Menlo Park Mayor Cecilia Taylor named Haas Distinguished Visitor

The Haas Center and the Stanford Doerr School for Sustainability are partnering to host four changemakers in sustainability and environmental justice for a winter and spring residency. This program will combine key elements from the Social Entrepreneurs in Residence (SEERS) and Distinguished Visitor programs in an  opportunity to bring more community leaders to campus.

The 2024 Distinguished Visitors are Angela McKee-Brown, founder and CEO of Project Reflect; Jason Su, executive director of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy; Menlo Park Mayor Cecilia Taylor, founder, executive director, and CEO of Belle Haven Action; and Violet Wulf-Saena, founder and executive director of Climate Resilient Communities.

All four will begin their residency at Stanford with a panel event on Jan. 25, “Voices of Impact: Joyful and Collaborative Approaches to Sustainable Communities,” in which they will discuss how they work with communities to address environmental justice issues and their goals for their time at Stanford.

During spring quarter, they will co-teach the Cardinal Course Challenging the Status Quo: Social Entrepreneurs Advancing Democracy, Development and Justice with lecturer Kathleen Kelly Janus. They will also meet individually with students, faculty, and community leaders.

“The global community is facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change,” said Arun Majumdar, dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. “The impacts of rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and other environmental changes are already being felt. To address these challenges effectively, it is essential to learn from individuals and organizations at the front lines of local community work to better understand how we can channel innovation towards these urgent needs.”

The Distinguished Visitor program brings to campus prominent individuals whose lives and careers have had significant public impact and who have distinguished themselves in one or more forms of public service. Previous visitors have included physicians, educators, journalists, organizers, artists, and politicians.