The guest is Buck Parker, Strategic Advisor at Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest law organization dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. He'll talk about his work with Earthjustice through the courts and on Capitol Hill. Buck Parker speaks on "Who Owns Our Environment?" on Wednesday, February 27th, at 7PM as part of the Illahee Lecture Series at the First Congregational Church at 1123 SW Park Ave in downtown Portland.
Vawter "Buck" Parker is a 1967 graduate of Stanford University (BA, History) and a 1972 graduate of Harvard Law School. He was in private practice in Portland, Oregon, for eight years before joining Earthjustice as Litigation Coordinator in 1980. He served as Executive Director of the organization from 1997 through 2007 and now holds the position Strategic Adviser, working on special projects.
For many years, Buck coordinated Earthjustice's litigation and was active in opening Earthjustice's new offices around the country. In 1989 he established Earthjustice's International Program, which focused initially on the intersection of human rights and environmental concerns and has since expanded to encompass trade issues as well. In 1995, working with environmental lawyers in Latin America, he founded the Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente, an organization of public interest environmental law groups dedicated to expanding the use of citizen enforcement to address international environmental issues within the Western Hemisphere. During his tenure as Executive Director he greatly expanded Earthjustice's legislative and communications staffs and led the organization during the critical years of the administration of President George W. Bush.
Buck was for many years a member of the board of Sierra Legal Defence Fund (now Ecojustice) of Canada, the leading environmental advocacy organization in Canada, and remains an honorary director of the organization. He also served for many years on the board of the Campaign for America's Wilderness.
- KBOO