In Memory of Lynne Fischer

Many of you knew Lynne through her community activism and her dedicated work on the New Mexico Climate Action website. On January 5, we lost Lynne to cancer.

Lynne and I met in the spring of 2015 through our shared passion for the health of the environment and the risks to it from climate change. We had long conversations about how to help people become more engaged with the climate crisis and ways to encourage the many environmental groups to come together in collaboration on issues related to climate. In the summer of 2015, I had just started an email newsletter on climate change issues, and Lynne enthusiastically wanted to spread the word in a larger way. We decided to call the effort New Mexico Climate Action, and use the name for both this website, which she developed, and for the newsletter. She dove into the project with excitement, designing a creative and attractive site that included a blog, recent articles, a calendar, and resources for contacting legislators. Her brother, Chris Zimmerman, supported her work by hosting the website for her at www.newmexicoclimateaction.org.

Since January of 2019, I have been posting the calendar and other items under the “Action” tab on the site, but all other elements of the website as it currently exists are her thoughtful and dedicated work, and will remain online to honor her.

Lynne’s dedication to the environment and to a just and peaceful world also showed through her efforts working on the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016, volunteering with the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, New Energy Economy, 350NM, the Santa Fe chapter of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, and other environmental groups as well as extensive work with Retake Our Democracy. She committed wholeheartedly to all of these efforts, always with an eye to helping people collaborate on the issues that truly matter.

Lynne was a bright spirit, full of warmth, humor, and hope. I feel honored to have known, worked, played, and laughed with her. I miss her deeply.

– Heather Karlson

For more about Lynne, see the tribute on Retake Our Democracy’s website.