Kef Kasdin, board chair at Rachel’s Network, reflects on her time at the Women’s March on Washington, and how the solidarity of women will help us protect a healthy environment and many other issues we care about.
With more than half of the world’s population living in urban areas (and growing), addressing sustainability in our cities is a crucial undertaking. One city facing this challenge head-on is Portland, Oregon. From its renowned bike culture and green buildings, to its park system and green infrastructure, the city serves as a showcase for innovation in sustainable planning. Rachel’s Network traveled there in October for our Fall Retreat to hear from experts on the exciting solutions being developed in the region.
In July, Rachel’s Network traveled to Lake Tahoe to learn more about the environmental issues facing the region. Hosted by members Adriana Hayward and Kimberley Milligan, who support several organizations there, Rachel’s Network met with conservation leaders and got an up-close look at work on the ground.
Aided by cutting-edge research in endocrinology, genetics, GIS, and more; today’s conservationists pack an arsenal of sophisticated tools to help save the world’s most threatened species. Much of this significant research is happening in a rather unlikely place: the rural Virginia countryside. Several Rachel’s Network members support the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and we traveled there in March to see their work firsthand.
“Preposterously beautiful.” That’s how novelist Jim Harrison once described Patagonia, Arizona, a town on the edge of the Sonoran Desert. Rachel’s Network members confirmed this view on a recent trip to the Sky Island region where they learned about local efforts to preserve this unique and biodiverse landscape. The trip was led by local Rachel’s Network Member Diana Hadley who supports a number of conservation programs on both sides of the US-Mexico border and possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the area.
Rachel’s Network members and guests traveled to San Francisco for the 2012 Fall Retreat, Venture Philanthropy and the Green Economy. For three days, members met with thought leaders and trailblazing entrepreneurs and immersed themselves in the themes of impact investing, clean tech innovation, and sustainability. Set against the backdrop of one of the country’s greenest cities, it was a truly powerful and inspiring gathering.
