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| Steven Gelb works on the SD350 Transportation Team. We interviewed him to learn more about his valuable contributions to our mission. How did you first get involved with SD350, and when was that? Until recently I was involved with the Alternatives to Violence Project co-facilitating workshops with inmates in California state prisons and volunteering at the immigrant/refugee shelter run by Jewish Family Service. When the pandemic arrived those programs closed down. Last summer, I participated in a SD350 webinar on transportation and afterward received an invitation to join the transportation committee. Bee reached out to me and spoke of the need to have a transportation team member be a liaison to BikeSD. As a passionate advocate of bicycling for transportation and member of BikeSD (and many other bicycle organizations) I was happy to be that person. What drives your activism? I have a personal need to be of service to the larger collective we all belong to. It’s a special joy for me to work together with others in a spirit of generosity and community. The enormity of the climate emergency motivates me to work for the sake of my grandchildren and all life on this planet. What do you recommend to people who want to have a larger impact through the environmental movement? What do you prioritize in your own activism? I honestly don’t feel like I’ve been in the movement long enough to advise others. But I do know that growing a movement is crucial and I admire the democratic, inclusive, and supportive culture of SD350. I’ve learned from SD350 members with more experience and knowledge, not only about technical issues related to climate change, but also about the political context and how to negotiate it to good effect. It’s not enough to be right on the issues. We have to draw in more people to work with us and build relationships with people who are indifferent or working for the status quo.. Is there anything else you would like people to know about you? As a teenager I went to the August 28, 1963, March on Washington at which Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. That experience has had a lasting influence.. |
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