ACTion Hero: Howard Lawrence

Howard Lawrence once joked that he’s busier now as a so called “retiree” than he ever was when he had a job.  It’s probably not a joke.  Either way, ACT proudly recognizes Howard’s distinction as one of the organization’s most veteran and dedicated leaders.  A one-time ACT president, Howard still sits on the current ACT executive board.  He also serves on the PICO CA executive board and represents ACT on the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project board.  The pattern doesn’t stop there.  Howard’s wife, Cynthia, also sits on the ACT board as the secretary.

When he’s not busy lending his sharp intellect and acute wisdom to the governance of these organizations, Howard’s busy on the ground, organizing community actions for his church. Presently, he’s on a team of congregants over at St. Mark’s United Methodist preparing for an action in May.  They’re working with church youth and students at Encina High School to provide testimony and community leverage around the state budget’s likely impacts on the San Juan School District.

Howard and Sacramento ACT are a perfect match for each other.  For one, Howard knows organizing.  He lived and breathed organizing for much of his professional career.  He has years of experience with organized labor.  He worked for SEIU in Sacramento, organizing janitors, hospital workers, cemetery workers, and even bowling alley employees.  He also organized hotel/casino workers in northern Nevada.  He retired in 2000 after 16 years of directing the organizing department of the California School Employees Association, a department he invented from scratch.  “What you’re doing is empowering workers to have a say over their lives,” he recalls.  “It’s a form of Democracy.  I always found a lot of satisfaction in it.”

He is also a dedicated member of St. Mark’s UMC, one of ACT’s founding member congregations.  “There’s a reason the Methodist Church is so involved with groups like ACT,” he explains.  “Social activism is deep within the culture of the church.”  He became active in that congregation in early 1983 after his wife cajoled him into being involved.  The pastor at that time ignited his passion for activism through a new, faith-based lens and he would embrace it for the rest of his life.

The son of a blue collar worker, Howard joined the Navy quickly after high school and became naturally politically active in college.  Howard and his wife have spent much of their lives in Sacramento.  They raised one daughter, Elizabeth, who has long since flown the coup.  But the Lawrence team remains an active force at church and in the community.  Cynthia plans to vamp up her own participation in ACT as she closes in on retirement, though she’s already very active in the organization.  We all look forward to their sustained leadership and generous contributions.