Partnering with King County, Callie and the Climate Action Committee developed the LWV’s innovative Climate Action Toolkits, which used a combination of checklists, surveys, and data to help cities better assess their climate action needs and goals.
Through her work on the City Climate Action Committee, Callie became aware of how the League organization provides a vital platform for engaging with the community. Callie appreciates the “freedom of form” offered by the LWV; there are multiple ways that the LWV enables people to communicate and educate one another, through their website, committees, public forums, and meetings.
She also recognized that the League’s non-partisan status was an asset, enabling people of various political stripes to come together to work on issues affecting their communities.
In addition, the LWV had a reputation for producing rigorous studies on environmental and other issues which were valued and meaningful to politicians, residents, and stakeholders.
Her activity on the Climate Committee inspired Callie to organize an LWVSKC Forum entitled, Climate Justice: Down with Carbon Emissions - and up with Community Equity! Callie pulled together a diverse panel of local experts to address Climate Justice; with her input, the LWV also developed a website that made the process of Climate Action more understandable and accessible to communities. More recently, Callie has been supporting the State LWV on the No on 2117 campaign.
The Virtual Unit
The Virtual Unit (VU) is unique among the Seattle-King Co. Units because all meetings are held virtually, via Zoom. Since members aren’t traveling to a physical location, the Virtual Unit membership is broader geographically than that of the other six neighborhood-based Units.
The VU is open to any member of the LWVSKC. Moreover, any member of the LWVSKC, including those from other Units is enthusiastically welcome to join the VU for any meetings that interest them. This fall, the Virtual Unit organized a meeting to educate themselves and other LWVSKC members about the Initiatives on the November ballot; it attracted about 35 participants, many of whom were not VU members.
Callie emphasizes that the VU is a self-directed unit. Unit members determine the topics for the next meeting’s agenda, based on the collective interests of the group. Callie says that as facilitator, “I post the agenda for the next meeting, remind folks to come, and facilitate discussion about the agenda topics.”
A Commitment to Social Justice
Callie thinks that the League is a good fit for her (and vice-versa) because of her lifelong ethos of social justice. As a child growing up in Denver, she volunteered to be bussed to a school across town to benefit from education in a more diverse school and community.
A social justice lens has informed Callie’s environmental engineering career. She has worked in non-profit and business sectors in leadership roles, but a particular focus and passion has been on working with tribal communities throughout the Northwest and Alaska and supporting them with environmental protection, cleanup, and restoration. She is currently semi-retired, and part-owner and director of a social venture, RIDOLFI Inc.
As busy and involved as she is, Callie places a high value on outdoor recreation. Favorite activities are biking and cross-country skiing; she says, “Getting out and exercising always make my days go better!”