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Children’s Health Champion California Safe Schools Celebrates 25th Anniversary and Honors Earth Day Heroes

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Founded by Robina Suwol in 1998, California Safe Schools (CSS) is a children's environmental health and environmental justice non-profit. CSS achieved national and international prominence by spearheading the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Policy, and for the past 25 years been a leader in protecting children's health and the environment.

In honor of Earth Day, California Safe Schools celebrates outstanding heroes who strive daily to protect human health and our environment.

2023 Earth Day Heroes:

Patricia Hill began her career in front of the camera, then broke into production as the first female cameraperson. Her credits are innumerable: Cheers, Frasier, M*A*S*H, The Waltons, Everyone Loves Raymond and many others. Patricia has continually used her skills to help others. She documented an irrigation project by the Gambia River, was the photographer for Ted Danson's American Oceans Campaign later called Oceana, organized a delegation to document human rights violations in Central America and helped lobby in Washington. She also judged animated submissions for the Environmental Media Association.

Qihao Huang is a 12th grade student at Abraham Lincoln High School helping his community as a volunteer with Chinatown Community Equitable Development, Project Angel Food, Teens Leading Change, Chinatown Teen Council, and YUCA. Through his work, he has become aware of the challenges elderly face including language barriers.As a result, he has established his own non-profit to help low-income people as an advocate against gentrification, ensuring access to support and resources. Qihao also participates in community service events such as the Lincoln Park Clean-Up, LA Marathon, and Rose Parade.

Stephanie Lewis is a Senior Environmental Scientist at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Her main work focuses on working with California Native American Tribes to ensure that they are aware of investigative and remediation projects that are anticipated to take place on their culturally affiliated and sensitive lands. As an advocate for introducing young people to STEM, Stephanie serves on the board of the Hyde Park Organization Partnership for Empowerment, California Science Center Foundation MUSES program, which funds students to attend science classes, and is chair of the Los Angeles Council of Black Professional Engineers scholarship committee.

Adrian Martinez

Based in Los Angeles, Adrian works on clean air, clean energy, and healthy communities issues as a deputy managing attorney for Earthjustice in its "Right to Zero" campaign. He also serves as the Chair of Earthjustice's Transportation Practice Group. Adrian currently serves on San Pedro Bay Ports Sustainable Supply Chain Advisory Committee and the California Public Utilities Commission and California Energy Commission Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Committee. He co-teaches a class on Environmental Justice Law at the University of California Los Angeles. Adrian also volunteers on the board of several nonprofits and serves on the advisory board for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA Law School.

Caroline Martinez

Caroline is a first grader who is no stranger to environmental advocacy. She has attended many hearings with her father, Adrian Martinez of Earth Justice, to advocate for electric buses in Los Angeles. She aspires to be an electric car designer.

Chief Ernie P. Teutimez-Salas, Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians/Kizh Nation

Chief Ernie P. Teutimez -Salas has proven to be the most recognized and most accurately documented, direct lineal-descendant of former native ancestors of Kizh/Gabrieleño Villages or (rancherias), the villages of Sibangna Siba, Tameobit & Atongai / Tamet, from any Gabrieleño Indians in Gabrieleño History. Chief Salas is the grandchild of Nicolas Jose who was a man of great power and had an important part in the rebellion of 1784 at Mission San Gabriel. Chief Salas has taught his Tribe to have self-respect and to keep their culture and way of living alive while being the stewards of the land in its protection and preservation for future generations.

Matthew Teutimez

Matthew Teutimez has been designated by his Tribe to possess and share Kizh-Gabrieleño ecological knowledge and traditional practices taught to him by Chief Ernie P. Teutimez-Salas and Elders of the Kizh-Gabrieleño Tribe. He serves as the Tribal Biologist and Director of Resources, specializing in ethnobotanical and cultural uses of native flora and fauna. Matthew is the founder and executive director he Laboratory for Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS), a non-profit created to integrate and apply indigenous methods and knowledge into environmental stewardship, food, medicine, and land management projects. Matthew is a member of the California Environmental Protection Agency's (CalEPA) Tribal Advisory Committee; CALEPA's Community Science Model Workgroup; the City of Los Angeles' Tree Ambassador Program; and Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment's Biodiversity Workgroup.

Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians/Kizh NationKizh (Kitc, Quiichi)

The People of the Willow and Tule Brush Houses.The Kizh name derives from the dome-style dwellings used for houses. For millennia, the Kizh have created a complex and beautiful culture, which included religion, astronomy, rich and varied cuisine, economy, and complex social structures. The Kizh developed ingenious ways to live sustainably from the gifts of the Creator on the land of the Los Angeles Basin and southern Channel Islands. The Kizh were one of two California tribes who mastered boat-building and developed a maritime culture utilizing the resources of the open ocean and coastal estuaries and bays. The lineage of the original people of the Los Angeles Basin still survives today within the Kizh Nation Tribe and its people continue to protect and preserve their cultural heritage, identity, and ancestral lands.

Robina Suwol, founder and executive director of California Safe Schools added, "In honoring these phenomenal self-less individuals, we are acknowledging their tremendous efforts that have resulted in the protection of not only current generations, but future generations to come."

Learn more: https://www.calisafe.org/

Related link: http://www.calisafe.org/

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved. ID:NEO2022

Awards and Honors, Business, Education and Schools, Environment and Ecology, Free News Articles, NonProfit and Charities

California Safe Schools Celebrates 2022 Earth Day Honorees and 24th Anniversary

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- California Safe Schools (CSS) celebrates 7 honorees for their extraordinary achievements empowering youth and protecting the Earth. "CSS wants to honor our phenomenal 2022 Earth Day Champions. We thank each of them for their enormous and selfless contributions. They all make our world a better place," Robina Suwol, California Safe Schools, executive director, said.

This Spring also marks the 24th anniversary of CSS's commitment to ensuring that all students, teachers, staff, and community members who live near school sites are in a safe, toxic-free environment. CSS continues to work closely with diverse communities and regulatory agencies on toxic issues that impact our life-giving air, water and soil.

CSS achieved national prominence by spearheading the Los Angeles Unified School District's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Policy, the most stringent pesticide policy in the nation for K-12 public schools. This was the first school district to embrace the "Precautionary Principle" and "Right to Know" in a policy and led to the passage of California's Healthy Schools Act. Today, the LA Unified IPM policy serves as an international model for school districts and communities.

HONOREES:

Tam Doduc

As the appointed Civil Engineer Member on the State Water Resources Control Board, Tam participated in processes to allocate and ensure reasonable use of water rights, provide financial support for water infrastructures and groundwater cleanups, and assure communities have access to safe drinking water. Her 16 years on the board were preceded by her work as Deputy Secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency where she led the environmental justice and scientific peer review efforts and provided oversight of children's environmental health and environmental education programs.

Deborah Bell-Holt

Deborah's "Love and Respect Youth Foundation" reached out to the needs of thousands of inner city youths in 1994. When she realized this was not enough to solve all the needs she saw before her, Deborah expanded her efforts in the world.

She empowers others to get involved and close-down or clean-up sites that are not favorable to a community. Her fight against drill sites has received worldwide recognition, notably in Paris, France and Switzerland.

Alanna Butterworth

Alanna taught elementary school for 30 years in the Sacramento City Unified School District. She was proactive in fully integrating a local community garden into the school curriculum by developing composting practices with cafeteria food, using the resulting nutrient-dense soil to grow vegetables, and harvesting them for classroom cooking projects. The care of the garden and abundance of fruits and vegetables brought deeply meaningful connections to students who experienced the gifts of nature and attained lifelong knowledge of healthy foods.

Marta and Bob Takano

Bob Takano is a highly respected weightlifting coach who was inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contributions to coaching. He has been the coach of four national champions, two national record holders, and 27 top ten nationally ranked lifters. Bob has been on the coaching staffs of 17 U.S. National teams to international competitions, five of those being World Championships and the Summer Olympics. His lifters have competed in seven Olympic Trials with one, Albert Hood, the third American to snatch double bodyweight, earning a berth on the 1984 team. Bob continues to produce more record-breaking athletes as owner of his own gym, Takano Weightlifting.

While Bob is involved in his work, Marta is doing some heavy weightlifting of her own as a pet therapist and rescuing dogs. As a volunteer at Northridge Hospital and Kaiser Medical Center, Marta discovered how powerful pet therapy was in healing patients and helped train many other handlers. Her love for golden retrievers led her to be part of the Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue that has developed a special program to ensure these traumatized dogs are placed in stable, forever homes. Marta's breadth of experience and compassion are essential in the critical reception of rescue dogs arriving on flights from Korea and Mexico. Both Marta and Bob view this as an opportunity to provide immediate care and solace to an even greater number of dogs in need of rescue. Along with their bountiful garden, they have created a healing environment for the rescue dogs they personally foster until a loving home is found.

Devon Jasiukonis

As president of his middle school in Hollywood, Devon's first project was to initiate a Green Committee. He joins other concerned students and team leaders to facilitate weekly activities to create awareness such as making posters. Topics have included how to reduce, reuse and recycle, earthworm composting, planting milkweed for monarch butterflies, harvesting and storing seeds, and the benefits of farmer's markets for a healthier lifestyle support of local businesses. Devon's newest goal is to reduce single-use water bottles with the installation of filtered drinking water stations at school. This will encourage students and staff to change to reusable bottles that they'll be able to easily refill and it establishes healthy habits while eliminating the impact of plastic.

Martina Rangel-Ortega

Martina has been a force for positive change in her community on issues such as access to healthy food, clean air and water, transportation services and keeping warehouses from being built near residential homes and schools. Martina currently serves as the Secretary for Ontario-Montaclair School District Community Advisory Committee (CAC) whose purpose is to improve and promote communication between schools, parents and public agencies, increase community awareness, and facilitate parent education and support. Martina's passion has been helping special needs children. She has become a trusted advocate between the school district and parents and coordinates many unforgettable activities for families.

All the honorees received awards designed by masterful artist Michael Bruza and engraved by Anderson Trophy.

Learn more about California Safe Schools at: http://www.calisafe.org/

Related link: http://www.calisafe.org/

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved.

Awards and Honors, Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles, General Editorial

California Safe Schools Honors 2021 Earth Day Champions

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- March 30, 2021 marked the 23rd anniversary of California Safe Schools (CSS), a celebrated children's environmental health and justice coalition, founded by Robina Suwol in 1998 after grade school students, including Robina's two sons, were sprayed with the herbicide Princep, as they headed to class.

A school gardener in a hazardous materials suit, employed by LA Unified School District, unaware students were present, sprayed the herbicide creating a cloud of pesticide mist students were forced to walk through to reach their classrooms. Several parents who had dropped off their children at the school were alarmed to witness this event. Robina's youngest son, Nicholas, whose asthma had been under control, experienced a severe asthma attack after the incident.

Robina and CSS sprang into action, contacting the school district, experts in the area, teachers and other parents - leading the effort to ensure incidents like this would not happen again. And, one year to the date Nicholas became ill, CSS and LAUSD enacted the most stringent pesticide policy in the nation for schools. The policy was the first in the United States to embrace the Precautionary Principle and Parents Right to Know regarding pesticides in schools.

The success of the policy led to California legislation, The Healthy Schools Act 2000, and AB 405 spearheaded by Suwol and CSS, which prevents experimental pesticides whose health effects are unknown from being used in all K-12 California schools. As a result, 6 million students, hundreds of thousands of teachers and school employees are protected.

For 23 years LA Unified has not used Roundup, or any herbicides, on the grounds of any schools in a district spanning 28 cities, 703 square miles and 1000 sites.

"While the pandemic has postponed celebrating in person, honoring our phenomenal 2021 Earth Day Champions cannot be delayed. We thank each of them for their enormous and selfless contributions. They make our world a much safer and better place," said Robina Suwol, California Safe Schools, executive director.

HONOREES

Graham Allen is 13 years old and a 7th grade student at Pacific Beach Middle School in San Diego, CA. He is an avid surfer, pianist, and soccer player, and has a 4.5 GPA. He hopes to inspire others through his passion for surfing and environmental protection. With encouragement and support from his peers, Graham organized four beach cleanups in Pacific Beach, California. He worked with several non-profits in underserved communities to teach children how to surf, including students with special needs, to make the ocean a more comfortable place. Graham hopes that in the future, people will transform their passion into something that benefits others, and will help to create a safe and clean environment. In addition to receiving the 2021 Earth Day Hero Award, Graham served four times as Captain of Junior Lifeguards, received IB awards in Science and Physical Education, and was awarded a college scholarship from the Carson Scholarship Foundation. Graham is the son of Scott and Leah Allen.

Mark Abramowitz is entering his 41st year of air quality work in California. In his early days, Mark was tagged by the L.A. Weekly with the moniker "Mr. Clean Air". Since then, Mark's focus has been on tackling the seemingly insurmountable air quality problems in Los Angeles and globally. Mark has played leadership roles in a number of air quality and environmentally focused organizations. He currently works as a consultant to companies with innovative clean air technologies, and as a leader in the hydrogen and fuel cell industry in California, championing zero emission technologies.

Laurie Guillen is a lifelong resident of Paramount, California, and environmental health advocate for decades. She is a graduate of the Paramount Unified School District, Cerritos College and California State University, Fullerton. She has raised three children in her hometown - a doctor, a lawyer, and a deputy Sheriff. Laurie is the founder of the Paramount Community Coalition Against Toxics, and was elected to the Paramount City Council in 2017. In 1987, Laurie joined the Los Angeles Police Department and worked various assignments within the Department - patrol, narcotics, investigations, and administration. She retired in November of 2017. Laurie volunteers for Veterans Affairs at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System, is a philanthropist for Parkinson's disease, and a team coach for individuals with Parkinson's. She is currently a member of the Paramount Women's Club, and in her spare time enjoys travel, creating art, hiking, and camping.

MiQui Marie Torres is a wife, mother of three, an environmental advocate for children's health and a distinguished educator in Sacramento, California. Bilingual in Spanish and English, she often donates her time to serve as a translator for families in need. All of her family members, husband Mario, daughter Elena and sons Mariano and Martino have continuously served the community during the pandemic by providing others in need, especially senior citizens with produce from their abundant organic garden, and donate toys and clothing to foster children. She also contributes regularly to organizations serving the homeless, and adopts injured animals who would not have survived without her nurturing care.

Mitzi Shpak is a founding member and Executive Director of Action Now, an Environmental Health non-profit located in Southern California. Mitzi has served on the groundbreaking Los Angeles Unified School District Integrated Pest Management Team since 1999, and on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation School IPM Advisory Committee. Mitzi holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology, and for twenty years has been a Research Associate II in the laboratory of Edward B. Lewis (1995 Nobel Laureate Medicine & Physiology, at Caltech), and previously worked at the Institute for Genetic Medicine, USC School of Medicine in melanoma research; Beckman Institute, City of Hope in breast cancer research; Human Genome Project at Caltech; and interned at the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Jesse N. Marquez is the founder and executive director of the non-profit community based Environmental Justice Organization the Coalition For A Safe Environment (CFASE). CFASE was established in April 2001 in Wilmington, California to eliminate, reduce and mitigate the negative environmental, public health, public safety and community socio-economic impacts caused by International Trade Marine Ports, Freight Transportation, Petroleum and Energy Industries. Jesse N. Marquez's non-profit organization experience includes: community organizing, family assistance, public education, leadership development, community empowerment, urban planning, community sustainability, emergency preparedness and community economic development

Adrienne Quarry is an international human rights lawyer based in Los Angeles, California. Over the years, she has worked on several cases in an effort to obtain redress and justice for victims of human rights abuses and environmental devastation in Columbia, Ecuador, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa and Sudan. Adrienne continues to work closely with several organizations on the local level and continues her dedication to environmental advocacy as a member of the Los Angeles Unified Integrated Pest Management Team, which has embraced the Precautionary Principle and Right to Know to keep children and adults in Los Angeles public schools safe from exposure to toxic chemicals for over two decades. Adrienne holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in Government (International Relations) with a concentration in Justice and Peace Studies. She also holds a law degree from the University of Notre Dame where she served as Articles Editor for the Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy.

Learn more about California Safe Schools at: http://www.calisafe.org/

MEDIA CONTACT:

Robina Suwol, Executive Director

California Safe Schools

calisafe@earthlink.net

818-785-5515

Related link: http://www.calisafe.org/

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved.