Champions of Change

Champions of Change Blog

  • Bringing Jobs, and Broadway's Lessons, to Great Barrington, MA

    Posted by Ari Matusiak on July 15, 2011 at 9:46 AM EDT

    Jane Iredale’s entire career led her to create Iredale Mineral Cosmetics. As a casting director, Ms. Iredale worked with actors, actresses, and top makeup artists on commercials, televisions shows, and movies. As the owner of her own production company, she worked with the likes of PBS and HBO to produce television series, feature films, and a Broadway musical, earning her a Tony Award nomination, and winning her a Peabody Award and an Emmy. 

    Iredale Mineral Cosmetics Building

    Jane Iredale's cosmetics company has 160 employees and is based in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

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  • Cleaning Up Schools, Taking Care of Our Space

    Posted by Sam Holtz on July 14, 2011 at 11:53 AM EDT

    Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

    I applied to be on Grades of Green’s Kids’ Advisory Board because they are working to inspire kids to be green and I wanted to be a part of it. They nominated me for the Champions of Change award because of the work I have done at my school, American Martyrs. I was so excited when they called and told me I had been named a “Champion of Change.”

    As a Champion of Change, on July 8th I was part of a video conference from the White House situation room with kids from all over the country who have implemented environmental changes just like I have.  Seeing and hearing all the great activities they have organized (including mine) showed me that us kids really can make a difference. After the videoconference I was honored and learned some new activities which I will try to put in place at my school. 

    I became involved in ecology because I am worried about what is happening to our planet. I believe we all have a responsibility to take care of our space. It is not up to our parents, or others to pick up after us. I wanted to get others to help me clean up our school so I ran for the position of safety and ecology and I won. After being elected I began making our school green. The first activity I organized was a drive to recycle gently used school supplies. I thought of this idea because I know at the end of the school year everyone just throws their old school supplies away. Filling my garage with pens, pencils, crayons, old notebooks, etc. I sorted it with some help from my friends and we gave the supplies to a less fortunate school in Watts. The smiles on their faces made it all worthwhile and we were keeping it out of the landfill. 

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  • Inspiring Students To Environmental Literacy

    Posted by Alexa Boghosian on July 13, 2011 at 2:01 PM EDT

    Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

    When I was honored last Friday as a Champion of Change and participated in the subsequent video conference event with the other honorees, it became clear to me that the White House Administration and fellow youth around the nation have a commitment to environmental literacy. This essential commitment will engrain environmental consciousness into the next generation of decision makers.

    During the summer of my freshman year of high school, I was a volunteer docent at "Cool Globes," an environmental exhibit at the California Science Center, providing tours and engaging public elementary schools students visiting on field trips. While volunteering, I noticed that the majority of students visiting the exhibit had difficulty answering what I thought to be basic questions, such as "Why is it important to protect our environment" or "Why is recycling good for the environment?"

    I quickly understood my community's need for environmental education in public elementary schools and decided to create The GreenTeens, a program to increase students' understanding, inspire them to take action, and empower them to lead their communities toward green citizenship.

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  • Young Leaders Taking Charge in Environmental Sustainability

    Posted by Ashley Baia on July 12, 2011 at 5:54 PM EDT

    Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

    All across the country, young people are taking initiative in their schools and communities to teach others about the importance of environmental stewardship, energy conservation, and reducing waste. This past Friday, the White House honored a group of young leaders who have taken it upon themselves to do just that – educate and change their communities. These young people have taken the initiative to help green their schools and to inform other people, adults and youth alike, about the importance of living a more sustainable life. From teens teaching school-children about environmental issues, to primary school kids starting school gardens and encouraging kids to bring trash-free lunches, these Champions of Change are not only inspiring the adults around them by greening their schools, but they are making sustainability something ‘cool’ and interesting to the kids in their classes and communities.

    I was fortunate enough to meet with these young leaders over a video chat from the Situation Room, and to hear their stories, successes, and struggles first hand. The strength of America’s clean energy future depends on the dedication and innovation of our future leaders, and after spending time with these outstanding individuals, I’m encouraged that this generation is taking it upon themselves to make changes that will help and sustain our world.  

    Please visit the Champions of Change website to learn more about these young people and their work. We hope these Champions and their causes will inspire and energize you, no matter what your age, to educate yourself about sustainability, and to work to make a difference in your own communities.

    Ashley Baia is Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement

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  • How Kids Can Do Something to Protect the Earth

    Posted by Grace Cortese on July 12, 2011 at 2:42 PM EDT

    Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

    I am Grace Cortese, and I am 10 years old. You might think I’m too young to make a difference in the environment. The reason I don’t believe that is because of my science teacher, Jillian Esby. She cares a lot about the environment and she teaches us that there are a million ways we can help if we pay attention and are willing to change our habits. Even the little things can add up, like turning out the light when you leave a room, or using both sides of the paper. Now my whole school is doing things to help protect the earth.

    My school has a composter for our lunch leftovers, a waste-free lunch program, recycle bins all over campus and a book swap. Our school made a carpool program to reduce the number of cars on campus, and we have a “Walk to School” day once a year. We also did a really cool thing to eliminate paper napkins and disposable water bottles. Each classroom has a party pack with cloth napkins, plastic cups and plates and we use those for all the class parties and events. My science teacher Mrs. Esby has a “Teenie Greenies” club at lunch and she teaches a class in “up-cycling” after school. Last year, we planted a fruit orchard on campus. We will give the fruit to the local food bank. My school does a lot to help others, too. We collect canned food for the Westside Food Bank and we fix meals for the homeless. Last year we collected 17,720 pounds of food and fixed 285 meals. In second grade, we “adopt a beach” through Heal the Bay and we do beach clean-ups. I learned a lot about the disgusting things that end up in the ocean, like cigarette butts and plastic bags. Last year at school, we had a read-a-thon to raise money for malaria nets in Malawi, Africa for a place called. G.A.I.A. I called my friends, grandparents, aunts and uncles and I raised $2,000! That is enough for 200 bed nets, and I feel really happy that I helped keep kids in Africa safe from malaria.

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  • Laying the Foundation for Economic Success, Brick by Brick

    Posted by Ari Matusiak on July 8, 2011 at 6:12 PM EDT

    Frank Cordie grew up across the river from St. Louis, MO in Belleville, IL.  After college, he took his first job at a refractory plant in Mexico, MO – the Fire Brick Capital of the World, and home to a leading refractory manufacturing company, A.P. Green Refractories.  Frank spent the next 25 years working in the brick-manufacturing industry, managing several plants for multiple companies.  Frank eventually returned to Mexico, MO as the Vice President of Manufacturing for A.P. Green.  By the late 1990s, A.P. Green had been purchased by another company, and the refractory industry in the U.S. had consolidated to just a few manufacturers.  Frank’s position meant he was responsible for, among other things, consolidating production and closing plants where necessary.  The A.P. Green factory, a cornerstone of the Mexico community, was shuttered in 2002.

    Mid America Brick Factory

    Mid America Brick CEO Frank Cordie at the company's plant in Mexico, MO, July 6, 2011. (Photo by Employees of Mid America Brick)

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