See Jane Do Everyday Women Doing Extraordinary Things
After graduation, Rachel continued to follow her passion for creating positive change by founding Campus InPower, a nonprofit sustainability organization that has spread the TGIF funding model to dozens of universities. She is currently the program director of the Business Council on Climate Change, a group of 100 Bay Area companies working to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and advocate for climate solutions in the private sector. On January 23, Rachel will be one of the 15 workshop leaders participating in See Jane Do’s Passion Into Action Women’s Conference.
You recently returned from Copenhagen where you joined 26 other young American delegates at the United Nation’s climate change conference. What was your take away from the conference?
“My biggest take away from the conference was that far too much effort and emphasis has been placed on obtaining “binding” agreements from our political leaders, when in reality, no UN agreement is a silver bullet – we need real solutions, on the ground, starting NOW. I am proud to be a citizen of the Bay Area, which isn’t sitting around waiting for our global leaders to take action – we’re taking aggressive local action now, and we’re leading the way for local action around the world.”
Was it a success or a disaster as the media was reporting?
“In terms of the outcome of Copenhagen, of course it was disappointing, but we also knew that a legally binding agreement wasn’t possible going in. The larger point is that the entire UN process on climate is pretty dysfunctional – we’ve been debating and debating for over 25 years, and accomplished very little. It’s time to leapfrog over this outdated process, make clean energy the next global moonshot competition, and convert our dirty fossil-fuel energy sources over to clean energy as fast as possible.”
Why is it important for women to harness their finances?
“I used to be intimidated by money, but now I see it as a vital resource. I created TGIF because I couldn’t accomplish the large-scale projects I wanted to implement on campus without a major funding source. At the end of the day, I learned that it simply takes money to get things done. I don’t consider myself particularly passionate about finance, but I am passionate about making positive change, and I learned that harnessing financial resources for good things is incredibly rewarding.”
What do you plan to cover in your workshop at the Passion Into Action conference?
“My workshop “See Jane Fundraise: Turning Passion into Money (now 100% Guilt-free!)” will tackle the personal psychology behind pursuing your passion and fundraising for it – specifically, the fears and emotional blocks that prevent us from starting organizations and fundraising for them. We’ll finish with a concrete fundraising plan that you can take home.”
Where does your drive come from?
“I was raised with the core value, “To much is given, much is expected.” My parents gave me so much love, opportunity and material support over the course of my blessed 23-year old life, that I’ll probably be paying it back until I’m 80! All joking aside, I truly believe that every person has a unique gift to bring to the world, and that sadly, not everyone is lucky enough to have the freedom and opportunity to realize that higher purpose. To those of us who were born wealthy, healthy and free – I have one message: time to get on board and give back!”
Why is now the time for people to get involved both locally and globally on climate change issues?
“Even if climate change didn’t exist, our society needs the changes that climate solutions offer: solutions like mass public transit, renewable energy, local food, zero waste, healthy green buildings, less material consumption, etc. The new, clean economy of the future – one built around jobs in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture production, with high-density cities designed for walkable lifestyles, free from industrial pollutants and toxic products that accompany over-consumption – is the future we need to build as a nation.”
See Jane Do is a multimedia program capturing the stories of everyday women doing extraordinary things for the planet. Catch the one-hour talk radio program on KVMR 89.5FM the first Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m.
