TERESA ALVARADO

I am an Environmental Compliance Specialist working in the areas of Environmental Education and Community Relations. I work for a company called Science Applications International Corporation in the NASA Ames Safety, Health, and Environmental Services Office. I do a lot of technical writing and editing of environmental documents and frequently make presentations on environmental issues.

I develop and present environmental education material for on-site staff. I write a biweekly environmental newsletter, called Eco-Notes, to inform center staff on environmental compliance issues and regulations, I develop materials intended to convey proper and safe working procedures, and I make presentations to NASA Ames and Moffett Federal Airfield personnel on safety, health, and environmental topics.

In terms of community relations, I am drafting the NASA Ames Environmental Justice Implementation Plan. Nationally, evidence shows that low-income and minority communities have historically borne a greater level of risk from environmental hazards. This plan looks at current and potential environmental impacts of Ames operations and seeks to ensure that those impacts do not disproportionately affect low-income or minority communities in the area. This project is of particular interest to me.

I also frequently attend community events, distributing information and answering questions on behalf of the Ames environmental office. For example, I have attended the Sunnyvale Earth Day Fair and the Chinese Summer Festival in San Jose. Furthermore, I maintain an information repository at the Sunnyvale Public Library so that the general public has access to documents related to environmental investigations and environmental conditions at Ames.

I maintain a portion of my office's World Wide Web home page, as well. I upload the Eco-Notes environmental newsletter and will be putting environmental justice and other documentation on the home page as well. I would mention the URL for the home page; unfortunately, the Eco-Notes issues and some other information is only accessible to Ames staff.

As you can probably tell, my work day involves spending many hours typing away on my Mac-drafting, reviewing, and editing documents. But luckily my work also requires that I coordinate with a variety of people at the center and I find that very enjoyable. It's also great to know that I'm assisting in making Ames staff more environmentally aware and helping them accomplish their duties in a more environmentally-safe manner.

In terms of school, like many women, especially women of color, I did not spend the time or effort tackling the more advanced mathematical subjects in high school. I was happy to pass my algebra and geometry courses and was not encouraged by my school to strive higher. In fact, I was rather discouraged. I remember one instance particularly well. My counselor (and I do remember his name) asked me what I wanted to do in life and I replied that I wanted to be a lawyer. He suggested that I think of a more "realistic" goal. And I went to a so-called college preparatory high school! Hmmph.

Well, when I got to college and was faced with physics, chemistry, statistics, and other courses involving a lot of calculations, I panicked. At first it was really difficult, but I got a tutor and really applied myself. I made a commitment that since I had not paid enough attention or been self-driven enough in high school, that I would face the challenge now. In retrospect, I wish I had applied myself more in high school because my anxiety level in college would have been greatly reduced!

In any case, I graduated from San Jose State University with a B.S. in Environmental Studies-Technology or Management, with an emphasis in Natural Resource Management and Policy. I also received a Minor degree in Technical Writing. I'm very proud to be the first woman in my whole family to graduate from college and now I'm thinking of going back to get my master's in Urban and Regional Planning.

In regard to community involvement, I am very active. I frequently work on political campaigns, help coordinate activities for a local Latino art center, I am on the Board of Directors for a local Latino theater group called Teatro Vision, and am also active in a group called the Housing Action Coalition which promotes the creation of housing that is affordable, well-built, and appropriately located. Appropriately located, we contend, is housing that is located within current city development areas (not encroaching onto hillsides or on undeveloped land) and which is placed along mass transportation corridors (along the Light Rail Transit line, for example). Both of these measures are environmentally protective: of undeveloped land and of air and water quality due to the encouragement of mass transit use, reduced automobile traffic, and consequent reduced need for roads and highways. Roads and the automobile culture do much to hinder a healthy community... but this is another conversation.

In addition to my local activism, I am involved in an international network of approximately 50 women who are interested in and active on issues relating to women, environment, and development in their local areas and internationally. We provide each-other feedback on projects we're working on, we are resources of information for each-other, and provide friendship and personal support in our efforts. It's very fulfilling for us all.

That's also why I got involved with the Women of NASA project. I believe that there needs to be more women in decision-making positions in all arenas (science, business, government, etc.) and that we have to prepare ourselves and help each-other to achieve that. Decisions made at the national and international level impact us tremendously, yet few of us are there to influence the decisions. We need to be there. We can do anything and we should take our positions in discussions related to local, national, and global affairs. Our perspectives and skills are unique and valuable and would add a new, much needed dimension to decision-making at all levels.

Adelante mujeres!

A Day in the Life of Teresa Alvarado
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