about SFSU

In Her Shoes: An Interview with Dr. Pat Whitely I had the privilege and honor of interviewing Dr. Pat Whitely, Vice President of Student Affairs. Dr. Whitely has worked at the…

Falling in love with mother nature 

I first became engaged as an advocate for the environment when I lived in New Mexico and worked to help protect Navajo sacred sites from uranium mining and drilling. The experience opened my eyes to the sacredness of our environment and the power of a small but focused group of people working together for a common cause.

I leveraged my AmeriCorps VISTA connections and partnered with the Sierra Club to start a group in Gallup, New Mexico. As a grass-roots group with Sierra Club backing, we were able to combine resources with already existing indigenous organizations to bring attention to the environmental justice issues in the region.

My experience as a grassroots organizer out West has served me in my current roles as both social worker and mother living in a Midwestern city. Now my passion to protect and preserve the environment are played out at home and in my neighborhood instead of on tribal lands. I live, work, and send my daughter to a community school all within about a one-mile radius of one another.
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