MISSION, OBJECTIVES, STAFF and ADVISORS
Mission
The Women’s Environmental Institute at Amador Hill, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is an environmental research, renewal and retreat center designed to create and share knowledge about environmental issues and policies relevant to women, children and identified communities especially affected by environmental injustices; to promote agricultural justice, organic and sustainable agriculture and ecological awareness; and to support activism that influences public policy and promotes social change.
Objectives
WEI has six program centers dedicated:
• to create knowledge, scholarship and educational materials for individuals or groups working on environmental issues related to women, children, and disproportionately impacted communities
• to become an information hub that organizes current research and writing on environmental issues related to women, children, and identified communities
• to demonstrate leadership in civic involvement, global responsibility and stewardship around environmental issues at both the local and global level
• to provide both on-site and off-site educational outreach in seminars (and eventually distant learning courses) and experiential learning workshops on practical activities related to sustainable agriculture and environmental issues
• to develop strong affiliations with local environmental and ecologically-focused groups and secondary and post-secondary institutions to create collaborative programming and projects
• to create an institute that will provide a model for environmentally-friendly construction, land stewardship and conservation practices, renewable energy, resource development, and organic food production and processing.
WHAT WEI CREATES: A Center for Renewal, Thought, Action
A space for meetings and retreats and a renewal center for activists, educators, students, organizations, and citizens working on environmental issues that impact on women, children, and communities disproportionately affected by environmental injustice; training and workshops for social action change.
A progressive Rockin' Chair Think Tank to organize and analyze information on current environmental research; provide opportunities for creating research groups on community environmental initiatives and maintain policy development networks and organizations to foster social change and inclusive enviro/feminist political action
An Alternative Farm Campus to provide outreach and education on green living, sustainable development, renewable energy, organic food production and to develop environmental and eco-agricultural policies and resources.
An Eco-Friendly Community Center to provide a learning space that will model practices of environmentally-friendly construction, land stewardship, environmental conservation, renewable resource development, and organic farming and gardening practices.
A peaceful Retreat and Conference Center for guests to rest up and do what they need to do to carry on.
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Contacts
Karen Clark, Executive Director. Karen is a progressive Minnesota State legislator for 28 years, public-health nurse and OB-GYN nurse practitioner, community organizer, graduate of the JFK School at Harvard and ovarian cancer survivor of 7 years. Karen's passionate dedication to environmental justice is reflected in her legislative, community and personal priorities. Karen is a part-time instructor at the University of Minnesota and also at the College of St. Catherine's Graduate Program of Holistic Health Studies. Karen is a volunteer ED.
Jacquelyn
Zita, Director
of Education and Operations. Prominent Women's Studies scholar and
educator, Jacquelyn is the former Chair of the Department of Gender, Women and
Sexuality Studies at the University of Minnesota and currently serves as
Director of Graduate Studies for the U of MN Feminist Studies Ph.D. Program.
Dr. Zita holds a BS in Biology and Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from
Washington University, St. Louis. Formerly President of the National Women's
Studies Association, Jacquelyn brings experience as an educator and institution
builder plus her extensive knowledge of women's biology, women's health issues,
organic farming, and gender and environmental studies. In addition to her DOE
work, Jacquelyn coordinates WEI's Community Supported Agriculture Program. She
also serves as Vice President of the Friends of Wild River State Park in
Chisago County.
Blake Traylor,
Executive Assistant. Blake graduated from Louisiana State
University with a degree in English. She has a long-standing interest and
personal involvement in organic growing and maintains 2000 square feet of
vegetables, fruit & herbs (organically) in St. Paul where she lives with
her children. She has made her living as a paralegal, executive assistant in
the non-profit sector, editor/proofreader, jewelry designer, and events manager.
Her volunteer efforts have focused on organics and inner city reforestation as
a Master Gardener and a Planting Supervisor for Great River Greening.
Beth Hatch, Farm Office Manager, Coordinator North Circle Project, graduated from Wheaton College in 1984 with a BA in Art. She and her husband and three children live in North Branch, MN on a small hobby farm where they tend a large garden. She has been an administrative assistant in both academic/non-profit and corporate/for-profit settings, an editor/proofreader, and a substitute teacher. An accomplished singer/songwriter she also volunteers with her church’s youth group and plays guitar in worship services. Her dog training service, Good Dog! Training Services, was voted among the top three training schools in the Twin Cities in TC Dog’s Reader’s Choice Awards for 2003.
Larry Palmer, Lead Farmer has been farming for more than 50 years, starting at age 6 on his family’s dairy farm. He took over the management of that farm until the age of 25. Since then, he has worked on and off farms in the area caring for dairy cows and growing produce. Larry maintains a 5000 square foot garden in which he has always applied sustainable farming practices. His expertise includes composting, soil restoration and management, crop management, and irrigation, as well as orchard care and management.
Charley Hatch, Farmer Apprentice & WEI Systems Engineer, received his BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1988. His education included courses in structural design analysis. He has extensive experience with fluid handling systems, and has received cross training in multiple disciplines, including structural, civil, architectural and environmental engineering. He also completed two years of the MN carpenter apprentice program, and has worked on commercial and residential construction projects in the Twin Cities metro and surrounding areas. Charley is a former small business owner and general contractor. He has volunteered on several missions trips with Engineering Ministries International, working on a reinforced concrete design home construction for Habitat for Humanity in Amman, Jordan, and, most recently on a passive solar greenhouse in North Korea.
Gina Sapp, Farmer, has a BS in Education and an Associate’s degree in Physical Therapy Assistance. She was a Chisago County Master Gardener for 10 years, and she and her husband own a small farm in Almelund, MN where they raised Scotch Highland Cattle and chickens for many years. They currently farm a home garden and orchard for their personal use. Gina has been active as a volunteer in medical missions work, and participated in a trip to Guatemala where the team served the medical needs of the indigenous Mayan population. She is also an active member of her home church in Almelund, and serves on the Sunday School and Adult Education committees, among others.
Elizabeth (Liz) Richardson, Farmer Apprentice & Caretaker and Potential Regional Outreach Training Center (ROTC) Liaison, received a degree in Environmental Studies from Texas State University in 2005. Prior to this, she was a counselor in San Antonio, Texas where she worked in the community to engage marginalized communities, including people with disabilities, GLBT, African American and Latino with health issues including, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV to enter medical treatment as a preventative measure and/or to improve the quality and duration of their lives. Since 2007, she has been investigating low-tech means by which the average person can become more sustainable by building community through food and building projects. She has a lifelong love of gardening and to this end has studied permaculture, seeds, composting, soils, and water. Ms. Richardson has owned her own counseling business and a coffee shop in San Antonio, Texas, where she developed a passion for quality fair trade food and coffee. Her current passions include making soil, organic farming, delicious food, mycology as used in farming, water and soil restoration, urban scale garden design, intensive growing techniques, low tech design for sustainability, and community building.
María Regan-González, Former North Circle Project Coordinator was an Americorps VISTA volunteer with experience in international sustainable development and community organizing. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Minnesota in Global Studies: Environment and Sustainable Development and Spanish. María previously worked in the MN Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Program. She also was a past researcher at the University of Minnesota investigating the various effects of sustainable development projects in Latin America and has worked in food security and agricultural projects abroad. She is currently studying sustainable food systems in Mexico.
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE FARM INTERNS
Over the 2009 season, six student farm interns were housed and educated at Women’s Environmental Institute: Nancy Taft (U of M Public Health/Farm intern), Liz Richardson (Farm Intern), Jessica Comerford (Farm Intern), Emma Paskewitz (Farm Intern), Holly Engel (HECUA/Farm Intern), Carissa Glatt (U of M Pubic Health/WEI Nutrition Intern).
OTHER INTERNS: Chris Page (Environmental Justice Intern), Katie Nobel (Administrative Intern), Casey Harrington (Programs Intern)
PROGRAM AND PROJECT STAFF
Ann L.
Fredrickson, Phillips
Neighborhood EJEAC Principal Investigator. Ann has over 20 years
experience doing health-related research in the Divisions of Environmental
Health Sciences and Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of
Minnesota. Most recently she served as Sr. Scientist managing two projects that
investigated children’s environmental health in the Whittier, Lyndale, and
Phillips neighborhoods in Minneapolis, in addition to a patient education
project for the CUHCC clinic, also in the Phillips neighborhood. She has a
master’s degree in Community Health Education from the University of Minnesota
School of Public Health and is a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator. She
is committed to conducting health research that embodies principles of good
science, respect for all persons, and justice.
Fardin Oliaei, East Metro EJEAC Principal Investigator. Fardin has a Ph.D. in Environmental
Sciences, MS in Biology and BS in Chemistry. She is respected nationally and
internationally for her scientific research, her writings and lectures on air
pollutants, persistent bioaccumulative toxic pollutants, PBDEs,
flame-retardants, dioxin, plus newly identified environmental contaminants. She
served as the Lead Scientist and Coordinator of Emerging Contaminants at the MN
Pollution Control Agency and is best known locally for her research findings on
PFCs. Her research emphasizes the impact of these contaminants on human health
and the ecological risks associated with toxic exposure. Dr. Oliaei has taught
at several Minnesota colleges and universities and currently serves on the
Board of the Forum of Women in the Environmental Field and on the Advisory
Group on Fate and Exposure Modeling for the Society of Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry (SFTAC).
Emily Moore, EcoAware Project Coordiinator
and WEI Representative for the Healthy Legacy Project. Emily has
recently retired from 20 years at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, where
she worked most recently as a pollution prevention specialist helping
individuals reduce toxicity in their workplaces and homes by adopting
environmentally preferable products and practices. She holds a B.S. in
chemistry and an M.A. in biochemistry from the University of Michigan and has
taught in high schools and colleges in California, Indiana and Minnesota.
Claudia Foussard, East Side Neighborhood EJEAC Coordinator/Community Organizer, has long been a volunteer worker in social justice and with indigenous people's movements and homeless youth. She earned her living in cutting and styling hair and is a trained hands-on-healer. Claudia completed her BA in professional communications and Indian ethnic studies from Metropolitan State University in 2007, seeking a way to turn her volunteer experience into a paid profession. Claudia has worked in the field of environmental justice, including EJAM, and has worked as a Community Organizer for the East Side Neighborhood Development Company. Claudia is honest, transparent and has a refreshing spirit; she is a strong team player in any social justice position.
SCHOLARS and WRITERS
Laurie Allmann, Writer in Residence and Community Outreach Liaison. Environmental writer and spoken-word artist Laurie Allmann has a keen interest in bridging the gap between the scientific community and the general public. She was the recipient of a Minnesota Book Award for Far From Tame: Reflections from the Heart of a Continent (University of Minnesota Press, 1997); was a member of the writing team for the public television documentary series Minnesota: A History of the Land (1997, 1998), has been a regularly featured essayist/commentator for Minnesota Public Radio’s Voices from the Heartland series (1991-1993). As a freelance writer, she has written extensively on conservation topics for nonprofit groups and government agencies, authoring such publications as “Land Protection Options: A Handbook for Private Landowners” and “Natural Areas: Protecting a Vital Community Asset.” Her creative writing has also been adapted for stage performance, including the prose-poem “Collector Road,” the dramatic monologue “Citizens of a Sweetwater Sea,” and the one-act play “River Café.” She is honored to play a role in the work of WEI, helping to advancing its vital mission of environmental justice and sustainability.
Paul Wotzka, 2008 Scholar Under Fire Guest Scholar. Paul is a surface water hydrologist and has worked for the State of Minnesota for over 16 years researching water quality problems primarily due to agriculture. He has done extensive monitoring of pesticides in precipitation, and in rural and urban watersheds. He received his Civil Engineering Degree from the University of Minnesota and has also worked at the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin Conservation District. As a life-long Minnesotan, he has a deep appreciation for the State’s climate and water resources. He resides with his family in southeastern Minnesota near the town of Weaver.
Phillips Environmental Steering Committee Initiative (PESCI)
Angelina Matias-Vasquez, PESCI member
Rosie Cruz, PESCI member, Liga Hispana Beisbal, East Midtown Youth Sports & Rec
Valerie Martinez, Indigenous Green Jobs Coalition
Lucy Arias, Little Earth of United Tribes
Karen Monahan, Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota
Osman Sahardeed, Surad Interpreting
Jay Bad Heart Bull, Little Earth of United Tribes
Bill Ziegler, Little Earth of United Tribes
Carol Pass, East Phillips Improvement Coalition
Susie Tatone, PESCI member
Brad Pass, Neighborhood activist
Nancy Smith, Indian Women’s Resource Center
DeborahTorraine, Environmental Justice Advocates of MN and Afro-Ec0
Aeisha Gomez, PESCI member
Susan Gust, Healthy Homes
East Metro Environmental Justice Education and Advocacy Collaborative (EJEAC) Steering Committee
Lee Pao Xiong, Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University
Jesse Kao Lee, Ready 4K Hmong Project
Ly Vang, Association for the Advancement of Hmong Woman
Juan Linares, East Side Neighborhood Development Company / Prosperity Campaign
Mari Bongiovanni, East Side Neighborhood Development Company
Kevin Martineau, American Indian Family Center
Lyn LaPointe, American Indian Family Center
Suyapa Miranda, Merrick Community Center
Mary Rose , Community Volunteer
Claudia Foussard, Coordinator / Community Organizer
WEI Cultural Heritage Farming Project
Sharon Day, Indigenous Peoples Task Force
Lee Vang, Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women
Marianno Espinoza, Immigrant Freedom Network
Collie Graddick, Georgia Farmer and WEI Board Member
María Regan-González, (former North Circle Project coordinator)
Little Earth Urban Food Justice Steering Committee
Karen Clark , WEI Executive Director
Valerie Martinez, Indigenous Green Jobs ask Force
Kim Knutson, Three Seeds, Inc.
Sasha Brown, Healthy Foods Healthy Living Project
Bill Ziegler, CEO and President Little Earth
Emily Moore , WEI Staff
Colin Curetanm Healthy Foods Healthy Living Project
Liz Richardson, WEI Staff
Jenni Zickert, LEOUT Girls Program
Darleen Fairbanks, LEOUT Resident Services
Muriel Thompson, LEOUT Resident Council
Millie Hernandez, LEOUT Youth Center
Tracy Singleton, Birchwood Cafe
Russ Henry, Giving Tree Gardens
Ryan Broden, LEOUT Volunteer
Tiffany Enriquez, Eco Education
Robert LookingElk, Little Earth Resident
Lucy Arias, Healthy Foods Healthy Living Project
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WEI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sharon Day, WEI Board Chair, is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force, a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, an artist, musician, educator and community activist. Sharon directed the Ogitchidag Theater Project for youth and created the Manidoowahdak Odena Housing Village for families living with HIV/AIDS in Minneapolis. Sharon has years of executive director experience and is particularly skilled in creating collaborations of people from diverse backgrounds to work on social justice issues and ensuring Native American leadership opportunities. Sharon directs the Indigenous Women’s Programming at WEI.
Hattie Bonds, WEI Treasurer, is Assistant Principal at Patrick Henry High School and Founding Board Member of Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota. Hattie is active in education and civil rights issues, including serving on numerous boards dedicated to educational advancement for low-income and students of color. Hattie has a B.S. in Elementary and Special Education from Lincoln University, Jefferson, Missouri; an M.A. in Educational Administration from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, Missouri; a Post-M.A. Secondary Science Certificate from the University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri; and Doctorial courses from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
Alondra Espejel, WEI Board Secretary, majored in Management, Popular Education and Chicano Studies at the University of Minnesota. She has over six years of community and academic experience with the Latino and immigrant communities, including work with the U of MN La Raza Student Cultural Center, Chicano Studies Support Group (to rebuild the Chicano Studies Department), the General College Truth Movement, the Girls Getting Ahead leadership program with La Escuelita, WomenVenture and the Page Foundation. Currently she is Communications Organizer for the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network working with the Voices of Immigrants Changing and Education Society program.
Collie Graddick, Board Member and North Circle Advisory, an Agricultural Consultant with the MN Department of Agriculture(MDA) managing the MDA/ US Environmental Protection Agency’s Urban Pesticide Educational Initiative program. Formerly a regulatory advisor with MDA’ Seed, Noxious Weed and Pesticide Regulatory Program, Collie has worked with MDA for 12 years. Previously a County Extension Agent in Auburn, Alabama, and a marketing coordinator at Cargill-Nutrena, Collie earned a BS in Plant Science from Fort Valley State College in Georgia and an MS in Plant and Soil Science from Tuskegee University in Alabama.
Robert Lilligren, Board Member and Capital Campaign Committee Member, is serving his second term as the Council Member representing three inner-city neighborhoods (Phillips, Whittier, and Stevens Square) on the Minneapolis City Council, where he chairs the Committee on the Whole. Robert serves on numerous boards including the Empowerment Zone Board, Minneapolis Convention Center Board, Midtown Community Works Partnership, Minneapolis American Indian Center Capital Campaign Committee, Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, OutFront Minnesota Board Member, Native Amercan Community Development Institute (Charter Member) and is a founding Board member of bikeon.org. An avid environmentalist and bicyclist, Robert is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and is the first American Indian to serve in the Minneapolis City Council.
Elizabeth Kerwin, Board Member, is a Sister of St. Joseph and part of the Leadership Team of Loyola spirituality Center wher she has done spiritual companioning, retreats and workshops for more than twenty-five years. Prior to forming the leadership team, Liz was the Director of the Spirituality Center for eighteen years. She serves on the Justice Commission of the Sisters of St. Joseph. She is a founding member and continues on the Earth Partners working group of the commission. Liz has a MA in biology from the University of Notre Dame and taught high school and college science for many eyars. She is a gardener, singer, cook and reader and is passionate about the care of the earth and the health of all that lives on the earth.
Becky Lourey, Board Member (on leave) is a retired Minnesota Senator now working as a farmer, writer, and small business owner. Senator Lourey provided 16 years of leadership in the Minnesota State Legislature, first in the House and then in the Senate where she was an effective champion for numerous economic and social justice issues including affordable health care, sustainable agriculture, civil rights for all, disability issues, affordable housing, Native American rights and the environment. The mother of 12 children, Becky Lourey is known for her articulate grasp of many issues and her ability to forge alliances with diverse groups. She and her husband are owners of a small rural business that provides child care and living wages for their 50 employees. Currently, she is working on a book about global sustainability and world peace.
Chela Vasquez, Board Member, has a Ph.D. in Environmental Science. Currently, Chela works as Campaign Coordinator at Pesticide Action Network North America. In her recent job as Development Coordinator with Centro Campesino she wrote grants and organized farmworkers on human, civil, and workers' rights in South Central Minnesota. At Centro Campesino she helped pass state legislation strengthening labor law enforcement for migrant workers in Minnesota. Her previous work at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy focused on international genetic resources; and at Minnesota Water Alliance she worked on preventing water privatization in Minnesota.
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WEI’S NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
The Women’s Environmental Institute is committed to the
policy that all persons have equal access to its programs, facilities, and
employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin,
sex, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance, veteran status
or gender/sexual orientation.