This summer we have had the utmost privilege of working with the Great Rhonda Anderson. Rhonda Anderson is the Sierra Clubs Environmental Justice organizer here in Detroit and our supervisor (although she views as her peers) during our internship. Much of her work is done in Southwest Detroit and downriver communities. These communities are highly polluted and surrounded by big industry, therefore they have various environmental health impacts on residents. At the Sierra Club Rhonda has organized rallies, attended and hosted community meetings, made negotiations with big industry (such as Marathon), done research on communities environment, talked with and listened to community members problems, created environmental reports and sooooo much more. Rhonda grew up in the downriver communities and has seen the health impact on the citizens first hand. She has witnessed the industries grow and take advantage of the many citizens who live blocks away or closer from these deadly sites. This is one of the reasons I believe she is so passionate about her work! Rhonda is extremely busy and dedicates a lot of her time to ensure that others have what they need to live a happy and healthy life.
Throughout my internship it is obvious to see that Rhonda is a very genuine and compassionate person. She really wants to see change and improvement but more importantly she truly believes things will change and get better. Both Amy and I look up to Rhonda Anderson and admire the work she does in communities and who she is as a person. Rhonda is a very blessed woman, who I in-vision helping people for the rest of her life.
