Community Calendar

A third of people living in Washington are nondrivers: young people, seniors aging out of driving, people who can't drive because of our disabilities, and people who can't afford or have chosen not to pay for a car.

For many of us, transit is freedom.

At this community forum, Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving Is Not An Option, will share insights from the growing body of research about nondrivers and lead a facilitated discussion with Spokane-area community members who rely on transit and paratransit.

Come prepared to share your story and to leave inspired to fight for accessible communities where we can all get where we need to go.

As the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation rise, and we continue to witness as communities of color, Indigenous communities, low income communities and children are placed on the frontlines of environmental pollution and harm, we can no longer rely on federal and state legislation that are designed to accommodate environmental pollution and degradation rather than prevent it. There is a solution: bypass the laws and turn to the ultimate authority—our state and federal constitutions. Green Amendments (now in 3 states with 18 more on the way) provide constitutional recognition of environmental rights as inalienable and give the highest level of legal protection. Learn what a Green Amendment is, what it does, and how it brings transformational change to our US system of laws and governance when it comes to the environment. Learn how you can be a leader in securing meaningful constitutional environmental rights for your community.

Maya K. Van Rossum is the Founder of Green Amendments For the Generations, a grassroots non-profit inspiring the national movement to secure constitutional recognition and protection of environmental rights in every state and ultimately at the federal level. Maya, a licensed attorney, is the author of numerous publications, including her book The Green Amendment, The People’s Fight For a Clean, Safe & Healthy Environment, now in its second edition, in which she coined and defined the term “Green Amendment”. Maya is also the Delaware Riverkeeper, leading the 4 state, watershed-based advocacy organization, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, for 30 years. She co-hosts Green Genes, an environmental podcast with her daughter. Since launching her Green Amendment movement, New York passed an amendment in 2021, proposals are advancing in 19 additional states, with half a dozen more on the way, and there is increasing use (including with Maya’s assistance) of the Green Amendments that now exist in Pennsylvania, New York and Montana.

Join Nathan Sackett, MD, MS (Director of the Center for Novel Therapeutics in Addiction Psychiatry at the UW School of Medicine), for the Next Generation Medicine lecture. Dr. Sackett will share insights into the world of psychedelics, focusing on breakthrough clinical research for substance use disorders, PTSD, anxiety, and mood conditions. Discover how psychedelics are reshaping modern psychiatric care.