Bringing information you can use for action about herbicides, pesticides and other toxic chemicals in northern California and around our shared world
Board of Directors
CATs at Work
Our Shared World
Online Store
Programs
Staff
Vanessa Vasquez, Program Associate | Kate Russell, Administrative Assistant
Amy Thorson, Intern
Patty Clary (Executive Director): A traumatic and nearly fatal exposure to herbicide sprays was the incident that politicized Patty and started her career as an anti-toxics campaigner in 1976.
Though a native of Sonoma County, Patty and her family were living in Oregon's Umpqua River Valley, where the federal government was spraying the forests with chemicals similar to the notorious Vietnam-era herbicide Agent Orange. By 1980, she had become one of the victim witnesses in the EPA's review of the infamous herbicide 2,4,5-T, which helped lead to the decision to remove the chemical from the market.
After returning to California and settling on the North Coast, Patty was instrumental in organizing her community to stop local pesticide use on roadsides, at the schools her children attended and by timber companies in the watershed. She took over as Executive Director of CATs in 1988.
Now in her 22nd year at the helm, Patty has worked with experts and scientists from around the world and now is recognized as an expert herself. She spent four years on a UN-sponsored technical options committee on methyl bromide for the Montreal Protocol. She has served as an expert witness in federal court, leads campaigns, develops political and legal strategies and frequently authors reports and articles. She assists grassroots activities throughout the region--including, when necessary, opposing government regulations and actions.
A life-long love of the outdoors and natural places has stoked Patty’s desire to preserve the diversity and beauty of the planet by advocating for a non-toxic and organic environment for all.
Acting on her goal of integrating education and advocacy in a celebratory way, Patty originated and is now the director for the Organic Planet Festival, a green expo, musical event and non-toxic fair on the Eureka waterfront.
A mother of two and also a grandmother of two, Patty spends much of her free time chasing pre-schoolers, pruning her inland organic orchard and co-habitating with bugs in the garden. Email Patty at patty@alt2tox.org
Listen to Patty talk about pesticides on KHSU's 'Through the Eyes of Women'; Spring 2009
[5.6 mb mp3 file]
Julia Olson (Staff Attorney): Julia has represented conservationists in courts throughout the West for 12 years to protect forests, wilderness areas, rivers, wildlife and human health. Julia has worked with CATs for nine of those years.
Julia is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder and UC Hastings College of the Law. She is also a mom and lives in Eugene, Oregon with her family. Any chance they get, they are on a hike or a river and sleeping in a tent.
Turning her passion for healthy food and sustainable food production, without pesticides, into effective advocacy is her next exciting task.
Matt Lang (IT coordinator): While working for the computer laboratory of his alma mater, Humboldt State University, Matt volunteered his expertise to build customized databases for CATs, a role which morphed into a job as a staff member with multiple talents.
Now in his ninth year working for CATs, Matt combines his degree in interdisciplinary studies with his broad experience working with computers to keep CATs at the cutting edge in information technology: from websites, databases, tech support and networking to GIS, desktop publishing and graphics. His development and analysis of maps and data from California’s pesticide reporting database are critical to CATs’ programs and have been used in court, before agencies and in reports and newsletters.
Matt’s background includes summers as a camper, then a counselor and now a volunteer at a famed YMCA camp in southern Humboldt County. He grew up in Eureka and inherited his reverence for northern California’s unique environment from a father who is a biologist and a mother who loves the outdoors.
As a guitarist and devotee of live music, Matt worked for the Appel Farm’s Art and Music Center in New Jersey to help produce the Center’s annual music festival and he has traveled extensively in the Caribbean to study the history and development of reggae music. A natural outgrowth of these interests has been his job as coordinator of the Organic Planet Festival since its inception, making the Festival one of the premier events of the region.
While not entertaining his dog and two cats with his many musical instruments or helping stray animals find homes, Matt enjoys his leisure time in travels to exotic tropical places. Matt can be reached at matt@alt2tox.org
Vanessa Vasquez (Program Associate): As the multi-tasking apprentice to CATs’ director, Vanessa sees her work as integral to a life-long goal of helping facilitate social change toward an ecologically sane society in which organic and non-toxic living is the norm for everybody.
Born and raised in northern California’s Paradise, Vanessa graduated from CSU Chico with dual degrees in Spanish and Latin American studies. Her labor at organic farms in California, Mexico and Spain as a World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms volunteer (aka “WWOOFer”) brought first hand experience that easily fits with her anti-pesticide advocacy at CATs. With her volunteer roots extending to peace and justice groups, Vanessa’s philosophy that toxin-free, nutritious and delicious food is a human right-- not a privilege for a few – fits well with the Vision of CATs.
Originally drawn to the Humboldt Bay area to pursue advanced studies on the intersections and conflicts of society and the environment, her work compliments these interests. At CATs, Vanessa scrutinizes government reports and project proposals for management practices that utilize pesticides to the detriment of people and the natural world. She has brought her research and writing skills to a variety of CATs’ projects and leads the public outreach arm of the Organic Planet Festival.
In her time away from work or studies, Vanessa can be found foraging for food, dreaming up new economical organic recipes or enjoying a locally sourced dinner with friends. Contact her at vanessa@alt2tox.org
P. Kate Russell (Administrative Assistant): Kate’s years of growing up in the environmentally aware community of northern California's remote Mattole Valley set her on a path of exploring the intertwined complexities of politics, law and economics, with a focus on their effects on the environment. While at Mills College, she also developed advanced organizational skills. With a degree from Mills in hand, Kate recently undertook the job of streamlining communications and operations at CATs to boost the organization’s proficiency and minimize time spent on its management.
While refining CATs’ inner works, Kate is also pursuing a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University. The interplay of the mission of CATs with her studies provides benefits both ways, with CATs gaining from her class assignments -- which are often based on real world projects being undertaken by the organization -- and Kate practicing on-the-ground applications for the theories and strategies she is learning.
When Kate isn’t occupied with developing management protocols or studying, she pursues her interests in photographic art. Kate can be contacted at kate@alt2tox.org
Amy Thorson (Intern): Amy Thorson is a full time student at Humboldt State University studying biology with an emphasis in botany. She has been an intern at CATs since June of 2009. She brings a great work ethic and enthusiasm to everything she does. Through her internship she is learning research and investigation skills, database management, and alternatives to household toxins and commonly used pesticides. Amy plans to work at CATs through her college career and perhaps after.
Board of Directors
Doug Bryan, President
Jene McCovey, Vice President
Perry Gray-Reneberg, Secretary
Michelle Smith, Treasurer
Lindsey Byers
