07/01/2025
Not all hero's wear capes. You are looking at the last three standing, of a group of six core board members. I being the youngest of one of the six. Thirteen years ago, I was invited to join, as an "unofficial official" board member for an organization I cannot name. With colleagues I cannot name. One who's face I cannot share. It turns out, Environmental Activism is one of the most dangerous endeavors on this small planet. My courageous, esteemed colleagues put in countless hours of research and attended countless ordinance meetings speaking up and out. Providing sound arguments and research on behalf of community health. In our own way, we each contributed and fought hard for the last 13 years for the clean air, water and soil of California and Los Angeles proper. I am privileged to have been recognized by this group for my then viral Ban Fracking in California petition. Which raised so much awareness and got progressives elected. Even helping to get our current governor elected. We were an eclectic bunch; A film grip, a film producer, a neuroscientist, a geologist, and myself at the time a concerned single parent of a young child. All of us, living less than a mile away from the toxic Inglewood Oil Fields. Our work will leave a quiet legacy. We made a dent in the armor of a Goliath industry. We got the ball rolling in some aspects. Now, one board member retired to Hawaii, one passed away, one is very old, one lost a spouse to illness and is weighted by grief, and one is leaving the country forever. I cannot emphasize the pride I feel, to have served my community alongside these brilliant misfits who found me to be a worthy collaborator. It is the end of an era. I am forever grateful to have known these big hearted, brave folks. Bless them all.