On Thursday, May 20, Thrive convened 7 local youth climate action organizations to share their current projects and future goals. With over 40 in attendance, it was truly inspirational to learn about all of the advocacy and education efforts that the next generation is leading and the passion that drives their work.
On March 25, Thrive Alliance and Sustainable Pescadero joined forces to create a focused discussion on water issues in the South Coast region of San Mateo County. Over seventy local leaders and stakeholders from government, nonprofit, and business came together to discuss constraints, describe experiences, and explore possible solutions.
Would you believe it if I told you that everyday the state of California discharges billions of gallons of water into the ocean? On February 25th, a brilliant group of sustainable leaders came together to discuss the hot topic of water, how it’s distributed locally, current challenges to access and maintenance, and innovative solutions.
Thrive Alliance brought together transit sustainability leaders on Transit Equity Day February 4, 2021, to discuss the plans for a more equitable and sustainable transit system for the Bay Area.
The impact of COVID on transit systems has been immense. Panelists discussed ways to make more sustainable changes to keep pollution levels low and to decrease the transit inequities that the pandemic has magnified.
At Thrive Alliance’s October 15 Environment & Sustainability panel “Menlo Park’s Recent CAP Adoption: Carbon Zero by 2030” (video replay) councilmembers, staff, and community leaders shared learnings and best practices on the path to groundbreaking climate action. The meeting was co-hosted by the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter.
“Think bold! It’s time to act in unprecedented ways,” said Josie Gaillard, Menlo Park Environmental Quality Commissioner (EQC) about the city’s recently adopted Climate Action Plan (CAP).
What a brilliant display of food innovation at the September 24, 2020 Thrive Environment & Sustainability (E&S) Community and SIAC co-sponsored panel – Sustainable Food for People, Planet, and Profits: How Innovation is Making the Food Business More Environmentally Friendly.
The event featured four amazing for-profit start-ups right in our backyard - Full Harvest in San Francisco, Impossible Foods in Redwood City, Ouroboros Farms in Half Moon Bay, and Plenty Inc. in South San Francisco.
Additionally, cross-sector audience members -- from business, government & nonprofit -- added their perspectives and discussed their organizations’ sustainable food solutions including Acterra, Food Shift, San Mateo Resource Conservation District, and TomKat Ranch.
Many thanks to Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Peninsula Clean Energy for sponsoring Thrive E&S meetings.
Host Petra Silton addressing the audience
Co-Sponsor
Tuesday January 28, 6 pm – 8 pm
Coconut Bay Restaurant, 1107 Howard Ave, Burlingame
Co-hosted by Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the Environment & Sustainability Thrive Action Group (E&S TAG), this dinnertime gathering provided the opportunity to discuss our community impact. Specifically,
Are we effectively broadening engagement on environmental issues and reaching diverse communities?
How can we better collaborate with community leaders to educate more citizens on critical environmental topics?
42 people representing 33 organizations; attendee mix = 53% nonprofit, 21% government, 14% business, 10% youth
Mike, Doug, Mark, & Howard enjoying Coconut Bay Thai food
Thursday December 5, 6-8p
Coconut Bay Restaurant - 1107 Howard Ave, Burlingame
Come join us for great company, delicious Thai food, and holiday spirit. Let's celebrate our success in 2019:
6 great E&S TAG events
200+ total & 150+ unique attendees, 140+ orgs
Great survey feedback to further improve 2020 programs
Started by few Bay Area friends looking for a place to call their own, Coconut Bay expertly combines the atmosphere of San Francisco dining, the excitement of contemporary Asian cuisine and the coziness of a family eatery. Situated on the corner of Howard and Park, it is next to ample parking and a block away from Burlingame’s shopping district.
What a wonderful time we all had. Great company, delicious Thai food, and warm holiday spirits. Much fun while celebrating our success in 2019. See pictures below.
Speaker Mark Medeiros, , Peninsula Open Space Trust
Wednesday November 20, 11.30a
Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, 330 Twin Dolphin Dr, Redwood City
Learn about policy options and scalable programs to redistribute unused food and reduce plastic packaging. Open discussion will focus on how advocacy and leadership can accelerate existing solutions and waste reduction results.
Kirsten Andrews-Schwind - Senior Manager of Community Relations, PCE (building & transit electrification and local energy programs)
Mark Medeiros - Senior Manager of Community Engagement, POST (community event programs)
Danielle Lee - Deputy Director, San Mateo County Office of Sustainability (public education and incentive programs)
Speakers from Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE), Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), and the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability shared a breadth of upcoming programs that the audience can leverage in 2020. In open discussion, attendees asked how access to additional resources could boost their reach and success.
Partnership opportunities ranged from strengthen green programs (panels, movies, and marches), to advocacy efforts (grass roots, grass tops, and action alerts). And all in a broader move to help lower our communities’ ecological footprint.
Presentation - link
Kirsten Andrews-Schwind - Kirsten previously co-founded and directed a nonprofit think tank promoting innovative local climate mitigation and adaptation policy. She authored The Community Resilience Toolkit, featured on the CAKE climate adaptation exchange and used by grassroots groups and policy makers in more than 30 countries. Kirsten also co-founded the Local Clean Energy Alliance to promote Community Choice Energy in 2008. Kirsten holds a BA in Economics and an MS in Natural Resources Management, and speaks Spanish.
Mark Medeiros - Mark Medeiros is Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Peninsula Open Space Trust, also known as POST, which has protected 77,500 acres of open space and farms on the Peninsula and in the South Bay since it's founding in 1977. Mark will share about POST's work in general as well as POST's community event programs which include a variety of free events throughout the year along with their annual Wallace Stegner Lectures.
Danielle Lee - Danielle helps create the Office of Sustainability’s strategic plan, works collaboratively with elected officials and staff from the County and cities, develops and leads multi-department collaboration, provides budget and administrative oversight, represents the County at public meetings and events, and communicates within the County workforce and to external partners. She earned an MBA and BA in Integrative Biology at University of California, Berkeley.
Speaker Zia MacWilliams, Second Harvest Silicon Valley, discussing food recovery
Wednesday October 16, 11.30a-1p
Redwood Shores Branch Library, 399 Marine Pkwy, Redwood City
Learn about policy options and scalable programs to redistribute unused food and reduce plastic packaging. Open discussion will focus on how advocacy and leadership can accelerate existing solutions and waste reduction results.
Eun-Soo Lim - Sr. Sustainability Coordinator, SMC Office of Sustainability
Maria Yap - Founder & Executive Director, Peninsula Food Runners
Zia MacWilliams - Federal Nutrition Programs Manager, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley
Our wonderful speakers discussed policy options and scalable programs to redistribute unused food and reduce plastic packaging.
The open discussion that followed focused on how advocacy and leadership could accelerate existing solutions and waste reduction results.
Presentation - link
Eun-Soo Lim - Eun-Soo has over 12 years’ experience in sustainability as an environmental non-profit consultant, auditor for mandatory and voluntary greenhouse gas reporting programs in California and Massachusetts, and supporting local governments and schools in climate change efforts. In the last four years with the County of San Mateo’s Office of Sustainability, Eun-Soo has led the development and implementation of waste reduction programs, including the County’s disposable food service ware ordinance and the 4Rs Grants Program. She holds a Bachelors in Environmental Science from Barnard College and a Masters in Climate & Society from Columbia University.
Maria Yap - Under Maria’s leadership, the 600 volunteers of Peninsula Food Runners divert 45,000 lbs. of food per week from landfills. This avoids 3,500 lbs. of CO2 emissions and provides 38,000 meals to surrounding communities. Previous experience includes sous chef, cancer patient advocate, and web app developer of Chow Match which tracks and streamlines the food recovery process between donors, recipients and drivers. Maria studied Food Service Management and Nutrition at the University of Arizona.
Zia MacWilliams - Zia MacWilliams is the Senior Manager of Federal Children’s Nutrition Programs at Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley, a member of Second Harvest Sustainability Committee, and as a former homeless and refugee services employee, is a strong community advocate for increasing food security. Zia has a MA degree in International Policy Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and is currently pursuing an MBA at UC Berkeley. Zia was selected as a Knight Foundation K-880 City Champion in 2017 and is a Leadership Palo Alto Fellow.
Audience participation at Redwood Shores Branch Library
A Community Discussion on Program Effectiveness to Build Relations & Optimize Results
Date - Wed September 18, 11.30a-1p
Location - Redwood Shores Branch Library, 399 Marine Pkwy, Redwood City
Description - This moderated discussion, with whiteboarding, drew expertise from dozens of program managers that plan and run community education events on green topics in SMC -- lectures, panels, movies, courses, tabling, & others. Through open discourse, we identified existing programs and resources, and examined ideas and partner to improve results.
350 Silicon Valley - Nicole Kemeny, President
Citizens' Climate Lobby - Doug Silverstein, Volunteer
Citizens Environmental Council of Burlingame - Terry Nagel, Board Member
The City of Burlingame - Andrea Pappajohn, Sustainability Fellow
Committee for Green Foothills - Helen Wolter, Legislative Advocate
Elkus Ranch - Dr. Maggie La Rochelle Gunn, 4-H Youth Development Advisor & Acting Ranch Director
Friends of Edgewood Park - Kathy Goforth, Board Member
The HEAL Project - Naomi Stern, Programs Manager
Peninsula Open Space Trust - Mark Medeiros, Senior Manager of Community Engagement
SMC Office of Education - Andra Yeghoian, Environmental Literacy Leader
SMC Office of Sustainability - Avana Andrade, Sustainability Academy Program Manager
SunWork - Tom Kabat, Volunteer
Sustainable San Mateo County - Terry Nagel, Board Member
At the monthly Environment & Sustainability (E&S) Thrive Action Group (TAG) meeting on Wednesday September 18 in Redwood City, 33 individuals from 23 local organizations met for a community discussion on public education program effectiveness - to build relations & optimize results.
Of these attendees, 67% were from nonprofits, 20% from government, and the rest from youth groups and small businesses. Thirteen presented their challenges, successes, and growth strategies in 5-minute reports (slides) including:
350 Silicon Valley, Citizens' Climate Lobby, Citizens Environmental Council of Burlingame, the City of Burlingame, Committee for Green Foothills, Elkus Ranch, Friends of Edgewood Park, the HEAL Project, Peninsula Open Space Trust, SMC Office of Education, SMC Office of Sustainability, SunWork, & Sustainable San Mateo County.
From presentations and comments, 3 themes stood out:
Participating groups have overlapping goals and needs
Multi-group collaboration could yield stronger results
Public Ed programs must target diverse audiences
The September and previous E&S TAG meetings’ post-event surveys showed attendees gained substantially from learning about of a breadth similar organizations’ policy initiatives and programs -- hearing success stories and considering partnerships.
September respondents rated the event as 4.3 on a scale 5.0, and likely to attend again as 4.4. Still, attendees want more time for open discussion and networking.
As such the E&S TAG, will continue to bring the environmental sustainability community together with a desire to unify and enable broad success.v
Presentation - slides
Speaker Shay Barton
Wednesday August 28, 11.30a-1p
Redwood Shores Branch Library, 399 Marine Pkwy, Redwood City
From four west county leaders, expect to gain a stronger appreciation for our Pacific Coasters’ land and water policy challenges and how they relate to our county-wide ecosystem. Open discussion will focus on cross-organization collaboration to advocate for and preserve valuable coastside resources.
Shay Barton - Pescadero HS student; leader of Heirs to Our Oceans - Pescadero chapter
Aaron Hébert, Water Resources Specialist, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Daniel Olstein, Director Land Programs & Stewardship, Peninsula Open Space Trust
Deborah Hirst, Legislative Aide, San Mateo County Supervisor Horsley's Office
Kellyx Nelson, Executive Director, San Mateo Resource Conservation District
Ongoing coastside challenges – The coast’s unique beauty and ecology make it a hot bed of agriculture and recreation. Constant new challenges require continuously balancing the resource needs of residents, farmers, and at-risk species.
Success through partnerships – Leveraging decades of experience, coastside leaders in government, nonprofit, and community are partnering successfully to identify challenges, locate funding, implement solutions, and realize results.
Community engagement – Success requires early community inclusion in master planning workshops and advisory committees.
Community advocacy and persistence… now - The community must show up and advocate for what we want. Our voices will be heard, but we must take action now.
Community inclusion and equity – Conversations must reach beyond privileged voices. Empathetic leaders need to engage the most affected and underserved communities.
K-12 education– Sustainability needs to be integrated in mainstream K-12 classrooms.
Time to increase urgency – While some projects take years to complete, targeting 2030 and 2040 results is too late. We must move faster. Permitting and oversight proliferation is a strong area for streamlining.
Presentation - download HERE
Shay Barton - Octavia “Shay” Barton, age 15, leads the Pescadero chapter of Heirs to Our Oceans. Shay is committed to understanding the impacts of climate change on our planet, especially on the communities most at risk. Her research on these issues, coupled with outreach to local and national experts, have deepened her perspective on the crisis that ocean waters face. Shay has spoken locally, nationally, and internationally on the subjects of plastic pollution, climate change, and vulnerable communities. The Pescadero Heirs have been successful in phasing out single use plastic in district cafeterias and school events and have been working towards educating the local community about plastic pollution solutions.
Aaron Hébert - Aaron has 12 years of natural resources management with State Parks, Sempervirens Fund, and has spent the last 5 years working at Midpen, managing planning, construction, and natural resources projects. The focus of the water resources program at Midpen is on pond and stream habitat restoration, water rights, water quality, sustainable rural water supplies, and environmental permitting. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bennington College in Literature and Natural History and a Master of Science degree from University of San Francisco in Environmental Management with a concentration in ecology.
Daniel Olstein - Daniel previously served for two years as the executive director of the River Exchange, a non-profit that promotes healthy watersheds in the headwaters of the Sacramento River. Before that he spent a decade with The Nature Conservancy in Florida, North Carolina and here in California, where he was the project director of the Conservancy's 1.5 million-acre Mount Hamilton Project. He joined POST as Director of Land Stewardship in 2013 and has a Brown University Neuroscience Bachelor's degree and a Duke University Environmental Management Master's.
Deborah Hirst - Deborah has worked with state and local government on coastal resources for over 15 years, including seven years developing projects in Northern California with the State Coastal Conservancy and most recently representing Supervisor Don Horsley as a Senior Legislative Aide focusing on the South Coast of San Mateo and climate resiliency. Previously, she spent three years in nonprofit refugee resettlement work with the International Rescue Committee and two years teaching in Japan. She holds a Master's Degree in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor's Degree in Urban Studies from the College of Wooster.
Kellyx Nelson - Kellyx has spent 30 years in non-profits, government, and the private sector developing, implementing programs for environmental benefit and other public good. This work includes environmental education for underserved communities in NYC and SF, long-haul trucking, and local land trust conservation management. She's served as the RCD's ED since 2006 during which time it received the 2017 Silicon Valley Water Conservation Award, 2016 Sustainable San Mateo County Sustainability Award, and 2012 District of the Year from the California Association of RCDs. She has a Columbia University Political Science and Environmental Science bachelors degree and a UC Berkeley Public Policy Master’s. In 2015, Kellyx was inducted into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to the overall well-being of the County.
Speaker - Rachael Londer, San Mateo County Office of Sustainability
Date - Wed June 19, 11.30a-1p
Location - Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, Shoreway Conference Room, 330 Twin Dolphin Dr, Redwood City
Description - From 5 local experts (below), expect to gain stronger knowledge of existing advocacy efforts and opportunities for action that address big climate & energy challenges. Open discussion will focus on cross-organization collaboration and near-term collective action to appreciably cut GHG emissions.
Dulce Arias - Youth vs. Apocalypse (education) – Green New Deal
Diane Bailey - Menlo Spark (nonprofit) – Silicon Valley fossil free buildings
Charlsie Chang - Peninsula Clean Energy (government) – CA clean energy policy
Rachael Londer - San Mateo County (government) – county green building codes
Robert Steele - Citizens’ Climate Lobby (nonprofit) – federal carbon tax
County Reach Codes & Silicon Valley Fossil Free Buildings - check on your city’s Reach Code adoption efforts by August 1 to drive safer, cost-effective, climate-friendly green buildings … ask a councilmember; and make sure to ask about plans for 100% fossil free buildings (reach code info)
California Clean Energy Policy – ask your state assembly members and senators to actively support Peninsula Clean Energy’s progress towards 100% clean electricity; and to support community choice aggregate (CCA) energy agencies across California; conduct outreach (grant funding)
Green New Deal (GND) & Federal Carbon Taxes – ask your congressperson how they are supporting the green new deal, what policies they want to include, and of their support for a national price on carbon
Climate Action Plans - Check your city’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) document update efforts (check city website or ask a councilmember) and get involved; read how in this Wed Jun 19 San Mateo Daily Journal Guest Opinion by Doug Silverstein (download)
Presentation - download here
Dulce Arias - Dulce is a senior at Redwood HS in Redwood City and former Woodside HS Green Academy Forestry Clubpresident. She helped organize the youth Green New Deal press conference outside Diane Feinstein’s office after the February viral video, and coordinated fundraising, communications, and live social-media streamingfor the March 15 San Francisco Youth Climate Strike. She’s spoken at the Laney College Poor People’s Campaign, S4SF summit, and Youth vs. Apocalypse block parties at Oakland’s Fruitvale Plaza.
Diane Bailey - Diane is a climate and clean air advocate with a background in environmental science. She comes from the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she spent almost 14 years working at the local, state, federal and international level promoting improved air quality and public health through reduced fossil fuel use, advances in clean transportation, and pollution prevention in industry. Previously, Diane worked at Citizens for a Better Environment in Chicago and a local transportation planning agency in Houston. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Washington University and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Rice University.
Charlsie Chang - As the public affairs associate at Peninsula Clean Energy, Charlsie works with local organizations and coordinates outreach to ensure San Mateo County residents and businesses are informed about PCE and PCE programs. Charlsie majored in Political Science at UC Santa Cruz and received her MPA from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Prior to joining PCE, Charlsie worked at Lenovo, Edelman, and the German International Cooperation (GIZ) in Sustainable Finance and Infrastructure.
Rachael Londer - As a San Mateo County native, Rachael Londer is excited to be a part of her community’s efforts in achieving sustainability to keep the people and environment of the Bay Area thriving. Rachael Londer earned a B.S. in Environmental Science with a focus on Policy from Humboldt State University. She currently works for the County of San Mateo’s Office of Sustainability where she implements energy efficiency incentive programs for residential, commercial, and municipal customers. Beyond energy efficiency, Rachael’s work includes leading the County’s electric vehicle initiative and facilitating the Countywide adoption of renewable energy.
Robert Steele – Since 2017, Robert has helped the Citizens’ Climate Lobby - San Mateo County Chapter educate the public on climate change and carbon fee and dividend policy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. From 1994 to 2010, Robert was the LED Practice Director at Mountain View-based Strategies Unlimited market research and consulting firm, responsible for LEDs and high-efficiency lighting activities. In 2000, he founded the Strategies in Light conference on LEDs and has co-chaired it since. Prior to his work on LEDs he did extensive market research and consulting on solar power and wind energy and conducted energy and environmental policy analyses for the US government. He received his B.S. in chemistry from MIT and his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from UC Berkeley.
