March 2020
E-Newsline
Foundation update on COVID-19 impacts

Dear Switzer Fellows and friends of the foundation,

We'd like to update you on how the foundation is adapting our programming and staffing during the crisis:

We converted the spring retreat and policy communications training this past weekend to a virtual format. We were sorry to have to cancel the networking dinner, but we will be looking for more ways to bring Switzer Fellows and alumni together.

We have decided to conduct interviews for the next cohort of fellows using a virtual format. Please see the call for interviewers below, and we hope to see some new faces since you don't have to travel to help.

The foundation staff will work from home as long as necessary. We already have a strong culture and systems for working remotely, so we expect this transition to be relatively smooth for our team.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do to support you during this difficult time.

New England fellowship interviewers needed

We still need fellows from the New England region to help with interviews on Saturday, May 16th, in a virtual format. We are particularly in need of fellows of color, and fellows who work in the non-profit, government or private sectors to participate. Please contact Erin for more information. All fellows are eligible as long as they are no longer in school.
Online Training: Empathic Communications Skills and Practices with John Kinyon

During this 90-minute online teaching session with Switzer Fellows on April 7th, trainer John Kinyon will demonstrate the core communication components and skills of mindfulness-based empathic communication, and he will give you practical tools to incorporate them in your life and work.

Learn more and register
Vegetarian meals at foundation events

We have decided as a staff to serve only vegetarian meals at Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation events. Read more about this decision in an On Leadership post by Executive Director Sarah Reed, Program Director Erin Lloyd, and Administrative Coordinator Laine Kuehn.

Read the post
How will California ensure residents get clean water?

In 2019, after years of advocacy by affected community members and environmental justice advocates, California passed new laws establishing the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water (SADW) Program. The program will strengthen the technical, managerial, and financial (TMF) capacity of water systems in communities and regions throughout the state, but without attention to the social and political dimensions, it will likely fail to provide sustainable solutions, write Mike Antos (2013) and colleagues at Stantec.

Read the article
Lessons in zealous advocacy

Part of the value of clinic participation is learning how to advocate for a real-life client, as opposed to the hypothetical clients law students deal with in their legal writing courses. But often, clients deviate significantly from our expectations, writes Candice Youngblood (2018) on the BerkeleyLaw blog.
Read the article
Fellow's company in running for $100 million grant

Sistema.bio, the company founded by Alex Eaton (2007) was one of the highest-scoring proposals in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's 100&Change competition for a single $100 million grant to solve one of the world's most critical social challenges.

Read the article
On raising children who will inherit a planet in crisis

Sarah Myhre (2013) was quoted in a Washington Post article on how climate experts speak to their children about the challenges ahead. "It's really important to let kids know that they were born into a changing world, that they did not betray the world by being born, and that they are born into a time where they can do profound good and have really transcendent, powerful impacts on the world," she said.
Read the article

Power companies don't want the Trump administration to change mercury rule

Kathy Fallon Lambert (1991) was quoted in a Washington Post article on an EPA rule change cutting mercury pollution. "EPA's analysis suggests that the costs outweigh the benefits. That's simply not true," said Kathy Fallon Lambert, a senior adviser at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "We know the benefits far exceed what they estimated, by several orders of magnitude."
Read the article
Upcoming Events
Online Training: Empathic Communications Skills and Practices
 Tuesday, April 7, 2020
12:30 p.m. Eastern / 9:30 a.m. Pacific
Join us for this 90-minute teaching session for Switzer Fellows with trainer John Kinyon. John will demonstrate the core communication components and skills of mindfulness-based empathic communication, and he will give you practical tools to incorporate them in your life and work.  Learn more and register

Race and Equity Reading Group Call
Monday, June 15, 2020
12:30 p.m. Eastern / 9:30 a.m. Pacific
Join us for the next one-hour call in our series. Topic will be announced soon, but please save the date now.
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Contact Us

Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation
P.O. Box 293 / Belfast, Maine 04915
207-338-5654 / [email protected] / www.switzernetwork.org
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