Topic: RLF
Dos Rios—Much-Needed, Long-Awaited Park for the San Joaquin Valley
August 22, 2022
California officials recently announced the creation of the first new state park since 2009: Dos Rios Ranch, at the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin Rivers, near the San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge. The announcement was remarkable, but not only because of the long interval since the last park opening in a state whose park system is the largest in the nation (with its 279 state park units, over 340 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river frontage, 15,000 campsites, 5,200 miles of trails, 3,195 historic buildings and more than 11,000 known prehistoric and historic archaeological sites).…
Let’s meet this setback with resolve: Reflections on the SCOTUS EPA decision
July 1, 2022
Note from RLF President Avi Garbow to staff and board after the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling on June 30, 2022. Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in West Virginia v. EPA, and by a 6-3 vote, severely restricted EPA’s authority under the federal Clean Air Act to control emissions from coal-fired power plants, the largest-emitting stationary sources fueling our climate crisis. This ruling deals a blow to federal efforts to address a worsening crisis that affects us all, with broad ramifications for generations to come. The lengthy opinion rests upon the majority’s view that the EPA’s exercise…
Reflections on DEI progress in the workplace
May 11, 2022
When I reflect on the past year of RLF’s progress advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, I’d describe it as a year of questioning. Our human resources (HR) team has been questioning our day to day work—why have we been doing things the way we do? What practices should we change to better align with our values and promote DEI? How can we attract qualified candidates of all backgrounds and support equity in hiring? We found opportunities to make changes at almost every step of the recruiting process and will continue to make improvements in the coming…
In Support of Ketanji Brown Jackson
March 21, 2022
Resources Legacy Fund submitted the following letter to the US Senate in support of the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court:
“An inescapable network of mutuality”
January 19, 2022
Note from RLF President Avi Garbow to staff on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 2022. As I come to the end of my first week with you all, and as we remember and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday’s holiday and day of service, I wanted to share some reflections on the meaning of our work, our purpose, and our opportunities to participate in the building of Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community: On Christmas Eve, 1967, on the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered what would…
Thoughts of Gratitude and Hope
January 6, 2022
As Avi Garbow prepares to take over as the new president of Resources Legacy Fund, I find myself filled with confidence in his leadership, excitement for the future, and a profound sense of gratitude for all the people I have been privileged to work with: my RLF colleagues and board members and our partners, funders, and grantees. Without these relationships RLF’s significant impact and impressive evolution over the years simply would not have been possible. I have learned over and again from you. I am grateful for the vision of the Packard Foundation that led to RLF’s creation more than…
Announcement: Resources Legacy Fund Welcomes Avi Garbow as New President
November 18, 2021
Resources Legacy Fund is pleased and proud to welcome Avi Garbow as its new president. Garbow is a nationally recognized environmental leader, lawyer, and advocate with decades of experience tackling many of the most critical threats to our air, water, and lands. He takes over from Michael Mantell, who founded RLF more than 20 years ago. Most recently, Garbow served as Patagonia’s first Environmental Advocate, providing strategic leadership and vision to the company’s robust environmental advocacy efforts. He took on a temporary assignment in the Biden administration, as senior counselor to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),…
A Personal and Organizational Mandate for a Just and Equitable Future
June 24, 2021
My 70-year-old mother recently told me about a friend of hers who started walking with a cane, not to steady her gait, but to fend off potential attackers. Though my mom isn’t quite ready to carry a would-be-weapon, she said she chooses her daily walking routes with more care these days. As an Asian American woman, anecdotes like these make me incredibly sad and angry. I immigrated to the United States when I was nine years old but consider myself an American. My English is far more fluent than my Korean, and during hot summer days, it’s burgers on the…
RLF Statement of Solidarity with AAPI Communities
April 2, 2021
RLF stands with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities to condemn senseless violence and bigotry rooted in racism and xenophobia. According to Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Americans have been victims of more than 3,800 hate crimes across the country during the past year, fanned by the racist rhetoric of the former president who called COVID-19 the “Chinese” virus (among other slurs). These hateful acts are unacceptable. Anti-Asian hate crimes have been reported right in our backyard—elderly Asian men have been beaten and killed in broad daylight in the Bay Area in separate attacks—and gained national attention in Georgia…
RLF Statement on Events of January 5-6, 2021
January 6, 2021
Today has been an extraordinary and scary day in American history, its developments generating feelings across an unimaginably broad emotional spectrum. We have been riveted, watching unprecedented violence in the nation’s capital (and, literally, in its Capitol building) that was driven by at best disingenuous and arguably seditious actions, taken at the highest levels of government. This jaw-dropping, mesmerizing spectacle almost eclipsed events of the last 24 hours in Georgia. Almost, but not quite. For in Georgia we are once again able to celebrate the effectiveness of fair and inclusive elections, led by dedicated, strategic grass roots organizing and advocacy…
Tomorrow’s Solutions Will be Found Where Issues Intersect
December 14, 2020
The lessons of 2020 are harsh and profound: science and leadership matter, resilient natural systems are essential to our health and security, and we have a long way to go on racial equity. As much as we all wish for 2021 to usher in a new era of hope and positive change, the work to achieve that reality is up to us. The last nine months have made clear that we need to think about and solve our problems in different ways. If we are to ensure a just and resilient future in which people and nature thrive, we must…
Environmental Progress Tied to Healthy Democracy
November 24, 2020
The world is changing. Not only is our climate changing—introducing new challenges to our environment and communities—but our technology, politics, society, and economies are changing. These changes are happening more rapidly and radically than ever. Sea level rise, species extinctions, autocratic governments, income inequality, gun violence, and wildfire destruction are all on the rise. These issues go hand in hand, and any meaningful progress requires a high-functioning democracy built on trust, respect for established governing principles, and high voter participation. At a time of such immense political and social upheaval in the United States, RLF’s partner organizations—Fund for a…
A Message on the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 16, 2020
Dear Friends, COVID-19 has presented us all with unprecedented challenges as we juggle new responsibilities in quarantined life amid the steady drumbeat of despair in the news. I find hope and inspiration in our collective work, which I believe is more important now than ever. We all saw the value of our parks, as people flocked to the outdoors for recreation and peace of mind during the early days of sheltering in place. Due to their overwhelming popularity, many parks closed, forcing people to find other ways to enjoy the fresh air and spring sunshine. Unfortunately, not everyone has an…
Finding Hope in the Moment
April 1, 2020
When I sat down to write this blog, I began by reflecting on the first 20 years of RLF’s work and what the next 20 years will bring. Coronavirus had yet to upend the lives of many outside the Asian continent. Just a few weeks later, most of the country is on lock-down, the economy has imploded, nearly 10 million Americans have applied for unemployment, and the global death toll has topped 45,000, rapidly accelerating.* As devastating as this new reality is, I find comfort in the fact that we are coming together as neighbors, Americans, corporations, philanthropists, and global…
