Towards a just & healthy democracy in the Commonwealth... and beyond!

About Green Mass Group

Green Mass Group is an online forum for Green thought and collective action in Massachusetts. It is a community forum for ecological wisdom, justice, sustainability, democracy and health in the Commonwealth and beyond, intended for the thousands of people in Massachusetts who understand the ecological crisis we face and seek a paradigm shift away from economic growth and towards justice and sustainability.

In the spirit of Blue Mass Group and Red Mass Group, and now Purple Mass Group and Gold Mass Group, we are friendly towards the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts and the Green Party nationally and internationally. We are completely open-minded and open-hearted, and feel strongly that the political discourse in Massachusetts and beyond needs a strong dose of reality and compassion. We feel the challenges faced by the people of the Commonwealth will never be solved until we can have honest analysis, thoughtful dialogue, and participatory problem-solving. We hope that Green Mass Group will begin to move the political discussion beyond the sniping and mudslinging that characterize too many blogs, and beyond the stranglehold of corporate two-party politics.

The GMG editorial board consists of Eli Beckerman, Suzanne Bowles, and Peter Vickery. Here's a little bit about them:

Eli Beckerman is a Project Coordinator for the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities. He organized the 2009 Massachusetts Relocalization Conference which brought together about 250 people to learn about, share, and celebrate the grassroots endeavors underway that are transforming the physical, political, and economic landscape of Massachusetts. In his spare time, Eli is the Fundraising Director for the Green-Rainbow Party, and the coordinator of the Greater Boston Peak Oil & Climate Change Meetup. Eli graduated from Bronx Science in 1995 and Wesleyan University in 1999, with degrees in Physics and Astronomy, and worked on the Chandra X-ray Observatory calibration team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for over 6 years.

Suzanne Bowles is a Pioneer Valley Development Consultant who works with small businesses and non profits with environmental and social justice missions. Suzanne has been working in non profit development for 5 years and holds a degree in Politics and International Relations from Mount Holyoke College. Suzanne is the Secretary for the Western Mass Green Consortium, a green business association with a mission of improving the environmental profile of economic activity in Western Massachusetts. (www.WesternMassGreenConsortium.org) She aims to help integrate social justice and environmental movements by organizing for collaboration and reduced duplication of efforts. We have bountiful resources, let's make the most of them!

Michael Horan is a blogger, activist, and father of three who hails from New Jersey and now lives in Stoughton with his wife Ann. A former Renaissance literature scholar, he's swapped Shakespeare for soil and is now studying organic agriculture at the Institute for Sustainability and Post-carbon Education at Bristol Community College. He runs the blog NoSupperTonight.com, and currently serves as Co-chair of the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts.

Peter Vickery was born in Swansea, South Wales. He is a graduate of Oxford University (Jesus College) and of the University of the West of England where he earned his post-graduate Diploma in Law. Peter obtained his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1998. Since 1999, Peter has been practicing law in Amherst, Western Massachusetts. In 2002 Business West named Peter as one of the "Top 10 Lawyers Under 40" and in 2005 the magazine Super Lawyers featured him as a "Rising Star." Peter served a term (2005-07) as Governor's Councillor for the 8th District, representing Western Massachusetts on the body that reviews the Governor's judicial nominations. In addition to his work as an attorney, Peter teaches at several local colleges where his courses have included Legislative Drafting; Elections Laws; U.S. History; and Lawyering Process. Peter left the Democratic Party and joined the Greens in 2008.