OPAL Seeking Transportation Justice Organizers!

Summer Organizing with OPAL!

OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon (Organizing People-Activating Leaders) is seeking two to four Summer Organizers-in-Training to work on our Transit Justice and Health Equity base-building campaign. OPAL works with low-income and communities of color in East Portland around public transportation and health concerns.  Strong candidates will have an understanding of social, economic and environmental justice, an interest in multiracial, intergenerational community building, and a demonstrated commitment to rigorous grassroots organizing, outreach and education.  OPAL is a 501c3 intercultural grassroots nonprofit empowering working class communities and people of color to promote environmental and social justice.

Position is a 40 hour/week internship with a stipend of $1000 per month for work beginning June 27 and ending September 2, 2011.  The position also includes a bus pass.

OPAL’s Organizer-in-Training is an internship program with the goal of:

• Teaching principles of environmental, economic, racial and social justice
• Training for grassroots community organizing and leadership development
  
• Providing hands on field experience to engage with community members

Organizer-in-Training Activities:

• Classroom leadership development 6-8 hours/week focused on building knowledge and skills for social justice community organizing and community development
• Field experience working alongside OPAL community organizers and Bus Rider Unite member leaders doing direct organizing with transit riders, including surveying, phone banking, follow-up meetings, community presentations
• Administrative duties including databasing, record-keeping

Organizer-in-Training Qualifications:

• Bicultural experience, understanding, cross-cultural vision
• Bilingual, ability to speak English and any one of the following languages: Spanish, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, Somali
  
• Demonstrated interest in grassroots community based organizing
• Strong verbal communication skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment managing various timelines

People of Color, women, and low-income residents of East Portland are strongly encouraged to apply!

Please submit a cover letter, resume and two references by email only to jobs@opalpdx.org by April 29th, 2011

Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons, Co-Director

OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon 2407 SE 49^th Avenue, Portland, OR 97206  (503)512-0490

Oregon Active Transportation Summit recap

Oregon Active Transportation Summit recap

We’re so proud to share that two of our staff, Laura Koch and Mychal Tetteh, presented this week at the Oregon Active Transportation summit. The Summit, previously known as the Oregon Bike Summit, is an annual statewide gathering of active transportation advocates. This year the organizers have increased the focus to include walking as well as cycling, acknowledging that active transportation is a broadening movement.
The Summit is modeled after the National Bike Summit, bringing together advocates from all over the state. Over the course of two days in Salem, they share best practices, network, connect on successful strategies, and work together to build a strong movement. On the first day, advocates attend information sharing sessions, and on the second day advocates meet with our state legislators. The Community Cycling Center staff attended to discuss equity in the active transportation movement, sharing what we’ve learned, and working to elevate the conversation around equity.
Mychal Tetteh, our Shop Director, provided the community and advocacy frame for a panel addressing transportation health equity. He covered basic information about the barriers that prevent certain communities from choosing cycling. He also put out a call to action for planners and policy makers to recognize that they will see the greatest return on investments when they work with groups that are most disproportionately affected by health disparities.
Laura Koch, our Program Director, presented strategies for promoting cycling in underserved communities. The examples she discussed include working in partnership with pre-existing social groups and networks, designing workshops where participants learn by doing, and using images and messages that are relevant for communities of color.
It was an incredible day of sharing our successes and learning about the great work of our allies around the state, followed by meeting with our representatives. It is inspiring to see how the movement has grown each year. We really can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for active transportation in Oregon.
For a full recap of Mychal’s session, check out the great coverage on BikePortland.org.

Who Gets Access? Transportation Equity Event in Portland!

Transportation is crucial to ensuring opportunity for all – connecting us to jobs, schools, housing, healthcare, and grocery stores. But millions of working families and people of color live in communities where quality transportation options are unaffordable, unreliable, or nonexistent.

The type of transportation system we build, where we put it, who builds it, and how we operate it have an enormous impact on our economy, our climate and our
health. To learn more about these issues and what we can do about it, we invite you to a box lunch event:

*Who Gets Access?*
Transportation Equity from the National to the Local
A box-lunch event and conversation with:

Radhika Fox, Federal Policy Director – PolicyLink and Executive Committee Member – Transportation For America

Lillian Shirley, President-elect – National Association of City and County Health Officials and Director – Multnomah County Health Department

Alejandro Queral, Healthy Communities Program Director – Multnomah County Health Department

Ron Ruggiero, Executive Director – Service Employees International Union Local 49

*Where*:
SEIU Local 49 Hall
3536 SE 26th Ave. (at Powell Blvd.)
Portland, OR
on bus lines 9 and 10

*When*:
Wednesday, April 6
11:30 am – 2:00 pm

Be on time and eat! A limited number of box lunches will be available starting at 11:30 am.

Presentations will start promptly at 12:00 pm. Q&A with the panel will be from 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm.

RSVP to chris.rall@t4america.org. Reservations are encouraged.

This event sponsored by:

1,000 Friends of Oregon
Bicycle Transportation Alliance
Coalition for a Livable Future
Community Cycling Center
Josiah Hill III Clinic
Northwest Health Foundation
OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon
Oregon Public Health Institute
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.
PolicyLink
Upstream Public Health
SEIU Local 49
Transportation For America
Urban League of Portland
Willamette Pedestrian Coalition

<http://www.upstreampublichealth.org/>
*Heidi Guenin* Transportation Policy Coordinator at Upstream Public
Health<http://www.upstreampublichealth.org>
heidi@upstreampublichealth.org | office 503-284-6390 | mobile 503-841-7936 

Also check out these related websites for more interesting information:

Upstream Public Health Transportation Action

What Healthy Communities Need From Their Transportation Networks Webinar