Mary Gelinas. Photo from gelinasjames.com

Mary Gelinas, a candidate for a seat on the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District’s board of directors, died on Wednesday in Eureka. She was 78. 

Gelinas lived in Arcata with her husband, Roger James. She founded a consulting firm with James in the early ‘90s, and she focused on writing for much of the last decade. She published Talk Matters! Saving the World One Word at a Time in 2017, and Space is Not Empty last year. 

A lifelong topic of her research and consulting centered on making organizations run smoothly, James told the Outpost, and her colleagues and clients held her skills in high regard. (Her dissertation while studying for her doctorate in education was on running effective meetings.) She had worked with the water district for several years when she decided to run for the district’s board seat that represents Arcata, Division Five, in large part, James said, because several board members had enjoyed working with her so much they asked her to run.

“She came to love that group and their mission,” he said. “…She knows more, and is more impactful, in organizations than anybody I’ve ever met. I mean, she would be — if you were going to recruit a board member for any organization — she would be off the top of your list.”

It was important work to her, she wrote, “Because I love this place and care deeply about its future.” 

Alan Briskin, co-author of Space is Not Empty, told the Outpost that her love for Humboldt was unmistakable. They talked often for the seven years it took to write the book, and he noted how deeply “embedded” she was in the many organizations she was in and the people she worked with. Working with her was “joyous,” he said; although the subjects they were working on were serious, they laughed often anyway. 

“People felt her warmth, her authenticity, her laughter,” Briskin said. “You know that she generally wanted people to see there were possibilities beyond the difficulties or challenges or conflicts, and that’s what made her so effective, working in groups and organizations.”

Gelinas also served on the board of Eureka’s Breast and GYN Health Project. Rose Gale-Zoellick, the project’s executive director, told the Outpost that Gelinas made the board function “cohesively” and think challenges through together.

“I was so grateful to work with her in many different capacities here in the community,” Gale-Zoellick said. “She always brought thoughtful comments, and she was very curious. And that curiosity helped people come together, which was really beautiful in lots of different instances.”

Gelinas influenced many in her community, James said. 

“I’m overwhelmed by the emails, the calls, how much she impacted people in a loving way in this community for the betterment of the individuals, the groups, and our beautiful community at large,” he said. “…[They say] that she was a great, loving spirit. That when she entered her room, it lit up. That she was always looking to help people have a great, positive impact in themselves, in their families, in their communities, in their organizations.”

The water district’s general manager Michiko Mares did not immediately reply to a request for comment.