Julia Willebrand is an American environmental, peace and education activist and was the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

nominee for the office of Comptroller of the State of New York in the 2006 New York state elections.

Biography

Julia was born in the

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...

neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and currently resides in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. She has been active in New York City local government as a member of the Manhattan Citizens' Solid Waste Advisory Board from 1994 to 1999 and as Chair of that board 1997 to 1999. She is also a past chair of both the Solid Waste Committee of the NYC Sierra Club and the International Working Group of the Green Party USA. Willebrand has several higher degrees including an Ed.D in

English as a Second Language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EF ...

and an MA in Adult Education from

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

and a BA in

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Sch ...

from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

. As a public school teacher in the 1960s she was a delegate in her union, the

United Federation of Teachers The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and 17,000 paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about 54,000 ...

and was active in bringing the UFT to an anti-war position against the war in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. She subsequently taught as an Assistant Professor of

English studies English studies (usually called simply English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries; it is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which ...

in the

Empire State College Empire State College (SUNY Empire or ESC) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State College is a multi-site institution offering associate, ...

, Center for Labor Studies, and as a

Fulbright Professor The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to Hungary. She was the 2001 Green Party nominee for

Mayor of New York The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

, coming in fourth in that election with 7,155 votes, just behind Alan G. Hevesi, who ran as the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate.

2006 Comptroller campaign

In 2006, Willebrand was nominated by the Green Party as their candidate for Comptroller. In the race for Comptroller, she is once again opposed by Hevesi, as the incumbent. Hevesi's admission of some wrongdoing in using state employees for family and personal services has resulted in a loss of support and stimulated interest in Willebrand's campaign. Critics of Hevesi and past Comptrollers hold that the historical mismanagement of these investments has garnered pollution, looting of regions, pension losses and even wars. Willibrand campaigned on sustainable investments. Willebrand believes that turning the direction of those investments toward wise-growth can translate to positive economic change nationally and internationally. Willebrand has said that she will look to the

Government Pension Fund of Norway The Government Pension Fund of Norway ( no, Statens pensjonsfond) comprises two entirely separate sovereign wealth funds owned by the government of Norway. The Government Pension Fund Global, also known as the Oil Fund, was established in 1990 t ...

as a model of sustainable socially responsible investment, stating that she "...will use the power of the Comptroller as sole trustee of $115 billion in retirement investments as an instrument of peace, joining other states efforts to end the

genocide in Darfur The Darfur genocide is the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people which has occurred during the ongoing conflict in Western Sudan. It has become known as the first genocide of the 21st century. The genocide, which is being carried out agai ...

divesting In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is ...

from companies doing business in Sudan."

External links

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Willebrand in the News

* ** * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willebrand, Julia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women Activists from New York (state) Education activists New York (state) Greens People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Politicians from New York City Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Women in New York (state) politics