By Melodie Wright, Bremerton Sun Staff
January 10, 2005

Sarah Ruth van Gelder of Bainbridge Island is a soft-spoken woman with a conscience that, if it were corporeal, would probably outweigh her slight frame.

A brief glance at her resume reveals that van Gelder doesn't believe in living life by the sidelines.

Her social conscience stretches back to a year in India when she was a child.

"I found out that there was a far bigger world than I had realized, and that some people, including children my own age, were suffering badly," van Gelder writes. "I also became very disturbed by U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and attended protest demonstrations whenever I could. I wanted to understand why poverty, war, environmental damage were happening and what I could do about it."

As it turned out, she could do quite a bit.

She's a founding member of Winslow Cohousing on the island, has edited an energy policy weekly and helped link organic farmers to urban markets.

In 1996, van Gelder co-founded YES! Magazine, where she serves as executive editor.

Formed with the equipment and 5,000-name mailing list of a defunct publication, van Gelder and David Korten believed their political viewpoints and no-advertisement policy would quickly find enough homes to sustain them.

"We were concerned about the growing gap between rich and poor, environmental damage, the costs of war to all involved, the disruption of community and family life caused by the consumer culture," van Gelder said. "We wanted to tell the stories of people creating positive alternative to these things."

Like van Gelder, YES! has definite political views but avoids criticizing those who disagree. She sees little point in dissecting a problem or the solutions to that problem already in force.

Through YES!, van Gelder and her staff have examined a theme in each quarterly issue. They've studied renewable energies, the role of prison in society, food sources and democracy.

The current issue includes a story written by van Gelder about another passion of hers Indian and non-Indian relations.

Van Gelder lives on the Port Madison reservation and observed the deep animosity between the Suquamish Tribe and their neighbors. When Chief Sealth's grave was vandalized in 2001, van Gelder was galvanized into action.

"I expected to see some condolences or express of regret from the outside community, but when there was only silence, we felt we had to act," she said. "In addition to responding to the immediate harm caused by the desecration of Chief Sealth's grave, we wanted to build a long-term bridge of respect and understanding between tribal and non-tribal communities. There's been a troubling history of difficult relationships there."

A meeting of like-minded community members and tribal elders resulted in a newspaper ad expressing their regrets to the tribe and participation in a grave reconsecration ceremony. The group coalesced into Suquamish-Olalla Neighbors (Olalla from the native language, meaning where salt and fresh water meet.)

Her awards for community action continue to grow. She was the only Wall of Fame recipient this year from the Kitsap County Council on Human Rights. Her efforts through Suquamish-Olalla Neighbors advocating the transfer of Old Man House park to the tribe prompted the Suquamish to bestow upon the organization the Seventh Generation Award.

This award, which reflects the tribe's belief that resources belong to future generations, has been given only once before.

"I think very highly of (van Gelder)," said Rob Purser, who served as the tribe's treasurer in 2003 and is their fisheries director. "She is a person that, with the Old Man House Park transfer, was a key player as far as I was concerned. I had a hard time keeping my emotions separate from the realities and she was able to step in there and offer suggestions that were real wise and beneficial. She was also key in bringing the community together."

Sarah Ruth van Gelder

Age: 48

Occupation: Executive editor of YES!, a journal of positive futures, and cofounder of Suquamish-Olalla Neighbors

Quote: "I think we will see a historic turnaround here in Kitsap County as we realize the benefits of becoming an inclusive and respectful multi-cultural community."