Earth Week Speaker Biographies
Thanks to everyone who is participating this year!
Secret Charles, Community Outreach Consultant and Toxic Beauty Specialist, Community Coalition for Environmental Justice
Secret Charles has been co-coordinating along with Coalition for Environmental Justice's past Director Yalonda Sinde, the Partnership for Environmental Health and Asthma (PEHA) project. Secret is now the campaign coordinator for the toxic beauty campaign. Secret is the mother of two sons and lives in South Seattle. In 2004, Ms. Charles earned a Masters in Environment and Community from Antioch University. She has been instrumental in recruiting and coordinating the PEHA leadership team which is comprised of low income people primarily parents of children with asthma. The group conducts outreach to Southend residents at grocery stores and mini marts encouraging people to protect air quality by signing no idling pledges. Reducing car idling is an effective strategy for improving air quality as Rainier Valley has a disparate amount of heavy traffic due to the many throughways and construction sites.
Jim Dawson, Field Coordinator, Washington Toxics Coalition
Jim Dawson is the Field Coordinator for the Washington Toxics Coalition. He is responsible for directing Washington Toxics Coalition grassroots organizing efforts on state legislation. For the past 8 years he has worked for state, national, and international non-profit organizations on a wide range of environmental issues from Global Warming to protecting and restoring Puget Sound. Jim lives in Tumwater where he and his wife just finished designing and building a passive solar, straw bale home.
Timothy Egan, Journalist/Author
Timothy Egan lives in Seattle. He is a journalist for The New York Times, and the author of four books. He has been the recipient of several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. His books include The Worst Hard Time, Lasso the Wind and The Good Rain.
Nancy Gonlin, Anthropology Instructor, BCC
Nancy Gonlin, a Mesoamerican archaeologist, earned a Ph.D from Penn State University in 1993. Since that time she has conducted significant fieldwork in Honduras and Mexico and is the author of several publications and conference papers. In addition, she teaches anthropology at BCC.
Mike Hanson, Botany Instructor, BCC
Dr. Michael Hanson obtained a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Nebraska, a Ph.D. in Botany from Claremont Graduate University and Post-Doctoral research positions at the University of Minnesota and Cornell University. His specific interests are in symbiotic interactions, especially domestication of humans by plants and animals and vice versa. Due to these interests, he has taught numerous interdisciplinary courses at Elmira College, SUNY-Empire State College and Bellevue Community College utilizing the learning community model. Michael is not a self-made man: he benefits from the waste products of photosynthetic organisms and the storage products and bodies of plants, animals, fungi and protists, encourages alimentary bacterial growth and eyebrow mite habitation, and derives pleasure from the assistance and friendship of other life forms, including humans.
Dr. Carol Janzen, Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc.
Carol earned her PhD in physical oceanography from the University of Delaware, and has over 20 years experience working on interdisciplinary observational studies in coastal and estuarine environments. She completed a Post-Doc position at the University of Wales, Bangor (U.K.), and held a position as Assistant Research Scientist with the School of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine. Carol’s knowledge and use of Sea-Bird instruments began in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, when she was an oceanographer at the Washington State Department of Ecology. Carol is applying much of her efforts at Sea-Bird Electronics in Research and Development group, working on performance assessment for new sensors.
Bill Kupinse, English Department, University of Puget Sound
William Kupinse is Associate Professor of English at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where he teaches creative writing, British modernism, and environmental literature. His poems have been published in Green Letters, Cumberland Poetry Review, and Cimarron Review, among other places; his ecologically themed poetry appears in the current issue of the Blue Ocean Institute’s online journal SeaStories.org. In addition to his poetry, Kupinse has published essays on topic ranging from trash in James Joyce Ulysses to H. G. Wells’s early work as a biologist. He is currently working on a book about modernism and waste entitled The Remains of Empire, which brings together the disciplines of literature and environmental studies.
Patty Martin, Safe Food and Fertilizer / Former Mayor of Quincy WA
Patty Martin is the founder of Safe Food and Fertilizer (www.safefoodandfertilizer.org) a non-profit organization advocating for a ban on the use of hazardous wastes in fertilizer, soil amendments and animal feed. As the former mayor of Quincy, Washington, Martin exposed the practice of disposing hazardous wastes in fertilizer after area farmers experienced crop loss, diseased livestock and health problems. The book Fateful Harvest, the True Story of a Small Town, a Global Industry, and a Toxic Secret chronicles her battle.
Michael Meyer, English Instructor, BCC
Michael is an instructor of English at Bellevue Community College, where he is very involved in the interdisciplinary studies program. He received his graduate degree from Marquette University.
Anindita Mitra, Founder, CREÄ Affiliates, LLC
Anindita Mitra is the founder of CREÄ Affiliates, a sustainable planning and design firm in Seattle. She is active in local community design efforts.
Dave Montgomery, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington
Professor David R. Montgomery is internationally recognized as a leader in the study of geomorphology, the evolution of landscapes. He is the Director of the Quaternary Research Center, a professor in the Department of Earth & Space Sciences at the University of Washington. His research interests range from the co-evolution of the Pacific salmon and the topography of the Pacific Northwest to the environmental history of Puget Sound rivers, sediment transfer from the Andes to the Amazon, giant glacial floods in eastern Tibet, and the formation of Martian outflow channels. In addition to his recent books (Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations and King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon) he has published over 150 publications in the scientific literature.
Michael Righi, Economics Instructor, BCC
Michael Righi, Economics instructor at BCC, got his degree from Columbia U., has been in the Peace Corps in Malaysia and emphasizes the global economy in his teaching. He is politically active around issues of international poverty and justice, including the relationships between economic growth and environmental sustainability.
Rob Rose, Bellevue Rotary Club
Robert Rose has been the owner of Brant Photographers, in Bellevue since 1985, following in his father Ken’s footsteps. Rob has been a member of Bellevue Rotary Club for 22 years. Back in 1974 at the age of 16, Rob was a Rotary Club exchange student and spent his junior year of high school in Calcutta, India. That remarkable experience impacted him greatly in 1974 and continues to shape his life today.
In 1997, Rob read an article about the impoverished lives of children living in Nepal. He made a phone call to volunteer his photographic expertise to help out a nonprofit organization based in California that was providing assistance to many children in Nepal. That one call started a cascade of events that has led to a volunteer odyssey spanning ten years and fourteen projects- two in India and twelve in Nepal, providing assistance to orphans, disabled children, hearing impaired kids, abused women and victims of terminal cancer. Rob is currently working on a major Rotary initiative to help uplift people with disabilities throughout the country of Nepal, who have suffered from neglect and discrimination for so long. Rob and his wife Gina work closely together on project coordination and in 2006 formed The Rose International Fund for Children- a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, to expand and enhance their humanitarian work. Please visit TRIFC’s website at: www.trifc.org.
Sean Schmidt, Co-Founder and Lifestyle Ambassador, Sustainable Style Foundation
Sean learned his first lessons in respecting people and the environment from his grandmother, Rosie, while growing up on a small family farm in Nebraska. As the son of a zoological park administrator, Sean learned first-hand the art and science of preserving biological and cultural diversity from an early age. Sean has a unique combination of science and business credentials with degrees in behavioral ecology and conservation biology, the ability to communicate in five languages and eighteen years in the corporate world. Sean has taken part in research projects throughout the world including song sparrows and terrestrial amphibians in Washington State, investigating conservation programs in zoological parks throughout the former Soviet Union, studying snow leopard ecology in Ladakh, India and evaluating the population status of Sandhill cranes in Cuba. In business, Sean’s 14 year tenure at Seattle-based fashion retailer Nordstrom. included positions in sales, corporate human resources, information technology, and sustainable business and development. In 1995, Sean also served as international expert on Russian venture capital funds following an internship at the Foundation for Russian/American Economic Cooperation. In 2003, Sean co-founded the Sustainable Style Foundation (SSF) with good friend and Nordstrom alum Rebecca Luke. Sean began working in the human resources department at the University of Washington Medical Centers in 2005 and is now working towards a Master of Arts in Policy Studies at University of Washington - Bothell. In addition to his SSF work, Sean has founded The Smart Set and leads two interdepartmental initiatives at the UW focused on sustainability in healthcare: SAM and MESH. You can learn more about Sean on his web siteSustainable Sean.
Jason Simpson, Manager of Coffee and Tea Education, Starbucks
Jason is the Manager of Coffee and Tea Education at Starbucks, where he has worked for 12 years. Before that he worked for the San Diego Market. Among other things Jason is interested in building sustainable relationships with coffee growing communities.
Jeremy Smithson, Co-Founder/Owner, Puget Sound Solar
Jeremy Smithson and Pamela Burton are the cofounders and owners of Puget Sound Solar. Because recent events have hastened the need for new means of energy production, Jeremy phased out his 28-year design/build business to form Puget Sound Solar. Now in its eighth year, the company continues to be a leader in the region, keeping eight people busy full-time so far.
Dr. Viki Sonntag, Research Director, Sustainable Seattle
Viki Sonntag is a researcher and practitioner in developing healthy local economies. She joined Sustainable Seattle in June 2005 to head up a project researching local multipliers as a measure of community sustainability. She also works with small businesses and community-based organizations in implementing change practices based on sustainable resource use. From 1997 to 2003, Viki did research in the Netherlands, working with the leading practitioners and theoreticians of a policy approach to structural/system change adopted by the Dutch Ministry of Environment to guide their sustainability initiatives. In 2003, she received a PhD in economics for her research on sustainability and the role of strategy in adapting to change. Before this, Viki led the planning and start-up of two extension centers that have helped hundreds of small companies and community-based organizations achieve their goals. One of these centers – the Recycling Technology Assistance Partnership – became the national source for recycling technology related tools and information under her guidance.
Pam Taziolli, Washington State Coordinator, Breast Cancer Fund
Pam Tazioli has been the Washington State Coordinator for Breast Cancer Fund since the inception of the state office in May 2004. She is on the steering committees of the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition and the Collaborative on Health and the Environment. She educates the community about environmental links to breast cancer and promotes changes in public policy and business practices, striving to improve the health and environment of Washington State. Pam does not hesitate to take action in anyway that she can. She has been a study participant with the Pollution in People Project, having her body tested for toxic chemicals. She was a member of the Climb Against The Odds - Mt. Rainier team, attempting the rigorous assent in July 2005, to promote the efforts of Breast Cancer Fund.
Pam is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in the fall of 2000 and completed treatment one year later. Her disease is currently in remission.
Pam has a 28 year career in education and non-profit management. She holds a masters degree in special education from San Francisco State University and a bachelors degree in education from Washington State University
Heather Trimm, Urban Bays and Toxics Program Project Coordinator, People for Puget Sound
Heather Trim, Urban Bays and Toxics Program Manager for People For Puget Sound, has more than 18 years of experience in environmental work. In Los Angeles, she worked for the Regional Water Quality Control Board on water quality standards, regulatory permits, and pollution assessments of both surface and ground water for Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. She then was staff scientist for the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council focusing on various projects leading to the greening of the rivers, including water quality, stormwater issues, pollution assessments and habitat renewal. She moved to Seattle in 2001 and joined People For Puget Sound in 2002. She works on reducing toxic pollution in Puget Sound and also focuses on a range of Seattle issues – habitat, stormwater, landuse and zero waste.
Katie Wilson, BCC Rotaract Club President
Katie recently returned from Nepal as part of a disabilities awareness project and will be sharing her experience. In addition, she will provide information about a future opportunities for students to travel to Nepal to make a difference.
BCC Earth Week is organized by the BCC Student Science Association. For more information contact Rob Viens in the BCC Science Division at rviens@bcc.ctc.edu or (425) 564-3158.
