c)(3), public interest organization dedicated to protecting the environment, enhancing the human ecology, and working to ensure the efficient use of natural resources. The Center, through its membership arm, the African American Environmentalist Association, provides opportunities for minorities to participate in the environmental movement. AAEA includes the African American point of view in environmental policy decision-making and resolves environmental racism and justice issues through the application of practical environmental solutions.

Greater Union Baptist Church is located in the heart of Compton, California. GUBC has two main Sunday services and aggressive outreach into the surrounding community. Their opportunities to serve include participation at the Compton Women’s Shelter, the Long Beach Rescue Mission and the Grace Elliott Medical Center, among others. Reverend Kenneth R. Jones is the pastor of the church. Reverend Sammy P. Darling, II is Associate Minister, Director of Youth Programs and Outreach Coordinator. Reverend Darling will coordinate the Compton To Catalina Program on behalf of Greater Union Baptist Church.

Summary: The Center intends to provide a valuable environmental service to the youth of Compton, California. We believe this CTC Program will provide a rich environmental experience for participants. We will engage as many churches, schools and other institutions involved as possible. We will also appeal to the greater Los Angeles community to support the program.

Time Frame: The program time frame is for a one year period. We are establishing the Compton to Catalina as a permanent program.

Call to request full budget: 443-569-5102

Columbia University Master of Public Administration Program

Columbia University
Learn about Columbia University's twelve month Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy housed at the School of International and Public Affairs.  Program representatives make campus visits this fall. Learn how the program combines the University's hands-on approach to teaching public policy and administration with the Earth Institute’s pioneering thinking about the environment. Program graduates are trained for careers in environmental policy, environmental management and sustainable development, among other fields in the public, private or not for profit sectors. Our approach reflects the system-level thinking that is needed to address issues of environmental management and sustainable development.

Below are listed the information sessions on both Columbia University’s campus and others around the country this fall. Ask program representatives about the upcoming deadlines:

Application Deadlines:

• November 1st: Early Decision deadline for applying to the program with fellowship consideration. Applicants who submit their application by this deadline will be informed of the admissions decision by December 1st.

• January 15th: Regular Decision application deadline for applying with fellowship.

• February 15th: Final Deadline to apply with fellowship consideration.

To view the application, please click here .

For more information about our program, please visit our website or call our office at 212-854-3142.

For an up-to-date list of campus visits, please click here.

If you are unable to attend an information session, but would like to talk with Faculty or current students, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Sarah Tweedie
Assistant Director
st2745@columbia.edu

41st Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference


The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) 41st Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) will take place from September 21-24, 2011 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Registration for ALC is open now.

This year's themeis  iLead / iServe. ALC attendees will have many opportunities to share their thoughts and experiences on leading and serving – how and why they do it, the value of each, and the impact of each within their lives and their communities. The conference will use social media, a town hall meeting, brain trusts and personal interaction to further encourage discussions and follow-up conversations among attendees.

Walter E. Washington Converntion Center

ALC provides an outlet to highlight the mission of CBCF – to develop leaders, to inform policy and to educate the public - by providing more than 85-high level, thought-provoking forums to address the critical challenges facing the African-American Diaspora. Also offered during the four-day event are free health screenings, a job fair, interactive financial sessions, networking opportunities and cultural activities.
 
 

U.S. Reps. Al Green of Texas and Marcia Fudge of Ohio will serve as honorary co-chairs of ALC. The conference will also include a fundraiser awards dinner, exhibit showcase, book signings and community outreach in volunteering at a local homeless shelter. (CBCF)

Saturday, September 10, 2011

News One For Black America

Top 5 list of how Obama’s American Jobs Act will positively affect African Americans



1. The extension of unemployment insurance will benefit 1.4 million African- Americans and their families. At the same time, the President is proposing bipartisan reforms that will enable that – as these families continue to receive UI benefits – the program is better tailored to support reemployment for the long-term unemployed.

2. Targeted support for the long-term unemployed could help the 1.4 million African- Americans who have been looking for work for more than six months: To help them in their search for work, the President is calling for a new tax credit for hiring the long- term unemployed.

3. A commitment to rebuilding and revitalizing communities across the country will target investments to the communities hardest-hit by the recession. The President’s investments in infrastructure include a school construction initiative with a significant commitment to the largest urban school districts, an investment in revitalizing communities that have been devastated by foreclosures, and a new initiative to expand infrastructure employment opportunities for minorities, women, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

4. Support for subsidized jobs and summer/year-round jobs for African-American youth – for whom unemployment is above 30%. In an environment with an unemployment rate of 32.4% for African-American youths, the President is proposing to build on successful programs like the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund to create jobs and provide training for those hardest-hit by the recession.

5. An extension and expansion of the payroll tax cut for nearly 20 million African- American workers. By extending the payroll tax cut for employees next year and expanding it to cut payroll taxes in half, the President’s plan will help increase the paychecks of nearly 20 million African-American workers – providing them with more money to spend in their communities.

(News One For Black America)

Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Environmental Justice

Is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission For or Against Environmental Justice

NRC POLICY STATEMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Policy Statement on the Treatment of Environmental Justice: Matters in NRC Regulatory and Licensing Actions

NRC Policies On Environmental Justice

According to the NRC, as an independent agency, they are not required to follow the Presidential Executive Order (E.O. 12898) on Environmental Justice or to adopt EPA or CEQ guidelines. The basis for admitting EJ contentions in NRC licensing proceedings stems from the agency’s NEPA obligations, not Executive Order 12898. As part of NEPA’s mandate, agencies are required to look at the socioeconomic impacts that have a nexus to the physical environment. According to the NRC, absent “significant impacts, an environmental justice review should not be considered for an EA where a Finding of No Significant Impact [FONSI] is issued [or anticipated] unless special circumstances warrant the review.” If the impacts are significant because of the uniqueness of the communities, then a FONSI may not be possible and mitigation or an EIS should be considered.

In 1989, Louisiana Energy Services (LES), a wholly owned subsidiary of Urenco Limited, proposed to build The National Enrichment Facility (Claiborne Enrichment Center) outside Homer, Louisiana (population 4,600) in northern Louisiana's Claiborne Parish.  The $855 million facility was to be built in one of the state's poorest counties, Clairborne. LES was a consortium of five energy companies

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and a local environmental group, Citizens Against Nuclear Trash (CANT), with help from the Sierra Club Sierra Club, filed a series of  complaints seeking to block construction.  In 1994, they received additional ammunition via President Clinton's Executive Order on Environmental Justice (12898), which required all federal agencies to protect minorities from disproportionate exposure to pollution.

On May 3, 1997, the NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board gave activists a sort of victory by sending the plant's license back to the NRC staff for further study. However, the board agreed that minority populations would not be "disproportionately affected" by the project. But it said the "possibility that racial considerations played a part in site selection cannot be passed off as mere coincidence." The consortium was thus placed in the position to prove that it did not locate the facility where it did because black people lived nearby. 

Yet the board expressed reluctance to apply environmental justice considerations, stating: "Because this agency's primary responsibilities historically have dealt with technical concerns, investigating whether racial discrimination played a part in a facility siting decision is far afield from the [NRC] staff's past activities. Indeed...this is an area in which the staff has little experience or expertise."

LES eventually decided to shelve the project.

In an August 6, 2004 decision, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board denied a public hearing on environmental justice contentions related to an application from the Entergy Corporation for an "Early Site Permit" to build one or more new nuclear reactors at its Grand Gulf site in Mississippi.  (NIRS, AAEA)

AAEA has used environmental justice positives (clean air and climate change mitigation) in defending the continued operation of Indian Point nuclear plant in New York.  AAEA used the same justification in supporting proposed new reactors at Grand Gulf in Mississippi.  All of the blacks (& black organizations and agencies) in the area also supported the plant.

(The Feel Free Library, EJNet, NRC Policy Statement on Environmental Justice,

Blacks Kicked Out Of Cherokee Nation (Again)

(Again?)

The Cherokee Nation acted this week after its Supreme Court upheld the results of a 2007 special vote to amend the Cherokee constitution and remove the slaves’ descendants and other non-Indians from tribal rolls.

One of the nation’s largest American Indian tribes has sent letters to about 2,800 descendants of slaves once owned by its members, revoking their citizenship and cutting their medical care, food stipends, low-income homeowners’ assistance and other services. The 300,000-member tribe is the biggest in Oklahoma, although many of its members live elsewhere.
The tribe never owned black slaves, but some individual members did. They were freed after the Civil War, in which the tribe allied with the Confederacy. An 1866 treaty between the tribe and the federal government gave the freedmen and their descendants “all the rights of native Cherokees.”

But more than 76 percent of Cherokee voters approved an amendment stripping the descendants of their citizenship. Tribal leaders who backed the amendment said the vote was about the fundamental right of every government to determine its citizens, not about racial exclusion. The freedmen’s descendants disagree. Along with losing services, descendants of freedmen won’t be able to vote in the election for the principal chief. (Wash Post, 9/10/2011)

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Wanted: Greenpeace Needs a Chief Program Officer

Organization: Greenpeace USA
Position Title: Chief Program Officer
Location: Washington, DC or San Francisco, CA

Greenpeace seeks a Chief Program Officer to plan and execute all of the organization’s campaigns through managing the campaign, digital, grassroots, communication, and action departments. Greenpeace USA is part of a global organization working on global campaigns. The Chief Program Officer is also responsible for ensuring Greenpeace USA campaigns relate to US audiences as well as work within the global program being executed throughout the Greenpeace global network. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Chief Program Officer leads a team of sixty plus staff to deliver Greenpeace’s core function—running and winning campaigns—and in so doing, building the organization’s grassroots power, reputation, and supporter base so as to position Greenpeace to tackle greater challenges in the future. The position has a seat on the four-member executive team at Greenpeace, charting organization-wide strategy in partnership with the Fundraising Director, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Director. This is a full-time, exempt position located in Washington, D.C. or San Francisco, CA.

Responsibilities:

* Running Powerful, Public Campaigns – The Chief Program Officer is responsible for the design and execution of campaigns that are well packaged, motivate and mobilize activists, inspire people online, and make a measureable impact.
* Campaign Design and Evaluation – Provide strategic guidance and support to the Research and Campaign teams to create ambitious, high impact, and well-researched campaigns. Create a culture of innovation in which people are allowed to try things and fail, as long as they fail fast and ultimately win big.
* Building Power – Through campaigns and other initiatives, ensure the maintenance and growth of the organization’s relationships with activists, corporate and government decision-makers, coalition partners, reporters, bloggers, and other key influencers.
* Operations Management – Ensure the operational integration of the five program departments. Using automation, online tools, business processes, and investment in new programs, increase the organization’s capacity to exert pressure on corporate and government decision-makers per dollar spent.
* Executive Leadership – As a member of executive team, advise and contribute to the development of the organization’s strategic direction and help ensure its successful execution.
* Organizational Leadership – Greenpeace U.S.’ 450 staff, including 250 street canvassers, work hard to win campaigns. Provide leadership through establishing a shared vision and strategic direction and communicating it through speeches, briefings, and written communication.
* Global Leadership – Actively play a leadership role in strategically planning and inputting into the global program priorities and objectives.
* Budget Management – Set and manage the annual departmental budget. Develop, manage, and review project budgets and expenditures ensuring team members meet their financial responsibilities.

Qualifications:

* Strong understanding of global environmental issues and desire to leverage Greenpeace’s global resources to win campaigns at the global scale
* 10-15 years of successful experience in planning, running and winning major national and/or international campaigns, including experience with strategy formulation, campaign design, communications, political strategy, policy formulation, and grassroots organizing
* 5-10 years of experience as a senior executive or senior manager
* Planning skills, including the ability to allocate work, set and manage by objectives, risk analysis and mitigation, and the ability to create and manage projects
* Crisis management and clear decision-making ability
* Effective negotiation skills in a national and international environment
* Experience with non-profit financial management
* Experience with and commitment to cultural diversity
* Languages: Excellent spoken and written English; fluency in Spanish desirable

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

To Apply:

Greenpeace USA has engaged Koya Consulting to help in this hire. Please send a compelling cover letter and resume to Molly Brennan at executivesearch@koyaconsulting.com .

Greenpeace is an equal opportunity employer

Andrea Cimino,  Recruitment Fellow
Greenpeace USA, Washington DC
202-319-2477

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo on NPR to Discuss NO FEAR

Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo earned a doctoral degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and worked with the United Nations before joining the Environmental Protection Agency in 1990. During her time at the U.N., she also developed an expertise in African developmental issues.

During her tenure at the EPA, Coleman-Adebayo says she requested that the agency devote attention to environmental problems in South Africa that were allegedly caused by an American company. She says that the agency reneged on promises to investigate the matter, and the harder she pushed for change, the more she faced a backlash from her superiors.

Coleman-Adebayo's new book No Fear: The Whistleblower's Triumph Over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA chronicles her experiences and the discrimination lawsuit that followed. She won the case in 2000, and also successfully advocated for a special whistleblower protection law. The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act — or The No FEAR Act — passed in 2002. It aims to discourage federal managers and supervisors from engaging in unlawful discrimination and retaliation.


In an interview with guest host Jacki Lyden, Coleman-Adebayo talks about the problems she encountered in 1996 in her role as the EPA's representative to the Gore-Mbeki Commission. That group was created by an agreement between the governments of South Africa and the United States, with the goal to improve lives of South Africans and aid the transition of the new government of Nelson Mandela.

In the course of her work, Coleman-Adebayo traveled to South Africa, and said that she discovered an American company there was ignoring the health complaints of its South African workers. They were mining the substance vanadium, and many of those miners suffered from serious health problems.

Coleman-Adebayo says that, when she reported situation to her supervisors, she was told to "shut up" and just decorate her office. She adds that she faced death threats, rape threats, and that she felt her family was in danger.

Coleman-Adebayo says, "I was surprised that the in environment of the EPA, instead of being rewarded for being proficient in what you do, loyalty was a much greater value. When I began questioning U.S. policy, I was considered disloyal. And at that point, at the minds of many people at the EPA, I had become their enemy."

She chronicles this and other conflicts within the agency in "No Fear," and sees the book as part of her activism. (NPR, Tell Me More)

Friday, September 02, 2011

I Love Going To The White House

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

Norris McDonald at The White House
I toured the White House last Friday. Although I have been to the White House several times in the past few years, I had never been on the tour.  It is self guided and you get to take your time and examine pictures and rooms.  I entered through the 15th Street, NW entrance and went through three security check points.  I'm very familiar with this entrance because it is the one I have used most for events in the East Wing.  You use another entrace for West Wing events.   I looked at the various photographs, which I usually just walk by and peered through the south facing windows out into the Rose Garden and South Lawn.   After quick peeks into the Library and a couple of other rooms I went up the stairs to the second floor.

The East Room was being completely renovated.  I've been to many events in the East Room.  Then around to the Green Room.  I was excited about going to the Green Room because that is the room where the president usually enters and exits the East Room.  Although I had been in the Red Room and the Blue Room, I had never been in the Green Room.  I took a picture with President Bush in the Red Room.  I also had the opportunity to chat with him for a brief moment too.  The State Dining Room (down the hallway from The East Room) was being painted.  I guess the Park Service, which manages the White House, was touching up all they could while the president was on vacation in Martha's Vineyard.  There were renovations going on outside too (pressure washing and replacing stone walk panels).

I exited to the front driveway of the White House and looked out over the lawn facing Pennsylvania Avenue where the Keystone XL protesters were demonstrating.  I looked up to the 3rd floor, the President's and First Lady's residence. After getting some other tourists to take my picture with their cell phone cameras, I exited via Pennsylvania Avenue.  I like the tour.  If you've never been to the White House, you should put it on your tour schedule.

National Public Lands Day

MOBILIZES URBAN COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE LOCAL PARKS

Few places encourage a healthy lifestyle like the great outdoors, and National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is mobilizing urban communities across the U.S. to get active outside. NPLD is the largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands and parks nationwide and is held on September 24, 2011. The event will involve more than 170,000 volunteers around the nation dedicated to improving and promoting use of our national, state and local public lands. This year, NPLD is actively recruiting cities, including their African-American residents, to join their neighbors and visit local parks and green spaces. The initiative aims to beautify urban communities, increase care for the environment and positively impact participants’ health.

From trash removal to planting trees, NPLD volunteers at more than 2,000 sites will join the national effort hosted by local organizations, government agencies, companies, and parks and public land managers. Volunteers will discover uses of local parks for family-friendly activity and enjoyment while demonstrating environmental stewardship. NPLD is also supporting first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Outside! campaign emphasis on involving children and families in outdoor recreation as a way to help reduce and prevent childhood obesity.

J.L. Armstrong
NPLD is a program of the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). JL Armstrong, a NEEF board member and national manager of external affairs for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., is among the African-American leaders spearheading the involvement of cities including their African-American residents. Toyota is sponsoring NPLD for the 13th consecutive year.

National Public Lands Day has thousands of opportunities to get involved and urges everyone to roll up their sleeves on September 24. Join the effort at your local park and encourage your neighbors to participate. To locate a volunteer project in your area and for more information about National Public Lands Day .