Staff and Board

Secret Charles, MA

Secret Charles has been co-coordinating along with CCEJ’s past Director Yalonda Sinde, the Partnership for Environmental Health and Asthma (PEHA) project. Secret is now the campaign coordinator for the toxic beauty campaign. Secret is the mother of two sons and lives in South Seattle. In 2004, Ms. Charles earned a Masters in Environment and Community from Antioch University. She has been instrumental in recruiting and coordinating the PEHA leadership team which is comprised of low income people primarily parents of children with asthma. The group conducts outreach to Southend residents at grocery stores and mini marts encouraging people to protect air quality by signing no idling pledges. Reducing car idling is an effective strategy for improving air quality as Rainier Valley has a disparate amount of heavy traffic due to the many throughways and construction sites.

Having an impacted community member in leadership on a project that is creating environmental justice leaders is helping CCEJ build a diverse base of support among those most impacted by environmental hazards.

Michele "Shelly" Vendiola (Swinomish/Lummi/Filipina)

Ms. Vendiola is a certified mediator, peacemaker, educator and community activist. Currently she leads workshops in alliance building, community organizing skills, and works as a consultant for organizations for environmental, economic and social justice including the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice and the statewide indigenous Womens Spirit Coalition. She formerly served as the Campaign Director for the Indigenous Environmental Network and continues to work in partnership with IEN to support environmental and economic justice initiatives for tribes in the Northwest region. Shelly serves on the Board of Directors for Agricultural Missions, a US based non-profit supporting rural agricultural development internationally. Shelly also serves on the board of the Progressive Technologies Project whose mission is to raise the level of technical resources available to grassroots community organizations through technical assistance, training and grants.

Ms. Vendiola is a certified mediator through the Indian Dispute Resolution Services, Inc., and received peacemaking training from the San Francisco Community Boards Program. She continues to lead dispute resolution training events throughout the country. Shelly has a M.Ed. in Adult & Higher Education and practices popular education methodology within all aspects of her work as an educator, activist, and community organizer.

Joyce Tseng

Joyce brings a passion for social justice and community outreach and organizing skills to CCEJ. Joyce was a union organizer for 3½ years, where she worked with many people of color and immigrants that were mostly low-wage workers. She has knocked on over a thousand doors in ethnically diverse communities such as South and talked with hundreds of low-wage caregivers in their homes about their issues and mobilized them to action. Also, as an organizer for Swedish Hospital union members, she succeeded in uniting a group of housekeepers that spoke several different primary languages to push management to give them each thousands of dollars in back pay for not being properly paid for missed meal periods.

In the fall of 2005, Joyce will be earning a Masters in Public Health in the Environmental and Occupational Health Program at the University of Washington.

Dean Jackson

Dean has worked as a childcare professional for the better part of 11 years as a teacher, nanny and before/after school program coordinator. After leaving the education field (though his passion still lies in working with young children) he began working with a group of queer people of color (QPOC) in the Seattle area. For the past 3 years he has helped organize retreats and social gatherings to build QPOC communities into an organized and active voice in the Seattle movement for social change. Currently he is working with QPOC Liberation Project on the production of a 3 performances and discussion series.

He brings his strong organizational skills, persistent ability to speak his truths and a badass commitment to the work of achieving justice and building community-based movements led by low income and people of color.

Jonathan Betz-Zall

Jonathan is a community activist who has worked with the Quakers for many years. He’s been a volunteer with CCEJ since 1994 where he has helped do outreach on CCEJ campaigns and has participated in CCEJ actions.

Alka Arora

In Fall 2006 Alka begins work as the Program manager for the University of Washington’s Office of Minority Affairs. She is also pursuing a Ph.D in the department of Women Studies, where she has taught classes on gender, race, class and other social justice issues. She began volunteering at CCEJ in summer 2005 because of her commitment to social justice, grassroots activism, and a respect for the earth and all its peoples. She brings to the board experience and passion in teaching, writing and leadership. She also brings a strong interest in integrating academic knowledge with real-world activism.

Originally from Chicago, she’s lived in the northwest for seven years. When not reading, she enjoys spending time with friends, watching films, and traveling to (or dreaming about) sunnier climates. She is also a practitioner of Buddhist meditation and has an interest in the role of spirituality and mindfulness in social justice work.

Jenni Conrad

Jenni came to CCEJ as a volunteer and brings a strong commitment to social and environmental change in Seattle. Jenni attends Seattle University's Masters in Teaching program and meets with the Seattle group WE-ACT and other anti-racist educators on serving multicultural urban high school students. She has experience teaching experiential environmental education, and has training in radical cultural anthropology. She brings a variety of environmental education experience as an instructor of intensive programs for Outward Bound Wilderness and Passages Northwest and an environmental educator with Carkeek Park, the National Parks Service and Audubon Washington. When not eating, dancing or biking around Seattle, you might find her climbing or adventuring outside.

Christina Gallegos

Christina has been instrumental in the development of Environmental Education and interpretative programming at Seward Park and in the southeast corridor of the city. She currently holds the position of Naturalist at Seward Park.

Christina has also been active in the Seattle community through her volunteer work. Christina was a founding member of HACE, the Hispanic Association of City Employees, the Manana Coalition’s annual Latino Youth Conference and the Rainbow Book festival. She has participated as a member of the Cleveland Memorial Forest Committee and the Langston Hughes Advisory Council. When not in the park you can find her camping, creating her dream garden, listening to jazz or blues and managing her two teenagers.

David Mcgraw

David is a community activist who was involved in CCEJ's Stop the Burning! Campaign. He has been volunteering for CCEJ since 1998. He has also volunteered for Heart of America Northwest as a legal intern. He is currently a Dr. of Herbal & Chinese Medicine.

Elizabeth Moseley

Liz's background is in working on empowerment projects with youth at the Boys & Girls Clubs of El Paso, TX. In 2004, Liz moved from Texas, to join Earthcorps, an environmental restoration non-profit organization. She worked her way up from a crew member to her current position as Recruitment & Administrative Manager. Liz spends her free time working to increase human liberation and end all forms of oppression. She is a passionate advocate for social and economic justice.

Alice Park

Alice has worked as a volunteer for numerous non-profit organizations serving low-income communities, including the Venice Family Clinic and Planned Parenthood. She has a Master’s in Public Health and has skills in advocacy and research. Alice is Research Coordinator for the Urban Indian Health Institute at the Seattle Indian Health Board. Her background is in Public Health and her interests in environmental health and addressing health disparities.

Tyrus Smith

Tyrus has been a community advocate and researcher on the issue of environmental justice in Tacoma/Pierce County. He has worked with various environmental, social service and community groups in the area to promote environmental equity and justice. Tyrus has a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy and is currently working as a member of the faculty at the Evergreen State College's Tacoma Campus.