Since 1992 the Clean Air Champions Award has been recognizing several individuals every year
who demonstrate consistent, inspirational and personal commitment toward improving air quality.
Take a look below at the sampling of past winners who have been recognized as Clean Air Champs over the last thirteen years.

2005 Winners

Steven Moss — The founder of the San Francisco Power Cooperative has improved air quality and energy conservation by building a “conservation” community in San Francisco’s Bayview district.

Jannat A. Muhammad —A longtime volunteer and community health activist whose efforts include educating and motivating Richmond families to reduce pesticides and fine particle air pollution in their neighborhoods.

Joan Spencer—A respiratory therapist who has advocated for cleaner air in Gilroy and the South Bay by supporting woodburning ordinances, better trails, new solar housing and solar schools.

Maria Luz Torre—Her Asthma Relief for Kids (ARK) team worked with the San Francisco School Board to pass a resolution setting clean air standards for the school district’s 250 school buses – the first of its kind in the Bay Area.

2004 Winners

James Callahan — An environmental scientist whose volunteer efforts at Bay Area museums, such as the Chabot Space and Science Center, help educate the public about air pollution and climate change issues.

John Holtzclaw — A longtime volunteer at the Sierra Club and many air quality organizations in the Bay Area who has dedicated years to researching and publicizing the link between clean air, smart growth, and transportation choices.

The Witwichi’s & Collen Zak — A three-member team who were selected for their efforts to significantly reduce the number of children arriving to school alone in a car, decreasing air pollution and helping to propel the Safe Routes to School Program in Marin County in to national and international spotlight.

Special Awards:

Dr. Henry Clark — Advocated for Flare Monitoring Rule, Flare Control Rule, losed Chevron Incinerator, negoiated zero net emissions for Chevron Reformulated Fuel Project

Ellyn Shea — The Tree Care Coordinator for Friends of the Urban Forest in San Francisco. Ellyn directly improves our air quality by overseeing the care and maintenance of over 1,500 trees each year, as well as providing information and outreach to help education the general public about the importance of healthy trees to our quality of life and our environment.

2003 Winners

Walt Bilofsky — Walt has championed the cause of a smoke-free environment for almost 30 years as a volunteer tobacco-control advocate with various organizations, including the Smoke Free Marin County Coalition, promoting the enactment of more than 30 local smoking ordinances in Massachusetts and California. 

The Rev. Sally Grover Bingham — The Environmental Minister at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Sally has brought attention to the linkage between ecological issues and the Christian faith.  She is the founder and executive director of The Regeneration Project, a nonprofit ministry currently working on a global climate change initiative, called Episcopal Power and Light. 

The Brandts — A big family that carpools, uses public transportation, and walks daily, advises colleagues about commute alternatives, and participates in neighborhood associations where transportation issues are discussed.

Lucy Gigli — The founder of Bike Alameda, an advocacy group that informs residents about the benefits and joys of bicycling.

James Paxson — As general manager of the Hacienda Business Park (Alameda County), with a comprehensive commute alternatives program, he is one of the leading Bay Area advocates for commute alternatives that foster cleaner air. 

The Port of Oakland and Oakland Airport — Since 1999 they have adopted numerous clean air programs, putting them at the forefront of environmentally sustainable development.  The airport has a compressed natural gas (CNG) station that also serves the community, thirty electric vehicles for use at the airport and seaport, and eight electric charging stations for airport and public use. The Port has adopted alternative fuel requirements for taxis, shuttles, and ground-service equipment that are stricter than those of any Northern California airport.  In addition, the Port of Oakland has an 8.9 million dollar air quality mitigation program to reduce pollution from diesel engines at maritime facilities.

Specialty Solid Waste and Recycling —The City of Sunnyvale’s franchised refuse and recycling hauler, they are implementing a conversion from diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG) garbage trucks, which is 95 percent complete, and they have a 24-hour CNG refueling station, which is open to the public. 

2002 Winners

Paul Albritton — A Sausalito attorney, city council member, and two-time mayor, who has been a tireless advocate of alternative transportation solutions.  He spearheaded Sausalito's purchase of a clean air shuttle, helped develop the Sausalito Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, and continues to creatively promote commute alternatives for his employees.

Bishop Ranch Transportation Association — Located in San Ramon, this business center with 350 companies employing 30,000 workers has developed and maintains a well-planned, flexible, multi-modal transportation program that consistently achieves a 30-percent reduction of drive-alone commute trips.

Michael Burns — As SF MUNI General Manager, his efforts include improving MUNI’s on-time performance for the third year in a row, using only ultra-low sulfur fuel in all buses, installing particulate traps and bike racks on most buses, joining City CarShare to reduce automobile use by MUNI employees, and prioritizing the testing of compressed natural gas and diesel-electric buses for future use in the MUNI fleet.

The City of Vallejo — Selected for its renewable energy projects, from solar and wind power to clean air vehicles, the City of Vallejo exemplifies how local government can help set new standards for clean air. 

Marin County Bicycle Coalition — The MCB's innovative Safe Routes to Schools Program, funded by the National Highway Traffic Administration in Washington, D.C., as a national model, is geared towards educating children about the benefits of walking and biking to school.  The pilot program increased the number of children walking and biking to pilot schools by 57 percent and decreased the number of children arriving at school alone in a car by 29 percent.

Appreciation Award:

Malka Kopell — Executive Director of Community Focus, she was honored for her leadership and inspiration since inception of the Clean Air Champion Awards.

2001 Winners

Jami Caseber — A long-time resident of West Berkeley, he founded the group Citizens Opposing a Polluting Environment (COPE), which eventually persuaded the City of Berkeley to create an Environmental Commission, which he chairs.  Over two years of continuous effort, he worked to persuade Berkeley to pass the Air District's ordinance banning woodburning fireplaces in new construction. 

 Roberta Gonzales — The energetic, informative weathercaster on Channel Five Eyewitness News, she was selected for how enthusiastically she promotes clean air “on the air”!  She has done community work with the American Lung Association and is one of the few weather anchors who provides daily air quality reports and uses a regional Air Quality Index map on TV. 

Aaron Mihaly — As a student in Marin County, he made donations to Trust for Public Land, participated in a battery-recycling project, worked with environmental organizations, and organized Bike to School Days.

Elizabeth Sullivan — Co-founder and co-director of the non-profit City CarShare program in San Francisco, she has already registered 700 members who can check out cars in eight different locations, paying the costs on a per-use basis.  The program has expanded to the cities of Oakland and Berkeley.

Mike Thompson — An electric-vehicle (EV) enthusiast, he maintains an EV/Clean Air website, has demonstrated vehicles and spoken at Earth Day festivities, testified to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and lobbied against diesel generation during the energy crisis.

Jannat Muhammad

Port of Oakland
Karin Dowdy
Paul Abritton
Safe Routes to Schools
Cynthia & Kelly Witwicki, Colleen Zak
David Coale
David Coale
Ellen Fletcher
Bishop Ranch
2001 Champions

If you are aware of a news story about a Clean Air Champion please let us know. Email it or mail a copy to: Clean Air Champions Award Article, BAAQMD, 939 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94109