APCG Distinguished Service Award

The distinguished service award recognizes members who have made an extraordinary and sustained contribution to the APCG and the region through their service, the education of students, and to the discipline of geography. A committee of three selects the recipients. We would like to note that this year the decision was particularly difficult, as there are a number of people who have made noteworthy contributions to our organization over the years. The committee decided to make two awards.

Our first recipient is Vicki Drake. Vicki received her B.A. and M.A. from Cal State Northridge and specializes in physical geography, GIS, remote sensing, and field classes. Her research has focused on wildfire, soils, and vegetation in the Santa Monica Mountains, and monitoring the withdrawal of groundwater in the Santa Ana aquifer.

Vicki Drake

Vicki has been a valued member of the APCG community since 1994, when she presented a paper at the Northridge conference as an undergraduate. Her contributions to the APCG include serving on the Executive Council from 2009 through 2015 and completing two terms as secretary. Vicki was also the coordinator of the APCG Women’s Network for five years, and was instrumental in fundraising to keep the travel grant program funded.

Vicki is a professor of geography in the Earth Science Department at Santa Monica College. She has served as chair in that department since 2004, and oversees four disciplines (geography, geology, anthropology, and astronomy). Vicki has been a leader in technology education, creating the first GIS course at the college. She was instrumental in securing a federal grant to create two new programs in sustainable technologies at Santa Monica College, awarding certificates in solar photovoltaic installation and recycling and resource management. Vicki also reaches out to K–12 students, organizing campus tours and promoting post-secondary education for youth. She received Santa Monica College’s Environmental Hero Award in recognition of her work. The Vice President of Academic Affairs commented that her achievements are a “testament to creative problem solving…to her stick-to-it attitude.” Vicki always puts students first, and is a strong advocate for her programs and faculty. “You can always count on Vicki to help the college in whatever way is necessary. She is well regarded and well loved.”

This award is also an acknowledgment of the value the APCG places on the work Vicki is doing at Santa Monica College, and the vital and indispensable role that community colleges play in geography education. For all that she has done for our organization, for students, and for geography, the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers is pleased to present the 2015 Distinguished Service Award to Vicki Drake.

Dolly Freidel

Our second and equally deserving recipient is Dolly Freidel. Dolly stated that she had a love for earth sciences and human studies, but didn’t know how she could do both. Then, at age forty-two, she discovered geography, of which she now says, “I found my passion and never looked back.” This led to a Ph.D at the University of Oregon, and after two years in Missouri, she took a position in physical geography at Sonoma State University. Dolly’s research interests have ranged from stratigraphic evidence of the environment of early human occupations in the Willamette Valley and eastern Oregon, to paleoclimate modeling of Pleistocene lakes in the Great Basin, to pre-Columbian environments in Guatemala and Ecuador. She is also a strong advocate of taking students into the field, stating, “I have found that field experience is by far the most vivid way for students to learn about geography.” In her presidential address, Dolly spoke passionately about her field course in Ecuador.

Dolly has been one of the most active members of the APCG over the past two decades. She served on multiple committees, including chair and longtime member of the awards committee, and she was the Coordinator of the APCG Women’s Network. Dolly was president of the APCG in 2009–10, and continues to manage the APCG listserv. She also edited The California [End Page...