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My name is Yolanda Garza Birdwell. I was born
in Mexico, came to U.S. as a student in 1961 and graduated Business
College. During my working years, I worked for an oil company. I
also have worked as an interpreter and as a personnel officer. Since
1967, I have been very involved in political activities concerning
the U.S. role in Latinoamerica and the Middle East, and I helped
found The US-China Friendship Association when relations between
these two countries were hostile. I have traveled extensively, observing
the negative effects of U.S. foreign policies as an "outsider."
I have worked for justice and against racism with organizations
in the Mexican-American, African-American, Centro-American and Arab-American
communities, and have also been active in labor and women's issues.
Recently I have worked in the anti-war movement with organizations
such as: Latinos Por La Paz, which I co-founded, and the HCJNW.
Ofrezco lo siguente a cambio de su voto a la mesa
de KPFT. MI CREENCIA POR UNA CULTURA DE RESPETO PARA TODOS Y RECHAZAR
TODA AGRESIÓN VERBAL. En E.U. somos 6.3% de la población
mundial y E. U. controla más de 50% de la riqueza mundial..
Obviamente encaramos serias contradicciones internas por el uso
del poder militar por controlar los recursos mundiales. Tambien
vivimos en un sólo planeta y debemos luchar por justicia,
Paz y balance para todos.
Representaré a todos con dignidad y particularmente
a mi comunidad Latina.
I am aware that the U.S. represents about 6.3%
of the world's population and controls more than 50% of the world's
wealth. Also, the U.S. is a military superpower and is using this
military power to maintain that economic advantage. In such a scenario,
we obviously have contradictions and internal problems. We are all
living in this environment of power and control by violence, and
we are all exposed to this toxic ideology on a daily basis. Many
times we unthinkingly transmit verbal aggression in our dealings
with one another.
In exchange for your vote, this is what I offer
to bring to the table of KPFT: BUILDING A CULTURE OF MUTUAL RESPECT
AND A TOTAL REJECTION OF VERBAL AGGRESSION. We all share the same
planet and in order to uphold the vision of those who gave their
time and resources to create the Pacifica Foundation, we need to
implement the mission of Pacifica at all times. I believe that only
then can we expand our influence, not only with our listeners but
also with the rest of the Houston public.
I also make a commitment to leave at the door,
before any meeting, all excess ego OR negativism so that I can better
effect results. Very soon, some younger people will pick up these
tasks, and it will be very nice to relax in an easy chair with my
favorite drink, and to know that I did my very best according to
my abilities when it was my turn to serve.
Candidate Questionnaire
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Why do you want to be on the Local Station
Board?
I am bi-cultural and have extensive experience working with
different ethnic groups. I want to help serve as a bridge between
the Spanish-speaking community and KPFT.
Soy multicultural y tengo años de experiencia
funcionando entre diferentes grupos étnicos. Quiero ser fuente
de lazos entre la comunidad de habla español y KPFT.
Tendré presente mantener la misión de KPFT, promoviendo reportajes
desde las comunidades de gente trabajadora y generalmente no
reprsentada. Asuntos de educación y como la inadecuada distribuición
monetaria afecta a las comunidades pobres.
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How do you envision the Local Station
Board working with the Pacifica Foundation, KPFT and the community?
If we can get to the point where the three entities, the LSB,
the Pacifica National Board and KPFT are fully promoting the
mission of the Pacifica Foundation, we can then expect to have
more effective impact on the different segments of our Houston
community.
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How could the station better serve it's
listeners?
By adopting a culture of respect towards everyone and to make
verbal abuse a thing of the past in all our activities.
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Describe some actions you would take to
increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities
and to increase the diversity of the listening audience?
To continue and expand reporting on issues affecting underrepresented
communities. I would like to focus on schools in poor neighborhoods
and report the impact of funding decisions and how this affects
the education of the poor.
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What sources of funding, other than listener
donations, do you feel KPFT should solicit?
To keep the corporations out of KPFT. To enlist more support
from a larger listener base, KPFT must first offer to cover
more of the issues that are important to such areas, and then
we can more successfully solicit their financial support.
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Please state briefly the skills, experience,
educational background, work history, organizational affiliations,
areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise
that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of
the Local Station Board.
I am bi-lingual, Spanish is my first language. In 1961 I came
to U.S. and graduated from Business College. I have worked several
years as a personnel officer, and believe that this experience
will be helpful to the Board. I am an efficient organizer and
am able to communicate well with the public. My focus will be
to promote Latino participation at KPFT. I am eager to educate
myself about Roberts Rules of Order, which will be necessary
for me to be an effective Board member.
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Do you anticipate missing any Local Station
Board meetings due to family or job related problems or inadequate
transportation? I am retired and I travel outside the U.S.
If I am elected to the Board, I will try to schedule my travel
so it will not conflict with the LSB's monthly meetings. Should
I ever find that I will need to miss a meeting, I will be sure
to notify the Board in advance.
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On which Local Station Board committees
are you interested in actively serving?
I would like to serve on the Outreach Committee, in order to
better focus my effort to increase Latino participation in
the KPFT community.
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