More than 200 guests joined us in the forest to relax among friends old and new at Green Foothills’ 20th annual celebration, Nature’s Inspiration, on Sunday, September 24, 2023, from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. This year’s event was at Sequoia Peterson Grove in Sanborn County Park, Saratoga. Sanborn is home to the California redwood, an integral part of our local ecology and the theme of this year’s event.
We honored our outgoing Executive Director, Megan Fluke; welcomed Julie Hutcheson, our new Executive Director; and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Green Foothills Leadership Program, which currently has more than 260 amazing graduates doing good work locally for conservation and equity.
Guests enjoyed a heartwarming program that included special guests Julie Dominguez of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, Gerardo Ixteyo Loera and Corina Herrera-Loera of Calpulli Tonalehqueh, Sara Barth of Sempervirens Fund, a live performance by the Kathak Kala Vihar dance troupe, and a surprise special guest, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. There were light refreshments and plenty of time to mingle. The entire event was, as usual, a lot of fun!
Can’t attend but would still like to support Green Foothills? Make a donation today.
Questions? For additional information about Nature’s Inspiration, please contact Jocelyn Rodriguez 650.968.7243 x314, [email protected].
At Green Foothills, we take pride in the inclusive culture we’re cultivating within our organization. For those with limited mobility, we will offer accessible parking, golf cart transportation, and special seating. For those who are hard of hearing, all speakers will be individually microphoned. Please let us know in advance if you would like these accommodations or if there is anything else you require to make your experience comfortable and enjoyable. Kindly email [email protected] by September 1, 2023.
Our 2023 Program
Reception 10:30 a.m.
Dress Code: Picnic Casual
Speakers and Performance 11:30 a.m.
Ian Bain, Board President, Green Foothills
Julie Dominguez, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area
Gerardo Ixteyo Loera and Corina Herrera-Loera, Calpulli Tonalehqueh, Ceremonial Blessing
Sara Barth, Executive Director, Sempervirens Fund
Julie Hutcheson, Incoming Executive Director, Green Foothills
Megan Fluke, Outgoing Executive Director, Green Foothills
Performance by Kathak Kala Vihar
Closing by Julie Hutcheson
Reception Continues 12:15-1:30 p.m.
Our Growing List of 2023 Sponsors
Nature’s Inspiration underwrites a significant portion of Green Foothills’ annual expenses. We depend on funds raised from this event to support our work so that we can create the greatest impact. The generous support of our Nature’s Inspiration sponsors makes it possible for us to champion land use decisions that affirm and support open space, biodiversity, climate resilience, and natural resources in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
Thank you to our Nature’s Inspiration 2022 sponsors. To become a sponsor for 2023, please visit our Sponsorship web page.
O’Brien Family Charitable Fund
Ranae DeSantis Morgan Elizabeth Google KPMG and Lisa & Edward Munro Ann & Mark Monroe Myrtle L. Atkinson Foundation Laura Wells
Anonymous Ben Hammett Gary & Patricia Hedden Insperity Peter & Sue LaTourrette Law Offices Of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy Peter & Beverly Lipman Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Peninsula Open Space Trust PG&E Lennie & Mike Roberts Sempervirens Fund Nancy & Greg Serrurier
Steve Abbors Applied Materials Brandenburg Family Foundation Linda & Sid Liebes William Reller Save Mount Diablo Silicon Valley Community Foundation Maxine Terner & Keith Weber
| Anonymous ACLU Foundation of Northern California Jon Adams Leslie Airola-Murveit & Hy Murveit Tamara Alvarado Marilyn & Bill Bauriedel Steve Beck & Jane Baxter Barbara Bessey Steve Betando Greg & Lauren Boro Craig Britton & Carleen Bruins Phyllis Browning Matthew Burrows David Cohen, San Jose Councilmember Martha Cohn Mike Danzenbaker & Lee Hung Marshall Dinowitz & Lisa Kelly Rod Diridon, Sr. & Gloria Duffy Barbara Erny Megan Fluke & Jeff Prentice The Foster Museum Smita Garg Sequoia Hall Susan Hansch & Richard Wright Jerry Hearn & Rebecca Reynolds Cayce Hill & Joe Zullo Tracy & Julie Hutcheson Lee Ann Jarrell Sergio Jimenez, San Jose Councilmember Pitch & Cathie Johnson Alice Kaufman & Scot Griffin Margaret Laffan & Shashank Arora Richard & Alanna Lanman Charlie Lum Tor & Nancy Lund Theresa Lyngso & Joseph McClintock Margaret & Jamis MacNiven Shelley & Andrew Meyer Dan & Helen Quinn Katie Sanborn & Barbara Wright Roberta Saxon & Mike Sasnett Jeff Segall & Helen He Joe Simitian, Santa Clara County Supervisor, & Mary Hughes SPHERE SRT Consultants Carolyn & Edwin Tognetti Valley Water The Walt Disney Company Terrell Watt & Mark Karwowski Bart & Nancy Westcott Wisdom Revealed Ciddy Wordell John Zotz |
| African American Community Service Agency Jeffery & Sharon Allyn Blanca Alvarado Lawrence Ames Garnetta Annable Ian Bain Bryan Beck & Kaia Eakin Josh Becker, California Senator Manjeet Bhamra Phil & Mary Bobel Jo-Ann Byrne Sockolov Dan & Helen Chapman Colorprint Constance Crawford Cooney Family Paul & Jade Davis Gabriel de la Rosa Michelle Domocol Paul & Maureen Draper Craige & Jan Edgerton Linda & Jerry Elkind Sandy Emerson Ron Erskine Anna Eshoo, United States Congresswoman Nazy Fahimi Nancy Federspiel Pam Foley, San Jose Councilmember Steve & Leslie Furney-Howe Linda Gass & Rob Steiner Marian Goldeen & Arthur Ogawa Jeffrey Gong Shruti Gopinathan & Vishal Gupta Melissa Hippard Kristine Karnos Arthur Keller Bill & Kathy Korbholz Los Gatos Birdwatcher Andrea Mackenzie & Jenni Martin Anand Madhavan Chris Manning & Laura Salcido Barbara Marshman Mary L. Reber Trust Hyma Menath John and Valerie Metcalfe Allen Olivo & Robin McKnight Teresa O'Neill David Oppenheimer & Elaine Sulzberger Oppenheimer Smita Patel Mike Potter, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Director, & Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County Supervisor Emily Ann Ramos, Mountain View Councilmember Diana Reddy Emily Renzel & Enid Pearson Curt Riffle & Karen Scussel San Mateo County Parks Foundation Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Kathryn Schmidt Ben & Annette Segall Sequoia Audubon Society Joan Sherlock Diane Siemens David Simon & Lynn Gordon Sharon Snyder Jackie Speier Rene Spring, Morgan Hill Mayor Pro Tempore & Mark Hoffmann Carolyn A. Straub & Stephen L. McHenry Hartono Sutanto & Tom Myers Arpana Tiwari Charlie Tomberg George Tucker & Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space Director Jessica Vernon Don Weden Mariquita West Jim Wickett & Magdalena Yesil |
| Bay Maples |
2023 Honorary Hosts
| Margaret Abe-Koga Mountain View City Councilmember
Vicki Alexander Garnetta Annable Rebeca Armedariz Martha Barragan Arjun Batra Emily Beach Josh Becker Domingo Candelas Helen Chapman Cindy Chavez Donna Colson Drew Combs Dave Cortese Noelia Corzo Maria Doerr Kaia Eakin Pam Foley Jon Froomin J.R. Fruen Lisa Gauthier Craig Gleason Alison Hicks Zach Hilton Karen Holman Diane Howard Ash Kalra Ellen Kamei Zoe Kersteen-Tucker | Yoriko Kishimoto Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board President
Ed Lauing Alex Lee Sergio Lopez Julie Lythcott-Haims Margaret MacNiven Matt Mahan Yvonne Martinez Beltran Lisa Matichak Tom Mattusch Sheila Mohan Kitty Moore Rob Moore Betsy Nash Lucas Ramirez Emily Ann Ramos Curt Riffle Maria Ristow Chris Shaw Pat Showalter Joe Simitian Rene Spring Greer Stone Chris Sturken Vicki Veenker Hung Wei Bill Widmer Jen Wolosin |
From our founding more than 60 years ago until today, Green Foothills has been the local, vocal and effective protector of this region’s natural wonders. We have all benefited tremendously from the work of Green Foothills.
I am grateful for the opportunities that Green Foothills opens up for sincere and organized acts of solidarity that collectively over time will result in change and movement. As a Chicana/Mexika mother and dancer, on the red road, Green Foothills inspires me to take action and center Mother Nature and First Peoples in this struggle to retain land as free and sacred.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Green Foothills for their decades-long work standing up for nature and people. They have been effective advocates for the region’s open space, farmland, and natural resources, protecting our region’s natural heritage for future generations. As we experience the growing effects of climate change, the role Green Foothills plays as the conscience of the community will be needed more than ever.
Many of the most important decisions affecting our natural environment involve land use decisions made by our local governments. For more than 60 years, Green Foothills and its allies have worked diligently and effectively to assure that local government decisions in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties have protected open space and prevented sprawl.
The work of Green Foothills is legendary and extremely environmentally significant to efforts to address climate change.
My support for Green Foothills stems from our reliable long-term passionate commitment to protect local open space now and in the future. This in turn benefits our Wildlife friends and the Earth, essential partners of the human race!
