In honor of International Women’s Day, American Green Consulting wanted to take a moment to recognize the contributions of three foundational women in sustainability, each working in their own way to send the elevator back down for others.
Helen Clarkson is the CEO of The Climate Group, working to drive fast climate action. Her past work to solve complex sustainability challenges included key partners like Target, Walmart, Nike, Gap, and Levi Strauss & Co. In an interview with Reuters during Climate Week New York, Helen said, “Climate transition demands business innovation, not just technology innovation.” You can see the whole interview here and you can learn more about The Climate Group here.
Gloria Brown was the first Black woman forest supervisor for the US Forest Service, serving from 1974 to 2007, supervising the Siuslaw National Forest in 1999. Gloria helped solve intricate problems around watersheds, resource extraction, and forest management and land use intersections. Gloria credits acting regional forester Nancy Graybeal and Elaine Zielinski at the Bureau of Land Management as mentors who helped her achieve her goal of becoming a forest supervisor. She says, “If you think you’re doing something by yourself, I’ll be the first one to tell you: no, you didn’t. You didn’t get there by yourself.” Explore an interview with Gloria in the US Forest Service’s HerStory project here.
Melody Mobley was both the first US Forest Service’s first Black woman forester in 1977 AND the first black woman to earn a bachelor’s in forest management at the University of Washington in 1979. “It’s so important everybody contributes their voice, their brains, their perspective to formulating alternatives to managing the natural resources on our planet,” she says. “There’s really something for everyone in natural resource management,” she says. These days, Melody leads the Black and Latin/Hispanic Birder and Naturalist series and volunteers at Arlington, Virginia elementary schools to take students on nature walks and answer environmental questions. “Attorneys, teachers, accountants, foresters, range managers, fire managers, hydrologists, soil scientists. You can find your niche.” You can explore an Alumni Spotlight interview with Melody on the University of Washington’s website here and an interview about her recent work at ARLnow.
Diversity and inclusivity is a year-round effort at American Green Consulting, check out our blog and social media for other featured women and thought leaders in forestry and sustainability.