Randy Hayes, Rain Forest Action Network Founder
Presentation
Randy Hayes has been at the forefront of grassroots environmental activism for over three decades. Acting upon the Rainforest Action Network mission to “campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through education, grassroots organizing and non-violent direct action,” Hayes and his affiliates have held large corporations accountable for their actions and inspired wide-spread and diverse citizen engagement. RAN has had numerous successes in its campaigns against logging companies, banks, and vehicle manufacturers; and, most recently, Hayes was arrested for participating in non-violent protest against the Keystone XL pipeline.
At his March 22nd presentation, Hayes will discuss opportunities and challenges he has faced in his career as an environmental leader. Furthermore, Hayes will share his thoughts on best practices for true environmental change and how each of us, individually and collectively, can make meaningful and impactful change – a message he is spreading through the creation of his new organization, Foundation Earth.
Background Info
Randy Hayes, Rainforest Action Network founder, has been described in the Wall Street Journal as “an environmental pit bull.” He works from Washington DC at Foundation Earth, a new organization rethinking a human order that works within the planet’s life support systems. As a former filmmaker, he is a veteran of many high-visibility corporate accountability campaigns and has advocated for the rights of Indigenous peoples. He served seven years as President of The City of San Francisco Commission on the Environment, and as Director of Sustainability in the office of Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown (now governor). As a wilderness lover, Hayes has explored a bit in the High Sierras, the Canadian Rockies and the rainforests of the Amazon, Central America, Congo, Southeast Asia and Borneo.
Randy Hayes is a hero and a visionary — a radical messenger with the mentality of a Madison Avenue ad executive who is selling just one thing, saving the world before it is too late. – Adam Werbach, Former President of the Sierra Club