#61 / Lennie

Pictured is Lennie Roberts. She is "Lennie" to all who have worked with her (and maybe even to some of those who have worked against her). Click that link to her name, and you'll be able to read a Sierra Club accolade to Lennie Roberts as an "environmental hero." The write-up might even be a bit understated!

A tribute to Lennie, and a celebration of her conservation work, will be held on June 21, 2019, under the auspices of Committee for Green Foothills. Lennie played a leadership role in preventing Caltrans from constructing a new, growth-inducing freeway to connect the San Mateo County coastside with San Francisco. We have the Devil's Slide tunnel instead, plus a coastal trail of breathtaking beauty. Take a ride and try it out, if you haven't already. Thanks to Lennie's work on that project, the San Mateo County coastside is now better protected from growth pressures originating on the other side of the hill than anyone could have hoped for. You can click right here for some information on the June celebration. 

Lennie has been on the Board of Directors of Committee for Green Foothills for fifty years. She has served as a policy and legislative advocate for the Committee for forty years. Here is a link to an edition of the Committee for Green Foothills' Winter 2018 Newsletter, documenting Lennie's contributions. It is well worth reading, and I particularly commend Lennie's "Ten Tips For Advocates."  Lennie is trying to "pass on the spirit," and I am reproducing them, below, to save you a "click."

My summation? Thank you, Lennie! My suggestion? Let's hunt down the "environmental hero" possibilities we all have within us. It's time to start working on the next fifty years!

My Ten Tips for Advocates

By Lennie Roberts, Legislative Advocate

Here are ten common sense tips that I point to when people have asked me, “how do you do it?”

1. Learn everything you can about your issue. Knowledge is power!

2. Research the decision-making process and timelines for decisions. Find out what is important to people you are trying to influence.

3. Enlist allies to increase your clout. Empowering others is often a critical element in success.

4. Develop relationships with key people. Building trust with others gives you a huge advantage.

5. Never lie or mislead anyone. If you inadvertently use wrong information, admit your errors!

6. Do not attack others personally. Even with the most vexatious provocateurs, you can—and should—strongly argue against ideas, but not the person.

7. Keep your eye on the goal. Your issue may require many years of effort.

8. Maintain a sense of humor. It will keep you going through the most challenging times.

9. Remember that results are what counts, not your personal glory. Work with anyone and everyone you can, and let others bask in the spotlight wherever possible.

10. Celebrate others genuinely and frequently. Gratitude for large and small victories helps sustain and inspire our efforts.

Good luck, and remember that victories are often temporary, but defeats are permanent. A great deal of the environment that we enjoy and depend upon today has already been compromised. It is vitally important to defend what is left in order to provide for future generations.

Image Credit:

https://www.greenfoothills.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CGF-Newsletter-Winter2018-FInal-PRESS-2-2.pdf