Get to know CEC members Ian Fannin-Hughes & Gayle Bergman
Name | Ian Fannin-Hughes |
What is your work and how did you end up focusing on the work you do? | I am a water resource manager which means I oversee the planning, monitoring, and policy for water quality projects and activates. My entire career has been in the realm of protecting water, in some form or fashion. Water has always been my passion, whether it was catching crawdads in our little creek as a kid, swimming in high school, or monitoring stream health of the Blue River. |
What’s your biggest motivation to do climate work (or for engaging in climate action)? | My kids. I have two young children, one who is disabled, and both who love nature. My kids drive me to protect the creeks, streams, rivers, and natural spaces in our community so that all people can benefit from and access the natural world in our backyards. |
If you could accomplish one big goal related to climate action, what would it be? | Putting a floating wetland in EVERY body of water across the KC Metro! Floating wetlands allow native wetland plants to grow on buoyant structures, soaking up excessive nutrients from the waterbody AND sequestering carbon from the air. Not to mention the co-benefits of improved fish habitat, pollinator forage, recreation, public safety, and beautification. |
Who inspires you the most? | My mother. She just passed away in November of 2022 from a long fight with breast cancer. She is the most inspirational person to me, not just for how she endured, but how resilient she was. She is the one who inspired me with a passion for public service, being selfless, and helping improve the lives of others. |
What’s one book that helped inform your perspective on climate action/the climate crisis? | “Fresh Banana Leaves” by Jessica Hernandez |
What words of wisdom or motivation can you share with those who want to engage in climate action? | If you want to take action to address climate change, start in your community. We are very lucky to have a great amount of support for climate action across the KC Metro. However, not every city or county has that kind of support. It can be dejecting at times, but the fight has to occur everywhere for change to happen. Persistence in the face of resistance, we have to be as resilient as we want our communities to be to make lasting change. |
What’s one thing you do to recharge from your work? | I love to write and garden. Creating something, using imagination, and nurturing plants have a way of recharging me, as frustrating as it can be at times. |
Name | Gayle Bergman |
What is your work and how did you end up focusing on the work you do? | I’m an Environmental Scientist for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City, KS Public Health Department. I maintain EPA network monitoring equipment, inspect permitted facilities with air emissions, and respond to air quality complaints in the county. I started out in Household Hazardous Waste at Johnson County and wanted to diversify my environmental knowledge. |
What’s your biggest motivation to do climate work (or for engaging in climate action)? | All other public policies and programs are going to be less meaningful if we don’t slow down global warming. Climate change affects everyone, and I want everyone to have clean air and water regardless of zip code. |
If you could accomplish one big goal related to climate action, what would it be? | Research has shown that infill development is the number one-way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I would like single-family exclusionary zoning to be no more and replaced with parking maximums, multi-family/multi-use by right, and public transit/biking/walking be the default. |
Who inspires you the most? | Sam Balto, a physical education teacher in Portland, Oregon who championed and leads a “bike bus” for his elementary school students to get to school. He also testified at the Oregon statehouse to allow for alternative transportation funding like bike buses to get to school. |
What’s one book that helped inform your perspective on climate action/the climate crisis? | The Death and Life of Great American Cities – Jane Jacobs |
What words of wisdom or motivation can you share with those who want to engage in climate action? | Everyone can do something, and being informed and showing up/engaging with your local politicians is impactful. At the end of the day, we need systemic change, and implementing policies on the local level affects behavior change the most. Being the good example to your friends and family also helps. I have a friend who started composting after she saw how easy it was for me to do it by having it picked up curbside by a local company. It can be overwhelming too, so pick one thing at a time to improve on in your own life. |
What’s one thing you do to recharge from your work? | I like to garden, take my dog on walks, and watch TV |