Spring 2000
New projects, new faces, new paint
by Debbie Mytels
It’s been a year of challenges and changes at the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition – and we’ve entered the new century with fresh enthusiasm for our mission to foster sustainable and cleaner production in the high-tech industry and environmental and economic justice in Silicon Valley and throughout the world.
One major challenge occurred last spring, when Linda Abundiz, SVTC’s veteran office manager, went on leave to undergo open-heart surgery. After spending the summer recuperating, Linda returned part-time in the fall. Back full-time since January, Linda is an inspiring example of how it’s possible to face a life-threatening health problem - and come back smiling, beautiful and wise as ever!
Meanwhile, to fill in for Linda, newly hired Development Director Claire Thorp began wearing two hats, assisted part-time by Marlene Castillo, a former Coalition worker who came back on board in July as Data Manager for the member outreach/fundraising component of our Sustainable Water Campaign.
Wearing her fund-raiser hat with aplomb, Claire has been tremendously successful, submitting proposals to foundations and winning grant funds. Some of the funding includes support from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation, the Beldon Fund, the Rose Foundation, the Gellert Family Foundation, and the Abelard Foundation.
Another new addition is Corina Vera, who recently earned a Masters in Public Health from San Jose State, and joined the staff in November to work on our new Environmental Health and Justice project. Corina grew up in a family of activists who were involved with Caesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers and did her internship with Santa Clara County’s domestic violence project. Read some of her insights about why Latinos have been less involved with environmental organizations – and how this can change in the future.
After we hired Corina, we had to find some space for her to work. So at the suggestion of Debbie Mytels, a long-time environmental activist who’s been working as a Program Facilitator at the Coalition since this summer, we went through a major office reorganization - moving nearly everyone’s desk to a different room.
Any of you who’ve been in Executive Director Ted Smith’s office would know what a challenge THAT was! Ted recently accepted the David Gaines Environmental Activist award to SVTC from the statewide Planning and Conservation League. At the very least, Ted deserved the award because of all the paper he recycled in moving his office this fall!
Along with the new staffers, we also entered 2000 with some new paint, as Corina and Debbie painted their office the day before New Year’s, with volunteer help from Alberto Vera and Laura Mytels. Five-year old Devon Stanley-Jones joined in the fun, too, and actually succeeded in getting more paint on the walls than on himself!
More painting was also done this summer by Richard Kleefman, a summer intern from Holland. When he wasn’t busy working on the Clean Computer Campaign, researching heavy metals and other “e-waste” from obsolete computer components, Richard and his girlfriend, Wendy wielded a piantbrush, sprucing up the exterior of our “home” at 760 North First. The final touch up was done by our own Board President, Lynn DeAsis who fulfilled a long-time dream of ours and painted the SVTC logo on the front of our building. It’s quite beautiful, and gets a lot of attention. Check it out.
Because we appreciated Richard so much, when he left, we found another Richard to replace him: Richard McMurtry! On “loan” from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board for 75% time, Richard M. brings his environmental engineering and water quality expertise to our Sustainable Water Campaign - and livens up our staff meetings with his love of folk dancing and singing.
Senior Researcher Michael Stanley-Jones, also part of the Sustainable Water Campaign, is working to keep toxics out of San Francisico Bay and other local waters by serving as SVTC representative to the Santa Clara Basin Watershed Planning process. Michael also recently returned from a United Nations sponsored conference in Prague where he wowed people from around the world with our website and its maps showing toxic hot spots here in the heart of Silicon Valley!
In addition to keeping our website up to date, and producing our flyers and SVTC Action newsletter, Communications Director Leslie Byster, also played a major role in coordinating local participation in the WTO demonstrations in Seattle last November. When they weren’t participating in teach-ins and marches, Leslie and Bev Thorpe of our Clean Computer Campaign also delivered a truck-load of obsolete computers to the headquarters of Microsoft, asking them to take back and recycle the hazardous materials in these junk electronics. Other participants at the WTO events included Ted Smith and SVTC board members Paul Burks and Louie Rocha, president of Local #9423 of the Communication Workers of America. The South Bay NO to WTO continues to meet. Contact Leslie at 408-287-6707x303 for more information.
Speaking of board members, thanks are due to two people who’ve left our board and the area: Lisa Isaacs is the new manager of environmental programs at Mammoth Mountain in the Sierras, while Lisa Hoyos, with the South Bay AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, is about to leave for a new position in South Africa! Thanks to both for their commitment and energy to SVTC!
As we say thanks and good-bye to the two Lisas, the Toxics Coalition also welcomes a new board member, Poncho Guevara, the Assistant Policy Director at the Working Partnerships USA office in San Jose.
Good-byes and welcomes are also in order for several consultants who work on SVTC projects. Bev Thorpe, who worked on our Clean Computer Campaign. and joined others from SVTC in the Seattle WTO demonstrations, has moved on to work with Greenpeace to coordinate their camapign against genetically modified/engineered foods.
She has been replaced by two very skilled new part-time consultants: Michael Bender, Co-Founder of the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association, and Executive Director of the Mercury Policy Project, and Sheila Davis, who works part-time with the Materials for the Future Foundation in San Francisco. Michael and SVTC Executive Director Ted Smith met recently in Washington, DC with EPA and members of Congress to discuss "extended producer responsibility" (EPR) policy. Such laws would require manufacturers to take responsibility for the eventual disposal and/or reuse of their products. Sheila will work on EPR policy with the Clean Computer Campaign in California.
Finally, SVTC welcomes our new Managing Director, Jacqueline Chu-Montell. A graduate of San Jose State’s Environmental Studies Masters program, Jacqueline has been active both in Midpeninsula environmental groups and internationally with a public health project in Bosnia. As she helps us coordinate the Coalition’s growing programs, we look forward to seeing if she can design a double-decker desk for our crowded office. Anyone with ideas on how to build a bunk bed-type workstation should give Jacqueline a call!
Debbie Mytels is SVTC Program Facilitator
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