Margaret Locke, 88, has been teaching students at the University of Oregon for more than a half-century. She’s also one of the founders of “Plant-Based” Living, a movement to put vegetables back into America’s plates. She’s still teaching her students just as much today as when she founded the school.
It’s her children, however, who inspire her most. Her eldest daughter, Jennifer, loves her family so much that she gave up corporate life in finance to start her own foundation, Jennifer Locke Foundation, which aims to get people to adopt a kinder world.
One of her other daughters, Erica, leads the school’s Remodeling 101. She wants her students to develop skills in creating sustainable homes. They learn how to cut down on energy and water usage while making homes more energy-efficient.
She also tries to get people to change how they live by giving them the tools to tune up their vehicles. She’s a big proponent of in-home solar panels so residents can be proactive and not just reactive when it comes to cleaning and looking after their homes.
The family foundation is a pet project, but Locke has much bigger goals and hopes to work with all organizations and partners to bring about the change in how people live.
The last time we talked, Locke spoke about the need for education, communication and both the individual and the collective to develop the “whole person.” She’s interested in embracing difference.
She wants people to listen to one another, work together, unite together, adapt, and learn how to face challenges. Her belief in three-legged stool that encompasses education, communication and the collective is responsible for the success of Plant-Based Living and ultimately, she hopes, for the future of our country.