Leadership Program Committee

Kian Nikzad

Kian is a UCLA graduate who enjoys working on a wide variety of sustainability projects ranging from facility audits to bees. He is currently exploring how to transform his passion into a career. He graduated from the Green Foothills Leadership Program in 2021. The program showed him the diverse ways people can get involved and contribute to something they support.

Tamara Smith-Jones

Tamara grew up in East Palo Alto (EPA) in the 1980’s but she attended school in suburban areas for a better education than what EPA could offer. This was Tamara’s first reality check about socioeconomic inequity. Having access to science camp, book clubs, and a variety of summer lessons helped open doors to future opportunities that most of her friends in the neighborhood would not live to see. These benefits were huge contributors to Tamara’s moral compass. She now works to ensure that members of underserved communities have equal access to life resources such as food, housing, healthcare, and education, all of which are a right, not a privilege.

Tamara intentionally plugs into different spaces where her education, talents, and emotional intelligence (lived- and learned-experiences combined) can reflect the voice of alienated communities to improve their chances of thriving rather than just surviving. Her work is in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and the World Health Organization’s Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), which highlight the correlation between social, economic, and environmental, emphasizing that action in one area directly affects the outcomes in others. She will know progress is happening when members of disenfranchised communities are able to redirect their attention from securing basic needs to advocating for the dismantling of environmental and social injustices in their communities. She says, “Green Foothills acknowledging the value of our voices and necessity of our presence, starting with the Leadership Program, is an inclusive and promising first step.”

Yvette Valenzuela

I was born in El Paso Texas but relocated to San Jose at age 4 and never left. I believe I was born an advocate, and every year I am a part of something that not only makes me grow as a person but gives me helpful things to pass on to others as well. My latest project is bringing a Greenmarket-style farmer’s market to California. New York’s Greenmarket has been going on for over 40 years now, and I believe if it can happen in a state with winter it can definitely happen in the Valley of Heart’s Delight! I think that the Green Foothills Leadership Program is providing a specialized training not currently found elsewhere, even in high-ranking universities. Every class not only leaves each student ready to apply a lesson to our own advocacy efforts, but also provides us with the contact information of agencies and people in the community who can provide further resources and advice. I love being in such an eclectic group of people, and I strive to help us have a good time while we’re working for things we believe in.

Yvette graduated with the Leadership Program’s 2016-17 cohort.

Carl van Reis

Carl is a communications professional and is passionate about using his skills and knowledge for progressive causes. He enjoys applying his knowledge towards inspiring environmental stewardship.