A luminary in our community, a strong supporter for the environment, for our valley and region, and for the Sonoma Ecology Center, George Ellman, passed away last week.
George was a biochemist, a good one, but his clear avocation was to help the environment. He was a rare man of action in this arena, one who blended a mild nature and good humor with an unflappable persistence and a determination to do the right thing. He was a pioneer in what was then a young field, creative and effective, successfully carrying out ideas that have shaped our community.
George served for 28 years on the board of “People for Open Space” which became Greenbelt Alliance. With this experience, he helped Sonoma establish an Urban Growth Boundary to protect surrounding land. He also helped to establish the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, in 1990.
He helped start one of the first ride-sharing programs from Marin to University of California, San Francisco, where he worked; this effort was a precursor to the Golden Gate Transit system.
A member of many City of Tiburon commissions, as well as its council and as its mayor, George set in motion several initiatives to protect open space and provide recreation. When they moved to Sonoma, he and his wife Phyllis gave proceeds from the sale of their home in Tiburon to help endow Audubon Canyon Ranch.
George opened his new home to aspiring policy makers. In 1993 he encouraged me and several other impassioned local citizens to draft a document that became the basis for a renewed Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission, so our community would have a local voice in the formation of planning and other policies in the county areas of the Valley that affect so many of us. Supervisor Mike Cale made this a cornerstone of his term of office.
George helped me build the Sonoma Ecology Center in its early years, and served on its board from the early to the late 1990s. As he and his research colleagues retired in the late 1990s, their laboratory at the Sonoma Developmental Center became our Sonoma Valley Watershed Station, a dream for us – a suite of offices with laboratory space on Sonoma Creek.
He was served on the board of the National Audubon Society for six years, helping it draft a new mission statement and strategic plan and to build as its headquarters what became one of the most innovative green buildings in the country, and one of the first LEED-certified. He retired from there to a standing ovation.
With a passion for transit, George served on many key transit organizations and commissions, and was instrumental in the eventual passage of a transit bill in Sonoma County that will help reduce carbon emissions and promote smart growth. If his legacy is continued, trains will eventually serve Sonoma Valley.
He and Phyllis gave much of their remaining assets to establish a lead gift for the Sonoma Valley Fund of the Community Foundation, the Ellman Fund, dedicated to the environment, to environmental education, and to music in our community.
Most importantly, he was a friend to many here, including me. He inspired a number of younger leaders to realize they too could effect change in the world, and his style combined warmth and determination was a beacon amidst the chatter of so many who lead with anger. He proved a civil and effective discussion was possible, even when stakes are very high. I will miss this most of all.
It’s a sad week for our community and our environment in Sonoma. We can also be very proud of the legacy George left us. There is a lot to do, but our work is lighter for it.
Richard Dale is the executive director of the Sonoma Ecology Center.
