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Executive CommitteeEmily Hardt, PresidentEmily Hardt is the Director of the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development, where she works to help strengthen the role of women in the labor movement. In 2008 she became active with Somerville Climate Action, and helped organize around the Secure Green Future ballot question. Emily became an active member of MCHC’s Secure Green Future project, where she helped to coordinate Massachusetts coal plant protests and a trip to Washington DC for a national day of action against coal. She is currently co-coordinating Transition Somerville, a local Transition Town initiative that is addressing climate change, peak oil, and economic turmoil through community-building and community resiliency. Larry Ely, Clerk Larry Ely is a writer currently investigating the work of educator and social philosopher Rudolf Steiner. In the 1980s Larry worked in the scholarship and fundraising committees of a new Steiner (Waldorf) school in Hadley. In the 1990s he chaired an arts committee in his UCC church, and sang in the choir. His work in Amherst on Ralph Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign later brought him into connection with Jill Stein’s 2006 campaign for Secretary of State. Once on board MCHC, he helped organize the big Pioneer Valley Relocalization Workshop in Northampton on September 30, 2007, and then was asked to co-chair the Pioneer Valley Relocalization Project to further relocalization in his area. His group has educated with films, formed links with municipal officials, has created a “Green Perspective” newspaper column, and has helped organize talks by people like Richard Heinberg. Since 2008 he has been on the Coordinating Committee of the Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network, an organization uniting green groups in the Connecticut River region. Ken Selcer, Treasurer Ken Selcer is a thinker and doer who has single-handedly kept MCHC afloat through his detail-oriented approach to a dizzyingly broad spectrum of pursuits, including web design, graphic design, bookkeeping, and sound engineering. He keeps everyone up-to-date with the latest environmental and social justice news, and keeps people’s spirits up with his mean guitar-playing and soulful singing. His music, and musings can be found at www.kenselcer.com. Eli Beckerman, Project Coordinator Eli Beckerman has worked with the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities since early 2007, promoting relocalization as a proactive framework for advancing MCHC’s key issues. He helped organize relocalization events in 2007 and 2009, each bringing over 200 people together to learn about, share, and celebrate the grassroots endeavors underway that are transforming the physical, political, and economic landscape of Massachusetts. He has been active in Green politics, as well as local efforts aimed at addressing peak oil, climate change, and economic unraveling. Eli has a B.A. in Physics and Astronomy from Wesleyan University, and worked on the Chandra X-ray Observatory calibration team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for over 6 years. Board of DirectorsJohn W. Andrews, Co-founderJohn Andrews has been active for many years in support of environmental and pro-democracy initiatives. He has served as president of Citizens for Lexington Conservation, chair of Sierra Club’s Thoreau Group, and state political chair for the Massachusetts Sierra Club. He founded the Lexington Stewardship Committee and co-founded the Beaver Brook Watershed Coalition. He has served as chair of the Lexington Pest Control Advisory Committee and the Solid Waste Action Team. He was one of 250 environmental leaders invited to the White House by President Clinton in 1996 to participate in White House Environment Day. He has served as a member of the state steering committee for Mass Voters for Clean Elections. He is the co-founder and former president of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities. Jill Stein, Co-founder Jill Stein is a physician, author, and public health advocate. She co-wrote two reports, Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging and In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development, (GBPSR 2008, 2000), documenting the key role of environmental factors as drivers of chronic disease. The work is being used worldwide to provide the scientific basis for health and environmental advocacy, to help change public policies, and for medical education. She is a board certified internist, and was an Instructor in Medicine at the Harvard Medical School for over 20 years. She has served on the Board of Directors for National Physicians for Social Responsibility. Jill is the recipient of Clean Water Action’s Not in Anyone’s Backyard Award, the Children’s Health Hero Award, and the Toxic Action Center’s Citizen Award. Jill has been a candidate for elected office several times. In 2006, she garnered major editorial endorsements and over 350,000 votes in her bid for Secretary of the Commonwealth. Jill is the co-founder of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities. George A. Darcy III George Darcy is an engineer by trade, a Waltham City Councillor, a founding director of the Waltham Land Trust, and former chairperson of the Waltham Conservation Commission. He has opposed the state’s repeated attempts to surplus public land via “fast track” auctions for the benefit of private developers at the expense of the local community. George has advocated for creation of the “Western Greenway”, additional community farms, improved public transportation, safer pedestrian and bicycle routes, and has led the charge against irresponsible overdevelopment. David Dionne David Dionne is a long-time environmental and public health activist who has fought against the devastating effects of the two coal-fired power plants in Somerset, Massachusetts, and a number of other environmental justice offenders. He is a founding member of the Massachusetts Clean Air Coalition, a member of the Coalition for Social Justice, and a former member of the Westport Select Board. Larry Ely Larry Ely is a writer currently investigating the work of educator and social philosopher Rudolf Steiner. In the 1980s Larry worked in the scholarship and fundraising committees of a new Steiner (Waldorf) school in Hadley. In the 1990s he chaired an arts committee in his UCC church, and sang in the choir. His work in Amherst on Ralph Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign later brought him into connection with Jill Stein’s 2006 campaign for Secretary of State. Once on board MCHC, he helped organize the big Pioneer Valley Relocalization Workshop in Northampton on September 30, 2007, and then was asked to co-chair the Pioneer Valley Relocalization Project to further relocalization in his area. His group has educated with films, formed links with municipal officials, has created a “Green Perspective” newspaper column, and has helped organize talks by people like Richard Heinberg. Since 2008 he has been on the Coordinating Committee of the Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network, an organization uniting green groups in the Connecticut River region. Nat Fortune Nat Fortune is an associate professor of physics at Smith College, and two term member of the Whately School Committee (1993 – present). He also serves on the Products and Services Committee of Co-op Power and the Energy Committee for the town of Whately. He was co-director of the 2007-2008 Kahn Institute research project on Sustainable Houses, Homes and Communities, and is a former board member of Shays 2: Western Massachusetts Committee on Corporations and Democracy. Nat has been speaking publicly on resource depletion, climate change, and renewable energy for over 6 years. Mel King Mel King is a community leader, political activist, and retired educator. King is well-known for his role in fighting for affordable housing and services in the South End, particularly the battle against commercial developers and the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) in 1968. He led protests against the BRA plans to demolish housing and construct a parking garage, building a temporary tent city and living on the demolished housing until developers agreed to construct a new housing complex which was named “Tent City”. In 1973, King was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 9th Suffolk district. In 1983, after vacating his seat in the House, King ran for mayor of Boston, winning the primary vote, but losing the general election to Raymond Flynn. From 1970 to 1996, King was an adjunct professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and established the Community Fellows Program in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. In 1983, he established the Rainbow Coalition Party. He also created the South End Technology Center at Tent City, a joint venture between MIT and the Tent City Corporation which provides free or low-cost computer training to members of the Boston community. Peter Knowlton Peter Knowlton is the President of the Northeast Region of the United, Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), an independent member-run rank and file national union of private and public sector workers. UE is known for its strong advocacy for workers rights in manufacturing, service, and public sectors throughout the US, Massachusetts and New England, fighting for social and economic justice, and single-payer healthcare. Peter participated in the Gulf Coast Justice Tour, visiting the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and speaking up for immigrant worker rights. UE was most recently noted for its UE Local 1110 members’ successful occupation of Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago, IL for nearly a week to get 60 days pay and benefits owed to them under the federal WARN act. The UE slogan “They get bailed out. We get sold out” used during the occupation captured the nation’s attention, resulting in spontaneous demonstrations throughout the US in support of these UE members and resulting in the main financiers, Bank of America and Chase Bank, being forced to pay the 60 days. Shirley Kressel Shirley Kressel is a landscape architect and urban designer, and a co-founder of the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods. She is a relentless watchdog and critic of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) which, according to Shirley, “is an imperial power of which Boston is the sole colony.” Shirley is a longtime public interest champion, and has fought unsuccessfully to make the legislature subject to the Open Meetings and Public Records laws. Says real estate developer John Noone, “Shirley is the Ralph Nader of the community review process.” Chuck Turner Chuck Turner has been a community organizer and civil rights activist in Boston, Massachusetts since 1966. Referred to as one of the best-known agitators in the city, he was elected to the Boston City Council in 1999. Chuck graduated from Harvard University in 1963 with his B.A. degree in government. He has steadfastly fought for social justice and community rights, and against discrimination in employment, city services, and land-use. He is the only Boston City Councilor who maintains a district office, and has used his office to support extensive community organizing, from the District 7 Roundtable to a struggle for Boston to adopt December 1st as Rosa Parks Human Rights Day, as well as the ongoing work to overhaul the state’s Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) laws and to organize unemployed and underemployed workers via the Boston Workers Alliance. Peter Vickery Peter is an attorney who lives and works in Amherst, Massachusetts., Peter teaches at several local colleges and volunteers on the Town of Amherst’s Energy Task Force. He served a term (2005-07) as Governor’s Councillor for the 8th District, and led Mass Voters for Fair Elections (a pro-public campaign financing organization) toward a successful merger with Common Cause Massachusetts. Peter is a union member (UAW Local 1981) and an advocate for preferential voting measures. He co-founded FairVote Massachusetts, which campaigns for a more representative electoral system. As a result of his research into African-American legal history, Peter served as an advisor on an exhibition titled "The Long Road to Justice: The African American Experience in the Massachusetts Courts." To learn more about the exhibition, please visit www.masshist.org/longroad. Nancy Lee Wood Nancy Lee Wood, Professor of Sociology at Bristol Community College (Fall River, MA) won won the BCC Presidential Fellowship in 2007 to focus her work on educating students, faculty and staff as well as the wider community about peak oil and its anticipated impact on American society. She currently serves as director of BCC’s Institute for Sustainability and Post Carbon Education which focuses on peak oil education and preparedness for a post-carbon future. Nancy is a resident of Taunton, MA, a member WILPF (Women’s Int’l League for Peace and Freedom), the New England Peace Studies Association, the Society for International Development and the steering committee of the Bridgewater-based Citizens for an Informed Community. She is a long-time social activist focusing on issues of globalization, the South African anti-apartheid struggle, women and feminism, immigrant deportations and peace studies. Maggie Zhou Maggie Zhou is a biologist by training, and a climate scientist by inclination. She has immersed herself in the scientific literature on climate change and has taken up advocacy for urgent action to get atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations to a safe level. Maggie helped to get the Secure Green Future ballot question on all three State Rep. district ballots in Arlington, and has continued to up the ante for the social, economic, and political change needed to prevent climate chaos. |
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