I’ve worked closely with Meghan Sahli-Wells on Transition Culver City’s steering committee for a few years. I know her as an amazingly astute, kind and upbeat person as well as a creative problem solver — and a true master of collaboration. Many times when we have met to brainstorm future events & outreach for our group, I have been amazed by how Meghan can come up with an original idea and then release it without egoic attachment into our collaborative field. The idea would then get improved & polished as we all contributed our strengths to the vision until together we had crafted a truly successful event or program. We’ve done this many times together.
A recent example is the Alternative Transportation Parade TCC hosted last September for worldwide “Moving Planet Day.” Meghan floated the concept of a festive caravan of riders & walkers that actually followed some of our new “Safe Routes to Schools” and also introduced participants to some best-possible routes to the future train station coming to East Culver City. The idea incorporated some of her areas of civic interest while keeping a focus on the overall “Moving Planet Day” objective to increase public awareness about low or non-carbon transportation alternatives. Meghan also suggested re-assembling after the ride in front of city hall to set personal goals for lowering our carbon footprints. In Transition and permaculture language, this is known as “stacking functions”: Meghan is wise & frugal in knowing how to get many yields (outputs) from one effort.
In addition, because Meghan is a genuine bridge builder in her daily life, TCC was able to partner with several other amazing local groups who added their valuable wisdom & energy to help make this event a huge success. Bike safety & education, bicycle repairs, and donated recycled craft supplies for decorating the bikes for the parade—all offered enthusiastically and for free by various Culver City groups, businesses, or nonprofits —all came about because of Meghan’s networks and street credibility. And we all had such a blast that day!
I’ve seen firsthand how Meghan can assemble and mobilize a group into a successful endeavor without having to dominate the scenario. I’ve heard she’s shown the same kind of grassroots leadership in her own residential area through the creation of the Downtown Neighborhood Association to help minimize adverse effects of oversized developments.
Meghan’s not the kind of person to toot her own horn but I know she is already appreciated, trusted and beloved by many in this city because of her involvement in many good works. Now she’s offering her talents to the entire city as a council member. This is fortunate timing for the people of Culver City in these extraordinarily challenging times: I believe she will make a resourceful and forward-looking addition to our decision-making team to help lead us into a resilient future!
Ginny Blades
Transition Culver City
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