Preserving the legacy of Bay Area Action’s environmental work from 1990–2000 and beyond.
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Remembering the members of the Bay Area Action community who are no longer with us.
Cheryl Campbell was a larger-than-life BAA Rad Sheep and part of the infamous “6-Pack.” She was Garden Manager of BAA’s Midtown Garden in 1994, and known for the line, “I can’t wait to see what life has in store for me today!” In 1999, we lost her beautiful soul to an automobile accident. She was 40 years old.
– Laura Stec, 2025
Justine Cooper was a beacon of service and compassion, dedicating her life to the principles of right livelihood and selfless action. She chose a simple life of austerity and sacrifice, always putting the needs of others and the planet first. Justine was renowned for her unwavering commitment to social and environmental justice, answering the call for support wherever and whenever it arose. She was an “Earth Mother” to many, embodying humility, generosity, and steadfast dedication.
As a member of the Earth Day 1990 staff, Justine played a crucial behind-the-scenes role, investing countless hours recruiting and training volunteers, handling logistics, and ensuring that every essential — if unglamorous — task was completed with care. Her work extended far beyond Earth Day: Justine was known for supporting Indigenous gatherings, immigrant communities, and anyone in need, often traveling great distances despite living with very few material possessions. Whether working in kitchens, offices, or on the phone, she was always present where help was needed most.
Justine’s activism also included anti-nuclear and peace work. She was affiliated with Peace House in Ashland, Oregon, and participated in public anti-nuclear statements, such as those addressing the North Korean nuclear crisis. Her service-oriented approach and hands-on organizing reflected the spirit of the grassroots, feminist, and environmental justice movements of her era.
After her involvement with Earth Day 1990, Justine continued her lifelong commitment to peace, justice, and community support. She lent her voice to public calls for nuclear disarmament and global peace.
Living on very little, she still found a way to get to important Indigenous gatherings supporting Native rights, immigrant communities, and whoever needed support — working in the kitchens, offices, calling, writing, mailings.
Throughout the 1990s she returned to BAA for numerous stints to help with specific campaigns, events, and just general office work.
Justine’s legacy endures in the lives she touched and the movements she strengthened. Her humility, tireless service, and unwavering support for marginalized communities inspired all who knew her, leaving a lasting imprint on the worlds of social justice, environmental stewardship, and peace activism.
“We love you Justine, thanks for all you did to make the world a better place,” said David Smernoff in 2025.
Shannon Elderon began attending Schools Group meetings at BAA’s Mountain View office in 1999 when she was a freshman at Palo Alto High School. Like many teens in a new school, Shannon felt ostracized. Unlike most, she spoke about it openly, and even sought remedy. She wrote a letter to the editors of Paly’s student newspaper in March 2000, stating, “I’ve concluded that this school has a serious attitude problem. Students tease, make fun of and ostracize those who are different. Yes, I know this is ‘the way things are in the real world,’ but that doesn’t justify this cruelty.”
“Not only are students frighteningly intolerant, but teachers, too, are often not open to new ideas,” she wrote. “They cling to their assumptions and refuse to take seriously others’ perspectives.
She closed her letter with an appeal for both students and adults to do better: “I do not feel accepted and supported here at Paly. Perhaps you will say that this is the fate of teenagers in high school. But even if that’s true, it’s not right, and we should be doing more to help out peers, rather than devoting all of our energies to trying to make them miserable.”
Perhaps Shannon found some solace in the accepting environment of the BAA Schools Group. She happily volunteered for numerous projects and events, including Saturday habitat restoration at Arastradero Preserve, protesting The Gap alongside other Schoolies, and she helped organize events such as 2000’s Rock the Earth concert, Paly’s Earth Day, and Deep Green Global Training.
“She was a freshman when she joined, which was relatively unusual because the rest of us were mostly juniors and seniors. For high school students, that can feel like a big gap, but not with Shannon,” remembered one peer. “Shannon was smart, capable, articulate, and fun, and we all loved it when she started attending Schoolie meetings.”
She’s remembered for her wry wit and snarky humor, her constantly changing hair, and her ready smile.
After high school Shannon earned her BA in English from the University of Oregon and an MAT in Teaching of English from Stanford University. She later completed her MA in English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Cincinnati, where she also taught as a graduate instructor.“
“Teaching undergrad creative writing is kind of like what I imagined teaching would be like before I became a teacher: the students happy to be there, eager to learn, pens poised, lots of them contributing to the discussion, great insights,” she wrote in 2013. “It’s almost disconcerting.”
Shannon taught English at Gunn High School and other schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District, inspiring students with her love of language and literature. She also contributed to educational publishing as an assistant editor at Cengage Learning and later worked as a curriculum designer for IXL Learning in San Mateo. She reviewed books for The Rumpus, one of the longest-running online literary magazines.
Shannon bravely battled depression for over 16 years, according to her mother. She passed away in August 2016. Her family encouraged those wishing to honor Shannon’s memory to support mental health advocacy, such as through the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Ernest E. “Ernie” Goitein was a passionate environmental and social justice activist whose life journey spanned continents and causes. Born in Berlin, Ernie’s early years were marked by displacement and resilience as he and his family moved through Holland, Palestine (Israel), Trinidad, Cuba, and the United States, ultimately settling in Northern California. After serving in the US Army during World War II and earning an engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, Ernie built a career as an engineer specializing in large-scale cooling systems, including work on nuclear power plant design.
Ernie became deeply involved in environmental activism in the Bay Area during the late 1980s and 1990s. He came to Bay Area Action as a collaborator in the Ward Valley campaign — a decade-long struggle to prevent the establishment of a nuclear waste dump in the Mojave Desert. His organizing leadership and commitment were instrumental in uniting activists and ultimately achieving a victory in 1999, halting the project and setting a precedent against new nuclear waste dumps in California.
Beyond Ward Valley, Ernie was central to several other significant environmental campaigns during the 1990–2000 period. He helped organize grassroots efforts that stopped the development of 2,600 acres of wetlands at Bair Island, preserving it as part of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. He was also active in campaigns against hazardous waste incineration and the burning of missile fuel near San Jose, successfully mobilizing local communities to protect air and water quality. Ernie’s approach was characterized by his endless curiosity, inclusive spirit, and ability to inspire those around him to work for a healthier, safer world.
After 2000, Ernie continued to be a prominent figure in environmental and social justice movements. He participated in high-profile protests, including the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) demonstrations in Seattle, where he witnessed the historic alliance of labor and environmental activists. In 2002, he joined protests at the School of the Americas in Georgia, advocating against military training linked to human rights abuses in Latin America. Ernie also traveled internationally, presenting on radioactive waste at a 1998 symposium in Stockholm and joining a 2005 delegation with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to observe land reform and cooperative farming.
Ernie remained active in local and global causes well into his later years, always embracing opportunities to support justice and environmental stewardship. His legacy lives on in the preserved lands, safer communities, and the countless activists he mentored and inspired throughout his life.
Harry Richard “Heru” Hall was a dedicated community advocate, urban agriculture leader, and local historian whose work helped shape the preservation and cultural identity of East Palo Alto. Born in 1957, Hall spent much of his life in East Palo Alto, where he became a central figure in efforts to protect the city’s agricultural heritage and open spaces. He was the founder and driving force behind the East Palo Alto Historical Agricultural Society (EPA-HAS), an organization devoted to documenting and preserving the area’s unique agricultural and historical legacy.
His commitment to community-driven change brought EPA-HAS into close partnership with Bay Area Action during the 1990s. EPA-HAS rented a desk in the BAA offices on Emerson Street in Palo Alto, fostering collaboration between the two groups. One of the most significant joint projects was the creation of the East Palo Alto Community Garden, also known as the Weeks Street Garden — a vibrant urban agriculture space that provided fresh produce and educational opportunities for local residents.
Heru’s advocacy extended to city planning, where he championed the protection of open space, the recognition of historic resources, and the integration of agricultural practices into urban life. His work ensured that the city’s agricultural roots and community history remained a living part of East Palo Alto’s identity.
After 2000, Heru continued to play an influential role in local planning and preservation efforts. He contributed to city documents and neighborhood plans, advocating for the inclusion of cultural, historic, and natural resources in East Palo Alto’s development strategies. Hall also worked with organizations such as the Trust for Public Land and the National Park Service, helping to secure support for parks, trails, and green spaces. His archival work and community education initiatives left a lasting impact, inspiring new generations to value and protect their local environment and history.
Heru’s archival work ensured that East Palo Alto’s agricultural, cultural, and social history was not lost. His documentation supports ongoing preservation, education, and planning efforts in the community, and his legacy continues through the materials now held in the East Palo Alto Community Archive.
Heru Hall passed away in 2021 at the age of 64. His legacy endures in the preserved gardens, open spaces, and the community spirit he nurtured throughout his life.
Walt Hays was a prominent Peninsula citizen and longtime volunteer with a number of nonprofits, including the Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter, the Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation (PCCF), Bay Area Action (BAA), Acterra, Habitat for Humanity, Carbon-Free Palo Alto, and the Waddell Creek Association.
“If civilization is to continue, we need people to volunteer,” he told the Palo Alto Weekly in 2008. “The best thing to avoid being discouraged about something is to do something about it.”
Walt graduated from Stanford Law School and practiced as a civil trial lawyer for 32 years before retiring in 1994. He served as a San Jose City Council member from 1969 to 1973, where his main focus was to protect the region from urban sprawl.
He served as a San Jose City Council member from 1969 to 1973, where his main focus was to protect the region from urban sprawl. He moved to Palo Alto in 1976. He served as volunteer counsel for the California Solar Energy Industry Association.
Walt was a primary force behind increased program cooperation between BAA and the PCCF in 1998 that led to the merger of the two orgs in 2000, later called Acterra. He had served as a PCCF board member for years and was an active BAA volunteer. He remained on the Acterra board as well.
In 2001 he was honored as an Outstanding Citizen with a Tall Tree Award by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and Palo Alto Weekly. In 2008 he was honored with an Avenidas Lifetime of Achievement Award for his decades of public service.
Walt Hay, 87, died of congestive heart failure at The Sequoias in Portola Valley in January 2023.
Remembrance to come...
(also see Action vol 4 no 1)
We at Bay Area Action are saddened by the loss of longtime BAA member Hans Liband who died Saturday, November 7, 1992. Hans will be remembered for his committed work for Earth Day 1990, his warm hugs and impressive stature, his genuine friendliness, his belief in the power of individuals to work change, and for his dedication to making change happen. Be it Redwood Summer or the Nevada Test Site actions, Hans was often seen sharing concerns with the opposition in an attempt to open dialogue. He was always gentle, respectful, and we will all miss him very much.
(from Action vol 3 no 6)
Corey Mikami was a member of the High Schools Group in the mid to late 1990s. He was an accomplished photographer and sometimes contributed his artistic studies of nature to the BAA newsletters and website. He died from a brain tumor in 2017.
In a 1996 Schools Group newsletter he wrote: “For me, BAA helps give my life direction. By being able to help others in our community, including future generations through work in the environment, I am helping myself. Bay Area Action helps me to understand how to conserve and protect the environment while at the same time teaches me how to share what I know with others. It also gives me a cool sense of belonging and welcomeness.”
He also volunteered with Committee for Green Foothills.
After high school Corey attended UC Santa Cruz. Fostering his love of nature, he later studied agriculture and foreign studies at the The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel. In 1999 he wrote, “I am passionate about connecting city dwellers back to nature by growing plants in urban areas. I traveled to Australia and Italy, where I noticed varying styles of agriculture and landscape design. These issues interest me as a future landscape designer.”
Dr. Elaine Solowey, Director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture, remembered Corey fondly as “a very aware person who loved the trees.”
Corey’s Facebook account has been memorialized.
Remembrance to come...
Jason Ulibarri was a longtime BAA volunteer and part of the heralded but secretive “Six Pack.“
An avid world traveler, in 1998 Jason started the AdventureScapes project at BAA, an online magazine for travelers interested in the then-emerging ecotourism sector.
Later Jason became a longtime member of the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. He died in 2019.