Close Mobile Menu

From the Executive Director: A Stronger Cal Community

September 17, 2021
dc-fall-2021-rotator-1920x800-June2021_34

I write this from Camp Gold at the Lair of the Golden Bear as I watch families taking full advantage of the fresh air, blue skies, and outdoor space to roam freely.

headshot of Cloey HewlettFor many of us, spending time in nature with loved ones and friends is the best way to recharge. In June, we celebrated our Cal Athletics leaders at the Cal Bears in the Woods Alumni Chapter’s Coaches Caravan event in Lake Tahoe. The “Keep Tahoe Blue” bumper sticker is so much more than a slogan. It is a true call to action for every visitor, who can have an immediate impact on preserving the beauty of this wondrous retreat. While the United States Senate finalized a bipartisan infrastructure bill that included investments in clean energy, I joined the Cal Alumni Club of Washington, D.C. for their annual welcome picnic.

We are witnessing the global effects of climate change. I join my fellow loyal Cal Discoveries Travel participants as we watch the news and see places where we visited in great distress. My heart goes out to the families in Germany who watched their loved ones and hometowns swallowed by relentless rain. Here in the United States, the Pacific Northwest is managing record-high temperatures and stupendous wildfires, smoke carrying to fill the skies above Toronto, New York City, and Philadelphia. Barely one month after my visit to the Lair, the US Forest Service subsequently closed the Stanislaus National Forest, in an abundance of caution, for the remainder of the summer season.

The convergence of racial injustice and accelerated climate change has pushed minority populations to live in the periphery of their own communities. In late July, the Cal Alumni Association led Race and Climate Change, a discussion between energy professor Daniel Kammen and anthropology assistant professor Sarah E. Vaughn, hosted by Mary Nemerov ’94. Kammen and Vaughn shared how advocates are building a common language beyond technology and economics to influence policymakers toward rethinking traditional representation and distribution.

Together, we can emerge from the pandemic as a stronger Cal community supporting our students, young alumni, and communities. We look forward to seeing you in Berkeley in October for Reunion and Parents’ Weekend at Homecoming. CAA will be celebrating our Cultural Chapters and first-generation alumni. Visit homecoming.berkeley.edu for a detailed schedule.

Together, we rise.

Fiat Lux.

signature of Clothilde V Hewlett
Clothilde Hewlett ’76, J.D. ’79
Executive Director

At the Lair: (l-r) Zack Freeno; UC Regent John Perez; Aden Kun ’91 and Susan Kun; Ana García; Angela Salazar and CAA President Alfonso Salazar ’90; Assemblymember Phil Ting ’92; Sean Peterson; UC Berkeley Director of State Government Relations Adrian Diaz ’04; Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Mónica García ’96; Susana Razo ’97; Cloey Hewlett ’76, J.D. ’79 and Everett Hewlett; Romania Whitlock and Chief People & Culture Officer Eugene Whitlock. | Cal Alumni Association