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Stories

Students Leaders Spearhead Equitable Park Access

6/15/2021

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By Tyler Valdes & TTriss Williams Renard
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For over 10 years, the School of Environmental Leadership (SEL), a program of SEI, has built strong, innovative leaders who are empowered to creatively and critically analyze issues and formulate plans of action. In the spring of 2020, as growing research has demonstrated the extensive health benefits that result from exposure to outdoor environments, Marin County Parks announced the continuance of its community grant program called “Breathe/Respira!” which seeks to provide the means to help the local community have access to parks. The title symbolizes the ability of outdoor recreation and connection with nature to reduce stress and improve health with the Spanish translation of “breathe”, respira, included to underscore the importance of making parks available to all Marin communities regardless of language or cultural background. Upholding strong values of equity and inclusion, SEL was successfully awarded a grant to support equitable access to parks for underserved communities -  a project that would be spearheaded by SEL students.
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Under the guidance of SEI staff and the Marin Environmental Forum, 10th grade students in SEI’s flagship SEL -  Marin School of Environmental Leadership   (MarinSEL) - coordinated a year-long Leadership and Environmental Action Development (LEAD) project that brought students at Laurel Dell Elementary School to local green spaces. LEAD projects, a key component of SEL, are equity-forward, community-based environmental action projects that focus on policy change. While the original project design culminated in a field day for K-8 students and their families in Marin County parks, the challenge of COVID-19 restrictions called for solutions driven by creativity, a 21st century skill fostered through SEL.


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Climate Corps Fellow Spotlight: Billie Hervas

6/11/2021

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SEI is spotlighting our amazing Climate Corps Fellows who have been working to protect our climate through a wide range of sustainability initiatives. This week we are highlighting Billie Hervas, Education and Training Fellow at the The Energy Coalition.
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Billie Hervas
​Education and Training Fellow, The Energy Coalition

Give a summary of the work that you are doing through your fellowship.
I support the education and training team of The Energy Coalition by assisting in educator and student engagement. This includes presenting online events, creating STEM-based curriculums, and creating content for our social media campaigns.

What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is working with the rest of the education and training team. It doesn't matter what task I am doing because I generally enjoy working with fun, passionate, and motivated people.
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What is a recent accomplishment that you are proud of?
A recent accomplishment I am proud of is redesigning some of the marketing collateral for TEC's education and training team. Doing so reconnected me with my love for graphic design, and I feel like my work is valuable when the team uses the materials I create.


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A “Virtual” Fellowship Delivers Real Benefits

6/8/2021

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By Anne-Christine Strugnell

When Chloe Ney graduated from UCLA in 2019 with a BA in geography and environmental studies, she was eager to get started on a career in sustainable urban planning. 

“Conservation of open space is hugely important,” she says. “By making urban spaces more appealing, sustainable, and better for our physical and mental health, we can reduce the tendency to sprawl and enhance the synergy between nature and the built environment.”

But Chloe found no entry-level opportunities: all the jobs in her preferred field required experience, and despite having completed an internship, she couldn’t get a foot in the door. One of her friends had participated in SEI’s Climate Corps program and urged Chloe to check it out. When she went to the SEI website, one opportunity jumped out for her: a Fellowship with Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) to promote on-campus energy conservation. LACCD has the most aggressive and comprehensive sustainability goals in the California community college system: 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and 100% carbon free by 2040.
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“I grew up in LA, and it’s a special place for me,” Chloe says. “And a college campus is a perfect place for an urban planner to get a start, because campuses are like mini cities.” She applied and was selected for the position. 
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Chloe and her supervisor Aris Hovasapian, Utility Program Manager at LACCD
​Pivoting to professional achievement

Just six weeks after Chloe started her Fellowship at LACCD, the office went virtual in response to the pandemic. All the in-person outreach activities she had planned were cancelled. Now what?

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Climate Corps Fellow Spotlight: Benjamin Bravo

6/4/2021

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SEI is spotlighting our amazing Climate Corps Fellows who have been working to protect our climate through a wide range of sustainability initiatives. This week’s Fellow spotlight is  Benjamin Bravo, Preserve Resources Manager at Sonoma State University Center for Environmental Inquiry.
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Benjamin Bravo
Preserve Resources Manager, Sonoma State University Center for Environmental Inquiry
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Give a summary of the work that you are doing through your fellowship.
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As preserve resources manager, I lead the center's invasive species management program, lead the Copeland Creek restoration project, lead a section of the Virtual Field Experiences project, analyze the camera trap data, develop our sustainable forest management plan, and brainstorm security solutions. My work takes place on our three preserves (Osborn, Galbreath, Los Guillicos) and the Copeland Creek on the main SSU Campus.

What is your favorite part of your job?
I enjoy working with students on restoration and preserve management activities. The students are passionate, loyal, and bring great background knowledge.


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Board Spotlight Shines on Sustainability Leader, Bruce Riordan

6/1/2021

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By Hernan Gallo-Cornejo
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SEI is spotlighting the incredible and inspiring sustainability leaders who serve on our board through a series of interviews. In this story, we are shining the spotlight on Bruce Riordan, Program Director for the Climate Readiness Institute and Director for the Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network.
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Bruce Riordan is the Program Director for the Climate Readiness Institute at UC Berkeley and Director for the Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network. Previously, Mr. Riordan served as the Climate Strategist for the Bay Area Joint Policy Committee. At the JPC, Mr. Riordan led the Bay Area Climate & Energy Resilience Project, funded by the Kresge Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, and the JPC regional agencies. BACERP was a collaboration of 300+ Bay Area climate stakeholders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors that worked to accelerate Bay Area climate adaptation and resilience planning through workshops, needs assessments, webinars and other activities.
Mr. Riordan is the Co-Founder and past Chair of the Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation (ARCCA) that coordinates climate adaptation leaders from San Diego, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Sacramento, and the Sierra. He was recently appointed by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research to their statewide Advisory Committee on climate resilience under SB 246. Mr. Riordan has also consulted on climate change strategies for BART, Next 10, the Marin Community Foundation, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area Quality Management District, and other Bay Area organizations.

Why do you serve on SEI’s board?
SEI is doing great work that must be done on energy and climate issues. The board is a very interesting group of people from different parts of the energy and climate world.

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