Upfront COMMUNITY
Audrey Rust named 2010 Athena Award winner Environmental leader to be honored for excellence, creativity and mentoring by Sue Dremann
A
udrey Rust, longtime leader awardees, Rust said, “It’s quite an of Peninsula Open Space honor to be among them.” Trust (POST), will The most meaningreceive this year’s 2010 ful aspect of her tenure Athena Award, the Palo at POST is that which is Alto Chamber of Commost obvious, she said: merce has announced. “It’s the one of saving Rust will receive the incredibly important and award at a Chamber lunvaluable pieces of land cheon Nov. 17 at the Garand making them availden Court Hotel in Palo able” to the average perAlto. son to enjoy. The award honors “It’s helping to create women who demonstrate a landscape that sustains excellence and creativthis region,” she said. Audrey Rust ity in business and who In other parts of the contribute to the quality country, land is not conof life in their communities and help served with the same sense of public other women realize their leadership ownership as in the Bay Area, she potential. said. Considering the caliber of other “The concept that everyone has
access to that land is not as prevalent as we have here,” she said. Rust has led POST since 1987. Under her leadership, the Palo Alto nonprofit has protected 63,000 acres of open space land in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. She lives in Menlo Park. “Audrey Rust’s achievements in more than two decades as president of Peninsula Open Space Trust are as magnificent as the natural spaces she has worked so hard to preserve,” Congresswoman Anna Eshoo said in a letter supporting her nomination. “These lands have become parts of the National Parks System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, California State Parks, county and city parks, regional open space preserves and private farmland.”
6WDQIRUG 8QLYHUVLW\
$ <HDU /RQJ ([SORUDWLRQ
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 11th, 2010 The Ethics of Violence in War 7 p.m. / Annenberg Auditorium Richard Rhodes (Pulitzer Prize winning author) Richard Rhodes is the author or editor of twenty-three books including The Making of the Atomic Bomb, which won a Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award; Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, which was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize in History; Arsenals of Folly: The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race; and The Twilight of the Bomb (Aug 2010).
NEXT EVENT: THURS. DEC 2 “Who Should Fight? The Ethics of the Draft” Panel discussion with David Kennedy, Eliot Cohen and Jean Bethke Elshtain Tresidder Union, Oak Lounge - Stanford University
EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Ethics and War is a campus-wide initiative.
For details, sponsors and updated schedule information, visit: ethicsinsociety.stanford.edu Page 10ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ
Prior to her tenure at POST, Rust worked with the Sierra Club, Yale University and Stanford University. She has served on numerous local, state and national organizations, primarily in conservation and housing. Over the years, a larger public consciousness about land conservation has emerged, she said. But there is a caveat. The commitment to local concerns that major corporations and individuals in the valley have felt in the past has not transferred to the next generation. Many business leaders now focus on the global environment and social issues. “It’s a concern for the future,” she said. As money leaves the Bay Area to
support causes in other countries, Rust also hopes leaders with deep pockets won’t take the local and regional environment for granted. “Understanding the importance of our natural environment in its diversity ... and its importance in the protection of the air and water is an essential thing,” she said. Athena International established the Athena award in 1982, a professional businesswoman’s organization dedicated to woman’s leadership. Various host organizations, including chambers of commerce, administer the award annually. Tickets for the luncheon are available by calling 650-324-3121. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be e-mailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.