CCLers Gather For Pacific Northwest Conference

By Tamara Staton, CCL Regional Coordinator for the Greater Pacific Northwest

Nearly 200 participants turned out for CCL’s Pacific Northwest Regional Conference over the weekend in Vancouver, Washington. Here are some of the highlights.

CCL Executive Director Mark Reynolds kicked things off Saturday morning, talking about the path ahead for enacting carbon-fee-and-dividend legislation in Congress. CCL Board of Directors Treasurer Valerie Bane followed with a keynote address, “Being Good Neighbors,” that was inspired by the life and work of Fred Rogers:

“In Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, everyone was welcomed and valued. He helped us appreciate and respect others. He opened his door to all, and warmly invited them to share their talents and ideas. He demonstrated the power of kindness and compassion every time he looked in the camera and said, ‘You are special and so is everyone else in this world.’”

Citizens’ Climate Education Advisory Board member Reggie Mitchell, a member of the Navajo Nation, led a Native Allies panel over Zoom. 

CCL Conservative Outreach Fellow Adrian Rafizadeh (pictured above), a 17-year-old high school student from California, led an outstanding presentation about reaching out to conservatives: “Engaging the Right the Right Way.” The biggest take away from his talk was the conservative value of personal responsibility and the importance of connecting our message to that value.

Prior to the conference, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator Tamara Staton led the three-day Climate Camp for 35 people at the Menucha Retreat and Conference Center in the Columbia River Gorge. The workshop focused on resilience, joy, and effective climate leadership.

From the Climate Camp webpage:

“When resilience and joy are absent, our effectiveness as climate advocates and change makers is diminished. When these cultural and psychological qualities are strengthened, our personal well-being, our collective capability, and our climate advocacy thrive.”

Here’s what one participant said about the camp:

“This is a truly life-changing experience. It compassionately invites you to find the joy in life, to engage your fear and pain not as enemies, but as friends, and to understand and trust in the humanity of others despite seemingly insurmountable differences. Climate Camp helped me understand that to understand and heal yourself is to understand and heal the divisions in our society. It felt like I was coming home to myself and discovering that the things and people I feared could actually be my allies in facing the challenge of climate change together.”