Minnesota State Auditor Rebecca Otto named

National Women’s History Month 2009 Honoree
for environmental leadership

Joins Hillary Clinton, Jane Goodall, Sally Ride, and other “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet”
 

St Paul, Minnesota (February 25, 2009) –March is National Women’s History Month, and this year Minnesota State Auditor Rebecca Otto will be a 2009 honoree of the National Women’s History Project for her work as a “Woman Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet,” the theme of the 2009 National Women’s History Month.

The 2009 Honorees include scientists, engineers, business leaders, writers, filmmakers, conservationists, teachers, community organizers, religious or workplace leaders or others whose lives show exceptional vision and leadership to save our planet.

Otto was chosen for her work as a legislator and leader on environmental issues in Minnesota, including her work to protect ecosystems, limit mercury emissions, protect groundwater, promote the development of commercial wind power, and ban the use cancer-causing arsenic-treated wood in playgrounds.

Otto lives in a passive solar, wind-powered, geothermal home she and her husband, screenwriter Shawn Lawrence Otto, designed and built with their own hands. The home has been featured nationally and toured by thousands of people as an example of green design. Otto and her husband have been billed as “perhaps Minnesota’s highest-profile environmental couple,” and have worked to raise environmental awareness for years.

In addition to her work as an environmental speaker and legislator, State Auditor Otto released a Best Practices Review: Reducing Energy Costs in Local Government in July 2008.

“By reducing energy use, local governments can save precious taxpayer dollars and at the same time have a positive impact on the environment,” said Otto.

The report provides in-depth case studies, cost-benefit analyses, and links to informational and financial resources for reducing energy costs for local governments, businesses, and individuals alike. Over 300 local government officials and others from around the state gathered in St. Cloud on January 22, 2009, for a conference on Reducing Energy Costs in Local Government, where Otto presented the Office of State Auditor’s Best Practices Review.

“I am very honored to be named a 2009 honoree of the National Women’s History Project,” said Otto. “To be included as an honoree alongside Jane Goodall, Sally Ride, and Hillary Clinton is very humbling.”

The National Women’s History Project (NWHP) was founded in 1980 in Santa Rosa, California by Molly Murphy MacGregor, Mary Ruthsdotter, Maria Cuevas, Paula Hammett and Bette Morgan to honor and broadcast women’s historical achievements.

In 1987, Congress designated March as National Women’s History Month.
 

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