Donna Smith, Board of Directors.

It only takes a moment with Donna Smith to know that she’s a Great Old Broad. Intelligent and tenacious, Donna’s passion for life and wild places is a perfect match with Broads. As a new member of the Board of Directors, Donna’s expertise in developing public policy strengthens Broads mission to protect wild places.

A native of California, Donna spent most of her adult life in San Diego, where she raised her children and was an educator for 16 years. When her youngest daughter was a year old, Donna decided she “wanted to talk to taller people about real issues,” and joined the League of Women Voters, subsequently taking leadership positions at the local and state levels.

Donna’s involvement in politics increased, when in 1996 she graduated from UCLA with a law degree (yes, at the age of 58!), and worked as chief of staff for Congresswoman Susan Davis during her last two terms as a member of the California State Assembly. When Davis was elected to Congress, Donna followed her to Washington, DC as legislative counsel to assist Rep. Davis in developing public policy. During her tenure with Rep. Davis, Donna handled what she refers to as the three Es: education, energy and the environment.

It was during her stint in Washington, DC that Donna first bumped into Broads. Executive Director Ronni Egan and other environmentalists met with Donna to discuss grazing on federal lands. Donna had recently joined a study trip on grazing issues to Yellowstone and says, “we came to an easy understanding of the issues.” As Ronni was leaving the meeting, she gave Donna a Broads brochure. Donna read the brochure and thought, “these are my people.” She immediately became a member.

After retiring, Donna joined Broads at the Tumacacori Broadwalk in Arizona last spring. “The Broadwalk confirmed my hopes and expectations of what Broads does,” said Donna. “Now that I have the choice of how to spend my time, I would like to do something meaningful for wilderness so that my grandchildren will indeed have it to experience and treasure.”

Donna’s strong legal and legislative background has already proven to be helpful as Broads develops strategies to improve public lands management policies and protect more wilderness-quality lands. “My legal background and having worked on The Hill,” says Donna, “gives me a way of looking at the possibilities for action.” Donna’s proximity to Congress, as she continues to live in Washington, DC, also allows her to speak as a representative of Broads to various congressional leaders and attend important hearings.

As Rep. Davis remarked in honoring Donna when she retired from public service, “she [Donna] will be an active player in making our country and the world a better place to live.” Broads is grateful that Donna has chosen protecting our last remaining roadless lands as one of the ways she will make our country and world a better place. —Becky Lawlor

Effective Advocacy Tips

1. Know your representative and senators.
Visit www.house.gov or www.senate.gov to find your members, their committee assignments and web site links.

2. Know who your member’s environmental staffer is in your district and in DC.
To find out who is the current staff member for the environment, you can call the local office and ask the person who answers who the current staff member is both in the district and in DC.

3. Educate your lawmakers and the staff on the issue.
Try to arrange a personal meeting regarding a specific issue in your district, arrange a go-see visit during district work periods, and take a brief laptop visual (photos or Powerpoint) that will show what the issue is and why it needs attention.

4. Keep contact simple.
Who I am [active constituent].
What I want you to do.
Why I want it – personally.

5. Act quickly on a specific issue when it is up for action.Call the district office and state the above information and get your neighbors/friends to do the same. Do not mail, e-mail or fax if you want a quick response. Members receive more than a thousand e-mails a week, faxes can get jammed or misdirected, and mail to the DC office takes an additional two weeks for anthrax screening.