July 20, 2016
Page 5
Named Champion of Change Subscribe 503-288-0033
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Equity push
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brings White
House honor
The White House honored
Portlander Desiree Williams-Ra-
jee Friday along with nine oth-
ers from around the country as
“Champions of Change for Cli-
mate Equity.”
An equity specialist for the
Portland Bureau of Planning and
Sustainability, Williams-Rajee has
successfully worked with com-
munities of color and low-income
residents on a quest to educate
them on climate change.
She has partnered with several
community organizations to cre-
ate a climate plan that not only
significantly reduces carbon emis-
sions, but also includes a prepara-
tion plan for climate impacts and
outcomes in overlooked commu-
nities.
Identifying as black and Fili-
pina, Williams-Rajee recognized
quickly after moving to Portland
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Desiree Williams-Rajee of Portland is honored by the White House
for her efforts to include communities of color and low-income
residents on matters involving climate change.
the disproportionate access areas
of color had to action towards cli-
mate change.
“It did not take long to discover
in Portland the people who bene-
fited from sustainability initiatives
did not look like me; the color
green was in fact synonymous
with the color white and other
prickly nouns like exclusion and
gentrification,” Williams-Rajee
said.“When the opportunity arose,
I was intent that the City of Port-
land’s new Climate Action Plan
would serve to correct that imbal-
ance.”
Learn Lead Poisoning Prevention
A series of free workshops where
participants learn how to prevent
lead exposure in their home are of-
fered by the nonprofit Community
Energy Project.
The one-hour sessions are espe-
cially helpful for households with
children or pregnant women in
housing older than 1978, or those
concerned about lead exposure.
Qualified participants receive a free
kit of safety and testing supplies.
The upcoming workshops
are Monday, Aug. 1 at 2 p.m. at
the East County Women Infants
and Children’s (WIC) office at
600 N.E. Eighth St. in Gresham;
Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at
the Community Energy Project at
2900 S.E. Stark St., Suite A; and
Saturday, Aug. 27 at 3:30 p.m.at
the Multnomah County Central
Schools Chief
C ontinued from P age 3
school districts to craft procedures
for testing lead, radon and other
chemicals at their campuses.
In her statement, Smith said it
was critical for the school board
to figure out how to work togeth-
er with each other as a governing
board and in partnership with the
superintendent,
“It is with this understanding
and significant concert that I have
decided to retire from Portland
Public Schools now,” she said.
The school board will conduct
an immediate search for Smith’s
replacement.
“This timing gives the board
the opportunity to bring in interim
leadership this summer before the
beginning of school, as we con-
tinue a national search for a per-
manent superintendent,” school
board Chairman Tom Koehler said
in a statement. “The board will
double down on its focus to lead
the district and make decisions in
the best interest of the 48,000 kids
we serve and the taxpayers and
voters to whom we are account-
able.”
Theater Director Profiled
C ontinued from P age 3
wrights share monologues on how
they feel about the institutional
profiling of black people, the Red
Door Project website reads.
“Racial profiling is not a new
story. It’s a very old story. It is
not something that is difficult to
find out more about. If it’s not
something you have researched
from a historical perspective,
we recommend you do so and
then use your position, voice and
privilege to influence the situa-
tion in a productive and healing
direction,” Jones told the Willa-
mette Week.
Library, downtown. Register for
the classes at communityener-
gyproject.org or call 503-284-
6827, extension 109.
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