Steve Chase is an American activist, organizer,

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, lecturer, and editor. He was the director of the Advocacy for

Social Justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

and Sustainability program in the department of Environmental Studies at

Antioch University New England Antioch University New England is a private graduate school located in Keene, New Hampshire, United States. It is part of the Antioch University system, a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) institution that includes campuses in Seattle, Washington; ...

Biography

Steve Chase attended the

Metropolitan State University Metropolitan State University (Metro State) is a public university in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. He participated in a program of self-designed study, focusing on writing, publishing, social and ecological issues, and non-profit organizational management. Chase earned an MS in Environmental Studies came from

in May 1996. He became the Director of Antioch's Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability program (Formerly called the Environmental Advocacy And Organizing program), which he helped found, and used as the subject of his Ph.D. dissertation, in July 2002. The dissertation is titled ''Activist Training In The Academy: Developing a Master's Program in Environmental Advocacy and Organizing''. Chase completed his Ph.D. at Antioch in November 2006. In 2002–2003, The Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation awarded Chase with the Switzer Environmental Leadership Grant, which covered his salary for the first year of the new program. In 2003-2004 Chase received the

Ella Baker Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 – December 13, 1986) was an African-American civil rights and human rights activist. She was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned more than five decades. In New York City and ...

Fellowship to support and promote dialog between leaders in the business, academic, and non-profit arenas in the interest of positive social change. Chase has taught courses in Organizing Social Movements and Campaigns; Corporate Power, Globalization, and Democracy; Organizational Leadership in the Nonprofit World; and

Environmental Justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

in the Mississippi Delta. Steve Chase was the guest editor for

Orion magazine ''Orion'' is an advertisement-free nonprofit quarterly magazine focused on nature, culture, and place addressing environmental and social issue A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common pr ...

's Autumn 1996 issue on the theme of ''Nature and Justice''. He has been published in The Trumpeter,

Whole Terrain ''Whole Terrain: Journal of Reflective Environmental Practice'' is an environmentally-themed literary journal that is published approximately once a year by Antioch University New England (ANE). Each volume explores emerging ecological and social ...

Z Magazine ZNetwork, formerly known as Z Communications, is a left-wing activist-oriented media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent.Max Elbaum''Revolution in the Air: Sixties Radicals Turn to Lenin, Mao and Che'' London, England, UK; ...

, Terra Nova, Race, Poverty, and Environment, Environment, Place, and Ethics, and The Journal of Multicultural Environmental Education. ''The Environmental Justice Reader: Politics, Poetics, & Pedagogy'' (

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Press, 2002 ) included his essay ''Changing the Nature of Environmental Studies: Teaching Environmental Justice to 'Mainstream' Students.' '' Chase is a member of the National Organizers Alliance, and

United for a Fair Economy United for a Fair Economy (UFE) is an American left-leaning nonprofit organization. Co-founded by Chuck Collins and Felice Yeskel in 1995, it describes itself as "raising awareness that concentrated wealth and power undermine the economy, corru ...

's National Trainers Network. He coordinates the

Pacifica Radio Pacifica may refer to: Art * ''Pacifica'' (statue), a 1938 statue by Ralph Stackpole for the Golden Gate International Exposition Places * Pacifica, California, a city in the United States ** Pacifica Pier, a fishing pier * Pacifica, a conce ...

Programming Committee at WKNH Radio in Keene and moderates a listserve for the annual National Training for Trainers in Human Rights Education. He has previously served on the editorial boards of

, Terra Nova,

South End Press South End Press was a non-profit book publisher run on a model of participatory economics. It was founded in 1977 in Boston's South End. It published books written by political activists, notably Arundhati Roy, Noam Chomsky, bell hooks, Win ...

, and More Than Money Journal. From 1985 to 1988, Chase worked as the business and marketing manager at

Milkweed Editions Milkweed Editions is an independent nonprofit literary publisher that originated from the ''Milkweed Chronicle'' literary and arts journal established in Minneapolis in 1979. The journal ceased and the business transitioned to publishing. It releas ...

. He has served on the boards of the

Underground Railway Theater Central Square Theater is a non-profit theater located at 450 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States of America. It features a 200-seat black box main stage and a 50-seat studio theater. Development of the theater ...

, and Bookslinger, Inc. He worked for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

from 1984 to 1986, helped co-found Men Against Rape and Sexism (MARS) in 1980, and was a shop steward for the

International Typographical Union The International Typographical Union (ITU) was a North American trade union for the printing trade of newspapers and other media. It was founded on May 3, 1852, in the United States as the National Typographical Union. It changed its name to the ...

, Local 9, in 1984.

Books

* Chase, Steve, ed. ''Defending the Earth: A Dialogue Between Murray Bookchin and Dave Forman.'' (

, 1990) * Chase, Steve. ''Letters to a Fellow Seeker.'' (Philadelphia, PA: QuakerPress of FGC, 2012)

References

EnvironmentalPrograms.net Interview with Steve Chase
* Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundatio

External links

by Steve Chase, April 11, 2005
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Environmental Advocacy: Academic Requirements, Professional Outlook
published on EnvironmentalPrograms.net - August 1, 2003

letters include one by Chase {{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Steve Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Metropolitan State University alumni Antioch University New England alumni Antioch University faculty American environmentalists American non-fiction environmental writers American Quakers Antioch College alumni Environmental studies scholars Activists from California