The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) consists of a steering committee of up to 15 individuals and an email list of over 400 addresses. We consider all those on the email list and everybody who “likes” our facebook page to be a member of CAAV.
We invite anyone interested to join one of our four standing committees or occasional ad hoc groups.
The steering committee (SC) currently consists of:
Jo Anne St. Clair, CAVV Steering Committee Chair 2019, member of the L&E Committee, joined the Steering Committee in September 2017.
Joni Grady, CAAV SC Chair 2017 – 2018, former chair of the Education and Events (E&E) Committee, CAAV facebook page administrator, leader of efforts to Weatherize Harrisonburg
See Joni’s evocative letter to the Daily News-Record published May 3, 2016: Climate Skeptics Imperil Us All.
Joni delivered an eloquent and moving sermon to the Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalists congregation on October 4, 2015: Reality Check, and another on December 30, 2012: Intersecting webs of our lives Or, The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Les Grady, SC Chair from 2012 through 2014, member of the Speakers’ Bureau, compiles a weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup
Les has authored Open Forum pieces published in the Daily News Record (DNR) on 7/29/14, Goodlatte Wrong on Climate, 4/14/14, Congress Must Tax Carbon, 2/7/13, Keystone Pipeline is a Bad Idea and 12/5/12, We Must Stop the Warming.
His engineering background gives him the credentials to speak knowledgeably on Climate Change, an Urgent Need for Action.
Les gave a talk, What Aileth Thee, on April 21, 2013, at Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalists based on the book Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone.
Cathy Strickler, CAAV Founder, Chair of the E&E Committee beginning 2017, former SC Chair, and former Chair of the L&E Committee
Cathy’s opinion pieces in the DNR include: Our Enemy: Climate Disruption, 8/29/13; Renewable Energy Must Be Mandated, 11/18/10; Climate, Energy Real Problems, 7/12/10; Celebrate Earth Week In April, 4/7/08.
Cathy spoke at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network’s March 24, 2012, March to End Dominion’s Power Madness in Richmond. Find her at 1:40 in this CCAN video.
Rickie Wertz, founding member, Recording Secretary
Lynn Smith, founding member, member of the L&E and E&E Committees, organized What a Wonderful World, Earth Day 2017 celebration
Charlie Strickler, founding member, member of the L&E Committee, involved with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Charlie participated in an 18 day fast in front of FERC Headquarters in September 2015.
Joy Loving, Solarize Harrisonburg and Massanutten Regional Solar Co-op local coordinator, available to speak on local solar initiatives, member of the L&E Committee and involved with Renew Rocktown
Carl Droms, Treasurer
Alleyn Harned, member of the Coalition Building and L&E Committees
Sally Newkirk, Chair of the L&E Committee and involved with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Sally is a local realtor specializing in environmentally-conscientious choices. She keeps a blogsite: Sally’s Healthy Homes. See her post about the benefits of LEED buildings here.
Rosie Lynch, JMU graduate Class of 2016, joined the CAAV Steering Committee in May 2017, and works on the E&E Committee.
As a student, Rosie was a founding member and media coordinator for a fossil fuel divestment campaign, Divest JMU, and its parent organization, the Climate Justice Coalition. She wrote a couple of Letters to the Editor in JMU’s newspaper, the Breeze, (see A call to action, Feb. 9, 2017 and Administration doesn’t understand importance of Divest JMU, Oct. 14, 2015) and worked with local student-led radio (WXJM), the Daily News-Record, and TV station WHSV to publicize the campaign.
Michele Thomas joined the Steering Committee in September 2018. She is a member of the E&E Committee.
Irvin Peckham joined the Steering Committee in February 2019. Irvin, now retired, has been teaching writing at the high school and college level for forty years– in Morgan Hill, CA; the University of Nebraska, Omaha; Louisiana State University; and Drexel University. He specializes in and writes about social-class relationships, personal writing, and writing assessment. He has been involved in the anti-war movement ever since he first got a letter telling him to report for duty in Viet-Nam. He keeps a blog at personalwriting2.blogspot.com.
Adrie Voors, CAAV website developer, member of the E&E and Coalition Building Committees, Coordinator of the Market Compost Drop-off Program
Climate Action Alliance of the Valley 