The Lady Who Started It All

October 14, 2012

Executive Director and Co Founder Judi Shils
Photo provided by the Marin Magazine

I recently had the chance to interview Executive Director Judi Shils, the lady who made it all happen. Shils was more than ecstatic when I reached out to her about wanting to get her insight on the topic of environmental justice and how her event correlates with that.  

Program Director and Co Founder Erin Schodes
Photo provided by Project Green Challenge

In 2002 her 13 year old daughter at the time Erin Schrodes, wanted to make a difference by impacting the lives of others teens in raising awareness about eco responsible living. Under the guidance of Shils and her daughters ambition to make a change, the project was born.

2005 they had 80 proactive teens ready to discuss and impact the issues at hand to their peers. Teens Turning Green was originally created in 2005 under the name'Teens for Safe Cosmetics'.

The Project Green Challenge is one of the 23 events that Teens Turning Green does with schools. Shils says, “ the goal of this event is to build a framework and then just have it blow up.” She wants as many students possible to become cautious and conscious of their way of living. 

Teens Turning Green has multiple events. “We try to be as versatile as we possibly can. We have different events like fashion shows and road tours so that it interests the students but at the same time educating them on the things that matter,” Shils says.

She specifically wants to work with students in high school and college because that age group is more powerful than they think. “Students have the power to do anything, and I don’t think they really know it. If one person has an idea to make a change and they get enough people to work with them to make that change, it will happen. The young generation is the voice of the future.”

Shils says that whenever a student reaches out to her organization about wanting to start up any kind of event or activity regarding living green, they will send that students supplies to help them jump start their ambitions. Shils even helped out our very own Shannon Wall when finding out that she was trying to get California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) students to sign up for PGC by sending her granola bars and T-shirts.

She says, "the motto of Teens Turning Green is, ‘dream and do it.’ If we have a dream, do something about it to make it come true. If kids see an injustice on campus, do something about it, and really use your voices!”

To learn more about Teens Turning Green <--Click there
To learn more about the Project Green Challenge <-- Click there