United, for a sustainable future |
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Greetings!
What an eventful start we've had for 2021! As the dust settles and we all realize that we both impact and are impacted by the world around us, it's been encouraging to hear more and more calls around UNITY.
Indeed, acting collaboratively and united can lead to powerful, transformative changes. At the state level, it's interesting to see that the proposed 2021-22 State Budget includes some pretty significant investments in climate resiliency (although there is limited direct funding to the cities). No doubt this will be helpful in addressing climate change! Closer home, our county has been demonstrating the value of collaboration over and over again. Examples abound, from our own clean energy provider, Peninsula Clean Energy, to adopting county-wide policies to tackle some of our biggest environmental and social issues.
At SSMC, we value our partnerships with you very much. We are happy to report that, thanks to your strong support and generosity, we were able to reach our year-end fundraising goal! Thank you for enabling us to continue to build our programs and have a positive impact on the ground! That means we can continue to bring you our popular monthly Happy Hours, expand our Sustainability Ideas Bank and more.
We are always looking forward to hearing your feedback, questions and creative ideas to help us continue to ensure San Mateo County stays a welcoming place for all, for many decades to come. We can do this, together and united. To learn more about our collective impact, read our 2020 Annual Report.
United, for a sustainable 2021 – and beyond!
Christine Kohl-Zaugg, Executive Director
and the entire SSMC team
P.S.: Have some room to give back to your community? Looking to make a real difference? Please get in touch with us to learn how you can get involved. We have many opportunities to engage your energy and talents!
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How many Earths would it take if everyone lived like us?
The response to this question – and so much more! – is what those of you who tuned in to January Happy Hour learned from our guest speaker, Mathis Wackernagel, co-creator of the Ecological Footprint, as we explored ways to lessen our environmental footprint, individually and collectively.
Our Happy Hours are monthly gatherings that allow our community to actively explore and discuss a variety of sustainability topics – while sipping a green drink, of course! After all, it's Happy Hour time! We typically have a sustainability expert kick-start the discussion, invite you to answer some fun trivia questions, then divide into smaller groups to discuss some guiding questions before coming back for a debrief with the larger group. If you haven't experienced a Happy Hour yet, you are missing out! Check it out!
Mark your calendar: our next Happy Hour will be on Wed. February 24, starting at 5:30PM. Sydney Richardson-Gorski, our guest speaker, will share her insights around racial justice. Details coming soon! Admission is free but you must preregister via zoom.
Missed the January Happy Hour? Click here to read Megan King's blog and click here to see Mathis' slides. |
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SSMC News
Please join me in welcoming our two newest board members, John Crowell and Valerie Fox Carlos!
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Valerie Fox Carlos has a strong background in marketing, branding and teaching. She obtained a Bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and a Master’s degree from Florida International University. She taught psychology classes, led leadership and interpersonal workshops, developed the Peer Counseling Center and consulted in the development of the Women's Change Center at the College of Miami Dade. After moving to California, she worked for a major portion of her career with the direction of visionaries Peter Stocker and Peter Palmisano at Pacific Union Development Company. They were transforming real estate development while innovating and creating community landmarks. Projects in which she was involved included Meadowood in St. Helena; Opera Plaza, San Francisco's first mixed-use development; the country's first military base conversion at Hamilton Airfield in Marin County; and The Peninsula Regent, a not-for-profit premier retirement community in San Mateo. Valerie joined the Peninsula Regent Team in 2009 as Broker and Director of Marketing, where she created the marketing and membership experience and helped build a deep-rooted community. |
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John Crowell is a Program Manager for Redwood City 2020 working to reduce poverty, improve the academic success of students, increase community engagement, promote health and wellness, and enhance safety in the Redwood City and North Fair Oaks community. Previously, John had a long and successful career working for innovative high technology companies including Sun Microsystems and a startup, OnLive where he gained an extensive background in finance, people and project management, relationship development, and delivering successful project results. He is currently a Healthy Cities tutor for three elementary students in the Redwood City School District, a meal preparer for Meals on Wheels, and a regular participant at the Fair Oaks Community Center Family Harvest events. He has previously volunteered as a project manager for a Taproot pro bono team, a little league baseball and PAL basketball coach, a fruit picker for Village Harvest, and a tree planter for City Trees. John is a certified California naturalist and an ever aspiring amateur photographer. |
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Sad News
We’ve received some sad news: Roz Koo died Saturday night, January 30, ending a long life of service to people and organizations around the world, including SSMC. She served on SSMC's board for many years and was the first recipient of the Ruth Peterson Award, which is given in memory of SSMC's founder.
We will miss her.
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THANK YOU to our SPONSORS and supporters for helping us realize our vision! We couldn't do it without you!
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Sustainable San Mateo County www.sustainablesanmateo.org |
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