Ben Zimmerman -- #1
Ben Zimmerman was raised in the Hood River Valley and spent many childhood days hiking, biking and camping in the North West. After receiving a B.S. degree in Biology from the University or Portland, Ben spent a year as an Americorps*VISTA volunteer promoting service learning and volunteerism at the University of Vermont. A meandering search for someplace to set roots more beautiful and more soulfully satisfying than the Columbia River Gorge eventually proved fruitless and Ben now resides on 2.5 acres in Snowden, Washington. There, Ben grows a large vegetable garden under the name Small i Farm and will offer CSA shares for the first time in 2008. Ben also has a massage therapy practice in Hood River and is co-owner of 10-Speed East, a burgeoning coffee shop in Mosier, Oregon.
Ben believes that the Columbia River Gorge holds amazing potential to be a model for locally supported sustainability and hopes to work towards these ends as a Columbia Gorge Earth Center board member and as a member of the Gorge Grown Food Network’s Steering Committee.
Pierce Louis -- MoneyMan
Born and raised in Kentucky, Pierce first ventured to Oregon in 1998 while working summers at a snowboard camp on Mt. Hood and moved year-round to Hood River in 2002. He has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia, where he co-founded the University Recycling Program. Additionally, Pierce has an M.B.A from Oxford University, and is a LEED Accredited Professional. He currently works in business development for Cloud Cap, an aeronautical engineering firm, based in Hood River. Previously, he worked in international sales and marketing for Wipika Kiteboarding and more recently for Nau, a sustainable outdoor clothing start-up. Pierce’s work and studies have taken him to Spain, Italy, Germany, England, Costa Rica, and New Zealand. Locally, he has volunteered with Sustainable Travel International and the Earth Center’s Enviro Homes Tour. In his free time Pierce enjoys snowboarding, kiteboarding, mountain biking, and traveling. At CGEC, he is dedicated to helping make sustainability both inspiring and enjoyable.
Jared Fuscaldo - Web Rookie
Jared was raised in conservative rural Virginia about and hour and half’s drive from Washington DC. During his university years, the explosive suburban growth of the nation’s capital started to have a significant impact on the community where Jared grew up, causing him to question, for the first time, the benefits of rapid growth. For a little perspective Jared embarked upon a journey that took him across sixteen different countries on four continents and provided dozens of formative relationships before finally landing in Oregon, attracted by stories of its innovative land use planning. Starting with one bag of clothes, one bag of tools, and a mountain bike, Jared has discovered a place and community that has far exceeded expectations.
Jared now works full time in the Hood River Valley as a carpenter constantly looking for “greener” ways to build, which often means using reclaimed materials. His path to CGEC Board membership started with weekend volunteer work at GRC. When not working or volunteering Jared gains inspiration by engaging the landscape of his new home on his bike, board, or simply by walking around.
Jaimes Valdez -- City Slicker
Jaimes Valdez moved to the Northwest in 1989 from the suburbia of New Jersey. He has a degree in Physics and Environmental Studies from Whitman College, with a focus on renewable energy development. For the last 5 years he has worked as a renewable energy consultant for nonprofits, utility partners, and private companies in the Northwest. He previously worked in fund development for Metropolitan Museum of Art, as a sound and light technician for live concerts, and as a sculpture/fabrication instructor. He is committed to helping make the area a model for balanced, efficient, long term sustainable living. Locally, he has served on the board of the Columbia Gorge United Way, and is a member of the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Hood River, and Hood River County Renewable Energy Steering Committee. He is also a graduate of the Ford Family Foundation's Leadership Training program.
In what little spare time he has, he works giving diesel vehicles new lives with vegetable oil fuel conversions, exploring trails in the Gorge, building small sustainable living structures, and traveling to learn and share about local solutions to global energy problems.
Amanda Lawrence -- Scribe
Amanda Lawrence has been happy to call the Gorge her home since 2004. She lives in White Salmon and enjoys volunteering in the Gorge, gardening and getting outside whenever she can to recreate. She currently works in Trout Lake for the Northwest Service Academy-Mt. Adams Center as the Environmental Internship Program Coordinator.
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