“This project represents a voice that doesn’t get lifted up; it represents a perspective that needs to get heard,” said Got Green board member Theresa Fujiwara at the launch of the new Women in the Green Economy Project last January. Lillie Brinker, expanded on this idea when she said “It’s time for low income women…
On Saturday, September 24th, Got Green and the people of SE Seattle gathered at South Lake High School to report back to the community about the Women in the Green Economy project. Women shared powerful testimonials and recommendations for ways to ensure that women of color and low income communities are at the forefront of…
Michelle Esguerra is a journey-level, union electrician who lost her full-time job in 2009 a few months before her daughter, Clover, was born. She recently became a certified energy auditor through a federal stimulus funded green job training program. Michelle is hopeful that green jobs such as energy auditing can become career pathways for other…
Ramata Diebate is a committed parent of two young children, Dominic and Ella. A 2007 graduate of the University of Washington, she volunteers at the Kent Family Court Parent-to-Parent Peer Advocates program. Since participating in an urban environmental education program in high school, she has worked to educate herself about our food system and its…
Prioritize green jobs and opportunities for low income women and people of color Sylvia Sabon got her start in the construction industry through a community hiring agreement won by the Seattle-based grassroots group LELO that prioritized low income women and workers of color for Sound Transit jobs. In 2008 Sylvia was laid off from her…
Grassroots women want green homes for their family’s health AND what’s good for the planet Jacquel Redmond and her son, Reakwan (7) are lifelong residents of Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood. Jacquel is actively involved in improving her community for all families through her leadership role in the Rainier Beach Empowerment Coalition. She is particularly interested…
Violet Lavatai and her son Russell live with her sister’s family in Seattle’s Skyway neighborhood. They had their own place until the recession hit and it cost Violet her job as a computer technician for a national gas station chain. Violet is passionate about increasing access to healthier foods for her family, her Samoan community,…
Green Women, Healthy Voices: We will be heard! Women in Southeast Seattle release survey findings and recommendations on the green economy. SEATTLE - On September 24th 2011, Got Green’s Women in the Green Economy Project will release their survey findings and recommendations to the public at a community event at South Lake High School in…
by Tammy Nguyen and Kristyn Joy. What has become clear to the Women in the Green Economy Project is that “Access to Healthy Foods,” just like “Green Jobs,” is as much an economic justice issue as an environmental one. You can’t open a newspaper or turn on the radio these days without hearing about the…
SE Seattle Women’s voices are put front and center in Got Green’s “Women in the Green Economy” project. The project surveyed women in SE Seattle around four issue areas: green jobs; green homes; access to healthy and fresh foods; and better access to public transportation options. Tammy Nguyen, lead organizer in the “Women in the…
