Meeting June 25, 2023 on Zoom from 3-5 pm

Assemblymember Chris Holden

Holden currently Chairs the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. Additional Committee assignments include Communications and Conveyance and Utilities and Energy. He is Chair of the Select Committee on Regional Transportation and Interconnectivity Solutions and sits on the Advisory Committee of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. He also serves on the Select Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education and is an Alliance Member of the Select Committee on the Status of Boys & Men of Color.

Holden served almost 24 years as a Pasadena City Councilmember and Mayor. He was the youngest City Councilmember at age 28 and only the second African American to serve as Mayor. Throughout his years of public service, Holden has been a champion in creating jobs, preserving vital services, strengthening the economic vitality of the San Gabriel Valley and expanding the light rail.

He was first elected to the California State Assembly in 2012, and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020; from a district that stretches from La Canada Flintridge in the West to Upland in the East.

Assm Holden has announced his candidacy for LA County Supervisorial District 5. As a Democrat, Assm Holden offers progressive solutions that work for Los Angeles County, helping millions access economic and educational opportunities.

Plastic is a Health Hazard
How to Turn off the Tap

What is plastic–really? Why is it piling up all around us, and what can we do about it?

Join us for an entertaining, inspiring, fast-moving talk about the chemistry and biological activity of plastic, including the latest studies–all in lay person’s terms!  Jenny will give you the real (and surprising) scoop on plastic, information that will enable you to call out misleading industry green-washing and inspire you to take action!

Jenny Davies, MD MPH JD, the Public and Environmental Health Director for Cafeteria Culture, lives in Portland, Oregon. She received a political science degree from Duke University (1981), an MD and MPH from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1990), and a JD in environmental law from Lewis & Clark Law School (2021). She researches, writes and speaks about the need to think differently about plastic: a chemically and biologically active substance that poses an existential threat to our species and to all the species on the planet.

Cafeteria Culture Mission
Working creatively with youth to achieve equitable zero-waste, ​climate-smart school communities, ​and a plastic free biosphere, merging citizen science, civic action, media and the arts!

Free screening link for Microplastic Madness. 
Link has a two week window, from June 15 – June 30.

https://vimeo.com/407799711
PW: 0615PlasticFreeJD

​Microplastic Madness is the story of 56 fifth graders from P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn – living on the frontline of the climate crisis – whose actions on plastic pollution morph into extraordinary leadership and scalable victories.

With stop-motion animation, heartfelt kid commentary, and interviews of experts and renowned scientists who are engaged in the most cutting edge research on the harmful effects of microplastics, this alarming, yet charming narrative, conveys an urgent message in user-friendly terms.

These eleven year olds dive deep into the root causes of plastic pollution. Taking on the roles of citizen scientists and community advocates, they collect local data, lead community outreach, and use their own local data to inform policy by testifying and rallying at City Hall. Then they turned their focus back to school, taking action in their cafeteria to eliminate all single-use plastic!

Created to inspire kids, teachers and policy makers alike, this is the spark needed to grow a youth-led Plastic Free Future movement in schools across the world!