Our 2021 Officers and Board Members

A true native of the area, Jessika Arman was raised on the barrier island of Siesta Key, and her family have been pioneers of Sarasota’s arts, music, education, real estate and medical fields since the 1950s.
 

Jessika has been a prominent figure in the real estate communities of Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties since 1998. A realtor with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, she has been recognized by Sarasota Magazine for eight years as a Five Star Real Estate Agent, Best in Client Satisfaction.
 

As a member of the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee, Jessika has been a part of the organization’s Global Business Council since 1999, and once led a trade mission to Germany.
A graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Jessika earned a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication, and went on to complete her master’s degree in international relations from Boston University. She served as an intern in the economic section of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany, and worked for the Discovery Channel as part of the International Network Operation unit responsible for the channel’s worldwide launch.

   I first came to Sarasota from Ohio in 1989. I am a graduate of Sarasota High School, received my BA degree from Florida State University, and earned a JD from New England School of Law. I currently serve as Vice Chair of the Environmental Caucus of Sarasota County Democrats, Group Chair of the Manatee Sarasota Sierra Club Group and as a Board Member of the Democratic Club of Sarasota. I was also recently a candidate and ran for Sarasota County Charter Review Board.

Please list the three major items you would like to address in the upcoming year.

Work on getting a rights of nature amendment to the city and or county charter. 

Fundraise for upcoming elections in 2022 and seek out environmental champions to run for office in 2022.

Organize more projects to get members more involved (ie. Tree plantings, beach clean ups etc.)

I spent 50 years as an educator with positions ranging from teacher to dean. After 15 years as a dean, I retired as Dean Emerita and consulted on educational technology issues until I retired again in 2020. In the nineties, I taught and consulted in almost all 50 states and seven foreign countries. Lastly, I held leadership positions on statewide and national committees for which I met with legislators, including U.S. Senators.

Please list the three major items you would like to address in the upcoming year.

From my travels, I have seen the devastating effects of climate change, over development, lack of regulations regarding water and air pollution, and environmental racism. Those would be my topics of interest. 

For the first two years, I was the Activities Director for the ECSCD. For the past year, I have been the Treasurer and the Membership person and I'd like to continue to fill both of those roles (Treasurer & Membership).

Three major items I would like to address in the upcoming year are:

1. Our role in future elections (2022)

2. Our role in local development

3. Our role in local environmental issues, the beaches and water quality

I was the Data Administrator for the DEC Sarasota for about a decade and have volunteered in other ways such as precinct captain. 

Have been acting as the Director Of Communications for the past couple of years, doing all eblasts for  meetings. The ECSCD webpage (courtesy of GoDaddy) was created and maintained by me for the last couple(?)of years.  As one of the FaceBook page administrators I approve postings and attempt to keep relevant information uploaded. In addition, I worked on tracking membership and helping with some events.

Three major items I would like to address in the upcoming year are:

1. Increase our audience.

2. Increase the information on our webpage to include political action reports of our local, state and national leaders.

3. Broaden the readership of our webpage 

G Clay Miller is a graduate student at the London School of Economics and Political Science, getting his MSc in public policy and administration. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from McGill University, he went to work on Capitol Hill, first as a legislative intern for former Senator Bill Nelson, and then as a staffer on the Senate Ethics Committee. After leaving the Hill, G Clay spent several years working in digital media and emerging technology before accepting a job as an organizer for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential primary campaign in Iowa. Since the campaign and during his graduate studies, G Clay has consulted with multiple non-profits and activist organizations—helping them scale their volunteer bases by hundreds of people. In his free time, G Clay enjoys exercising, playing video games, and listening to electronic music!

Three major items I would like to address in the upcoming year are:

1. Improve the caucus’s digital infrastructure to more easily recruit and mobilize volunteers.

2. Expand the breadth of relationships with local environmental stakeholders, while also encouraging the growth of new activist groups and organizations.

3. Amplify the voices of community members who have been harmed by the negative effects of climate change like Red Tide.

I would move to complete the full implementation of the Florida Forever Program at full funding.

I would move to update and expand all infrastructure and filtration of sewage and water; and

I  would move to inspect yearly each automobile. Clean air and noise ordinances will be detailed for passage of each inspection.

Past chair Keep Sarasota County beautiful, past pres Venice area Audubon society, ops stump pass beach space, have lived in South County for 15 years. member BOD Englewood Dem Club and volunteer at the SCD south county office

Three major items 

i would like to address in the upcoming year are:

land protection, public access, developers paying their fair share.

  Mari Bell is an undergraduate student at York University in Toronto, currently studying for her Bachelor of Science in Biology. Before settling as a student Mari was a professional ballet dancer in South Carolina and competed internationally for several years. She has always had an interest in environmental science, and is expanding her breadth of experience through her internship at the Sarasota Environmental Caucus Democrats.

Three major items I would like to address in the upcoming year:

1. Spread awareness about current environmental issues we are tackling and the long-term effects they may have for local communities.

2. Expand membership and attendance for upcoming events. 

3. Enhance and better organize the caucus’ digital framework.

I have just recently graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. During my time there, I organized and led a variety of progressive organizations on campus and loved being involved in environmentally-minded initiatives as our campus was located right on its own river ecosystem. I will be beginning my Master's program this fall at the University of Houston in pursuing an MS in Public Policy. Three major items I would like to address in the upcoming year are: Digital outreach to former, current, and new members to strengthen relationships and member turnout; continue supporting green candidates in elections; and  raise awareness of the long-lasting effects that environmental racism and injustice can and will have on generations of people.