The Port of San Diego may be a huge government agency, but C.J. Lucke makes it far more accessible to local residents. As director of corporate services for the Port since 2001, Lucke, 39, has helped roll out the agency’s online Document Management System so the public can view Port District agendas and minutes on the agency’s Web site.

Making the Port accessible to the public, she says, is one the most important and rewarding aspects of her job.

Lucke’s interest in the community shows in other areas of her life. In her previous position with the Vista Irrigation District, she helped spearhead an effort begun by Save Our Heritage Organisation to spare the Warner Ranch House, a historic adobe structure located on irrigation district land.

She and other 2003 Leadership for Environment and Development graduates formed a consultant team. Together they designed a buying cooperative for Project Wildlife that not only saved the nonprofit organization money, it helped raise funds as well.

Lucke is co-president of the San Diego Cooperative Charter School, which opened on Sixth Avenue across from Balboa Park Sept. 3, 2002, and serves children from kindergarten through fifth grade. It took parents and educators three years to bring their dream of a charter school to fruition.

“We survived,” says Lucke, who did everything from fund-raising to administering the budget to make the project fly. “It’s like any first year start-up. It was an incredible amount of work, but everyone believed in the vision. I hope it’s the Francis Parker of public schools.”

Even community activists need time to relax. Lucke enjoys working on her house, which she shares with her partner in Talmadge. Her current projects include creating a garden and doing mosaic tile.

— Bonnie A. Nicholls