APRIL 24, 7PM @ THE ART FACTORY
Join us this April 24 for an engaging conversation with Debra Ramirez, Jon Manns, and David Richard on how we build resilience into our communities along the working coast. Don’t miss this powerful dialogue between three community advocates, a Mossville native, a chemical engineer, and a wetlands biologist, as they explore the future of our community and coastline and the stories we need to tell. We want to hear your stories too. Your voice is crucial in this journey forward. If you’ve experienced the beauty of the Gulf South, or if you’ve seen the changes happening firsthand, we’d love you to join us and share your story. The event will be documented and archived for future use in the Caught Up project and exhibition. We hope to see you there!
Debra Ramirez was born and reared in Mossville, Louisiana. Her environmental activism began in the 1980s after Condea Vista (SASOL) announced that ethylene dichloride (EDC), a suspected human carcinogen used in the production of PVC, had leaked into the groundwater beneath the neighboring Mossville community. She was a founding member of the environmental group Mossville Environmental Action Network (MEAN) established to address the EDC issue. The community was partially bought out in 1998 when a class action suit was brought by local attorneys which included a property buyout fund for Mossville’s two thousand residents. Debra has continued to work to improve the quality of the drinking water being provided to Mossville by the municipal system. She is also working on addressing the health impacts being experienced by Mossville community members.
Jon Manns moved to Lake Charles in 1974 from Chicago to begin work as a chemical engineer at PPG Industries. He worked for PPG for 40 years at 4 different locations (including 4 years in Taiwan) before retiring as Plant Manager at the Lake Charles plant in 2014. He has been very active with the local Community Foundation since 2010, currently volunteering with Bayou Greenbelt project and a separate project to install safe bike paths in the region. Jon also served on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Board of Directors for 6 years and the United Way Board for 10 years, with 2 years as chair.
David Richard is a wetlands biologist currently serving as Executive Vice-President of Stream Wetlands Services where he manages over 150,000 acres of diverse upland and wetland types and locations. His work involves mitigation, conservation, wetlands restoration, and many other aspects of public/private land and natural resource management. Prior to his work at Stream, David spent over fifteen years with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at the Rockefeller Refuge in Grand Chenier. His experiences there with the statewide alligator surveys, pelican recovery, mineral management, and salinity manipulation, have made him an expert at understanding the interconnected diversity of habitat and industry.