Have you ever wished you could solve a problem in your community but didn’t know what to do or even where to start? This month, Green Foothills Leadership Program participants learned the secrets of how to plan and carry out a successful campaign to create change. They also began brainstorming ideas for creating their own...
On January 11, we welcomed the 12th annual cohort of training participants into the Green Foothills Leadership Program. From January through August, this year’s 26 participants will learn the secrets of effective advocacy, with a focus on conservation and environmental justice. They’ll learn how to plan and lead an environmental campaign, set goals, engage the...
Radhika Thekkath, an executive board member of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) Santa Clara Valley Chapter, cares deeply about native plants, the health of pollinators, and local ecosystems. She has a mostly native home garden, gives talks on native plants and related subjects for CNPS, and is passionate about preserving California’s remaining native flora...
People sign up for the Green Foothills Leadership Program for a variety of reasons–to learn how to advocate for the environment, to develop leadership skills that will advance a career or make a community group more effective, to understand more about environmental justice, and to make connections with others who care passionately about the environment....
John Ebneter was a member of the first-ever Green Foothills Leadership Program class in 2013-14. In 2015 he became a Planning Commissioner for the City of San Mateo, a position in which he continues to serve today. He also volunteers with a housing advocacy group. With a background in construction and a dedication to social...
In the heart of East San Jose, next to the Hwy 101 and I-680 interchange, sits a vibrant urban oasis where rows of lush, green vegetables flourish under the California sun. This is Veggielution, a 6-acre community farm that provides fresh, affordable food for underserved communities. The acting executive director of this nonprofit, food-justice based...
Each year, participants in the Green Foothills Leadership Program complete a capstone project. The project involves planning an advocacy campaign that benefits open space, farmland, or natural resources and advances race equity. Participants spend several months designing their campaigns individually or in small groups. Some later develop their projects in the real world, while for...
Tamara Smith-Jones is the founder of Helping Others Maintain Earth (H.O.M.E.), an organization whose mission is community empowerment. She participated in the Green Foothills Leadership Program in 2022 and created a capstone project focused on social justice in East Palo Alto. “The Leadership Program lit a fire under me in terms of realizing the urgency...
Many of us dream of ditching our day jobs to follow our passion, but few people actually do it. Former software developer Peter Ruddock is one who successfully made the leap. In 2011 he switched fields to focus on organic food, initially volunteering with a number of organizations, including Slow Food and the San Mateo...
Wendy Chou is a climate change advocate who works as the Coalition and Project Senior Manager at Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet. In 2022, she participated in the Green Foothills Leadership Program. At the time, she was working as Acterra’s communications manager, and she wanted to gain more experience and training in advocacy and...
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