Environmental Scientist and Mountaineer Arlene Blum to Receive the
2014 Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal
BERKELEY, CA – The Berkeley Community Fund announced today that Dr. Arlene Blum, environmental scientist, author and mountaineer, will receive the 2014 Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal. The award recognizes Dr. Blum’s many and varied accomplishments: leading the first American (and all-women’s) climb to the summit of Annapurna I, her efforts to eliminate harmful chemicals from our homes and the environment, starting with removing cancer-causing flame retardants from children’s sleepwear in 1977, and her more recent work as founder and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute. Dr. Blum will receive the award at BCF’s annual High Hopes Dinner celebration on October 9, 2014.
“Arlene Blum truly reflects the best of our community and its variety of interests and pursuits,” said Jessica Pers, president of the Berkeley Community Fund. “She serves as an inspiration for so many people, not only in Berkeley but around the world, by showing what intelligence, persistence and courage can achieve.”
Dr. Blum first came to worldwide prominence in the 1970s, when she co-led the first all-woman team to climb Denali. In 1978 she organized and led the first successful American — and all-woman— ascent of Annapurna I, considered one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult mountains. She later completed the Great Himalayan Traverse across the mountain regions of Bhutan, Nepal, and India and hiked the length of the European Alps with her baby daughter on her back. Her amazing adventures are described in her own books: Annapurna: A Woman’s Place and Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life.
Dr. Blum, who received a PhD in biophysical chemistry at UC Berkeley, applies the same strength and commitment to her work as an environmental scientist leading the challenging work to stop the use of harmful chemicals in consumer products in the United States and worldwide. Indeed, her work with the Green Science Policy Institute has led to policy changes that have prevented the use of hundreds of millions of pounds of harmful flame-retardants in chemicals in clothing, furniture, electronics and other products. Most recently, her work contributed to California’s new furniture flammability standard, TB 117-2013, for fire safe furniture without the use of unnecessary flame-retardants. It is a victory for more responsible use of chemicals and a healthier planet for current and future generations.
In addition to her professional pursuits, Dr. Blum founded Berkeley’s popular Himalayan Fair, an annual celebration of Himalayan culture designed to increase friendship and understanding between Berkeley and the Himalayan peoples. Since 1983, proceeds from the fair have supported orphanages, helped build schools, paid for teachers and enabled projects of more than 50 organizations in Nepal, Tibet, India and Afghanistan.
The Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal was established in 1929 by the Service Club of Berkeley to honor the city’s “most useful citizen.” It is named after the University of California president who was best known for transforming the school from a small land grant college into a world-renowned university. President Wheeler recognized that the fundamental basis for democracy is drawn from healthy local communities. Today, the award honors individuals whose broad vision, community engagement, and actions improve the quality of life for a significant number of people in Berkeley and beyond.
Dr. Blum joins a list of Wheeler Award recipients who have had a remarkable impact on our lives. The first medalist was William H. Waste, a California Supreme Court Justice who was a co-founder and the first president of the Berkeley Public Library and co-founder and president of the Berkeley YMCA. Later recipients include Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ernest O. Lawrence, namesake of Lawrence Berkeley Labs, Lawrence Livermore Labs, and Lawrence Hall of Science; the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, former civil rights attorney and current federal judge; Davida Coady, MD, founder and medical director of Options Recovery Services; environmentalist David Brower; Save the Bay co-founder Sylvia McLaughlin; acoustic pioneers and local philanthropists Helen and John Meyer; Berkeley Rep Managing Director Susan Medak; radio personality, chef, raconteur and philanthropist, Narsai David; and cultural icon and humanitarian Wavy Gravy.
ABOUT THE AWARDS DINNER
The Berkeley Community Fund’s annual High Hopes Dinner brings together a cross-section of people from the greater East Bay community to celebrate one of the things we love best about Berkeley: It is a small city with big ideas, a big heart, and big impact. The festive event is the major fundraiser for the Berkeley Community Fund’s High Hopes Scholarship Program. Tickets and sponsorship information are available at http://bit.ly/BCF2014AnnualDinner or by calling (510) 542-2126.
ABOUT THE BERKELEY COMMUNITY FUND
The Berkeley Community Fund is a charitable nonprofit organization founded in 1992 by a group whose love for Berkeley and for a community of hope and equity inspired them to set up a fund that would reflect their goals. Based on our belief in the importance of higher education to improve economic and social mobility, we now direct all donations to our High Hopes Scholarship Program. Since 2008, we have helped 115 motivated and promising Berkeley high school graduates succeed in college by providing over $1.76 million in scholarships plus mentoring and other support. More than 80% of our scholars have either earned bachelor’s degrees or are still enrolled and on-track to do so.
For more information about the BCF, visit www.berkfund.org. For more information on the Green Science Policy Institute, see www.greensciencepolicy.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July, 31, 2014
CONTACT:
Joleen Ruffin
(510) 542-2126
joleen@berkfund.org
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