Tuesday, September 22nd\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 8:00 AM-7:30 PM<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nAs part of Climate Week NYC 2026<\/a>, WE ACT for Environmental Justice has created, Envisioning the Future of the Environmental Justice Movement, a day-long series of discussions on the future of the environmental justice movement. In commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit<\/a>, the historic gathering that established the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice<\/a> and helped shape the modern environmental justice movement, this special event will celebrate the movement's accomplishments while bringing together leaders, advocates, researchers, policymakers, students, and community members to chart the path forward.\r\n\r\nThe event is free to all who register<\/a>, though we gladly welcome donations<\/a>. See below for details. And follow the registration link<\/a> to select which sessions you want to attend. As we expect a high turnout, please only register<\/a> for what you are certain you will attend. REGISTER<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n8:00\u20139:00 AM<\/strong>\r\nRegistration, Coffee, & Networking<\/strong>\u00a0in the Atrium (First Floor)\r\nCoffee, light bites, and networking\r\n\r\n9:00\u20139:30 AM\r\nWelcome Remarks<\/strong>\u00a0in the Main Auditorium (Second Floor)\r\nLouise Yeung<\/strong>, Chief Climate Officer, City of New York\r\nPeggy Shepard<\/strong>, Co-Founder & Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\nSheila Foster<\/strong>, J.D., Professor of Climate, Columbia Climate School\r\n\r\n9:45\u201310:45 AM\r\nFireside Chat with Environmental Justice Leaders on the 35th Anniversary of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit<\/strong>\u00a0in the Main Auditorium (Second Floor)\r\nThirty-five years after the historic First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991, which helped shape our movement, this fireside chat reflects on the evolution of the environmental justice movement through 2026. Environmental justice leaders will take stock of where we have been, examine the victories that transformed our national consciousness about environmental protection and equity, and draw upon the lessons emerging from our setbacks. Against today\u2019s political, social, and environmental challenges, the conversation will consider how we sustain the movement, build power across generations, and chart a path forward that is grounded in the wisdom of our history, the lessons of our struggles, and the promise of collective action.\r\nModerator: Sheila Foster<\/strong>, J.D., Professor of Climate, Columbia Climate School\r\nPanelists:\r\nSusannah Almanza<\/strong>, Founding Member & Executive Director, PODER\r\nCharles Lee<\/strong>, Visiting Scholar for the Environmental and Climate Justice Center, Howard University\r\nVernice Miller-Travis<\/strong>, Executive Vice President, Metropolitan Group, and Co-Founder, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\nRichard Moore<\/strong>, Co-Coordinator, Los Jardines Institute, and Co-Founder & Board Member, Just Transition Alliance\r\nPeggy Shepard<\/strong>, Co-Founder & Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\nBeverly Wright<\/strong>, Ph.D, Founder and Executive Director, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice\r\n\r\n11:00 AM\u201312:00 PM<\/strong>\u00a0(Concurrent Sessions)\r\nKnowledge in Service of Justice: Academia and the Environmental Justice Movement<\/strong>\u00a0in the Main Auditorium (Second Floor)\r\nAcademia can deepen its partnership with the environmental justice movement to help sustain and grow its impact. This conversation will explore opportunities for academic centers to support movement leadership through research, education, technical expertise, resources, and capacity-building. Panelists will consider actions that promote meaningful collaboration that elevate community knowledge, strengthen frontline organizations, develop the next generation of leaders, and ensure academic institutions contribute in ways that advance movement priorities, power, and long-term resilience.\r\nModerator: Peggy Shepard<\/strong>, Co-Founder & Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and Anhthu Hoang<\/strong>, Ph.D, Deputy Director & General Counsel\r\nPanelists:\r\nMichel Gelobter<\/strong>, Executive Director, Yale Center for Environmental Justice\r\nKyle Whyte<\/strong>, George Willis Pack Professor, School for Environment and Sustainability, and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, University of Michigan\r\nSacoby Wilson<\/strong>, Ph.D, Executive Director, Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health INpowering Communities (CEEJH INC)\r\nBeverly Wright<\/strong>, Ph.D, Founder and Executive Director, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice\r\n\r\n11:00 AM\u201312:00 PM<\/strong>\u00a0(Concurrent Sessions)\r\nCommunity-Based Climate Resilience Solutions<\/strong>\u00a0in Room 301 (Third Floor)\r\nA panel discussion on building climate resilience through policy, on-the-ground practice, and infrastructure investment in environmental justice communities.\r\nModerator: Caleb Smith<\/strong>, New York City Policy Manager, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\nPanelists:\r\nPaul Lozito<\/strong>, ACIP, Deputy Executive Director, New York City Mayor\u2019s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice\r\nCharles (Chase) Moon<\/strong>, MD, FAAP, Pediatrician, Mount Sinai School of Medicine\r\nMathy Stanislaus<\/strong>, Professor & Executive Director, The Environmental Collaboratory at Drexel University\r\nTyler Taba<\/strong>, Director of Policy & Government Affairs, Waterfront Alliance\r\n\r\n12:00\u201312:15 PM\r\nPre-Lunch Keynote<\/strong>\u00a0in the Main Auditorium (Second Floor)\r\nHeather McTeer Toney<\/strong>, Executive Director, Beyond Petrochemicals\r\n\r\n12:15\u20131:15 PM\r\nLunch<\/strong>\u00a0in the Atrium (First Floor)\r\n\r\n1:20\u20131:30 PM\r\nPost-Lunch Remarks<\/strong>\u00a0in the Main Auditorium (Second Floor)\r\nAlexis Abramson<\/strong>, Ph.D, Dean, Columbia Climate School, and Professor of Climate\r\n\r\n1:30\u20132:30 PM<\/strong> (Concurrent Sessions)\r\nThe Path Forward: Climate Policy & Regulations Beyond the Rollbacks<\/strong>\u00a0in the Main Auditorium (Second Floor)\r\nPanelists will chart a proactive agenda for climate action across the federal and New York landscapes, looking beyond the current rollbacks toward durable, ambitious policy.\r\nModerator: Briana Carbajal<\/strong>, State Legislative Manager, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\nPanelists:\r\nIrene Burga<\/strong>, Climate Justice & Clean Air Program Director, GreenLatinos\r\nTheo Moore<\/strong>, Executive Director, ALIGN\r\nHanna Vizcara<\/strong>, Deputy Managing Attorney, National Climate, Earthjustice\r\n\r\n1:30\u20133:45 PM<\/strong>\u00a0(Concurrent Sessions)\r\nVoices Shaping the Next Generation of the Environmental Justice Movement<\/strong>\u00a0in the Atrium (First Floor)\r\nThis extended panel discussion puts a new generation of movement leaders in the room to discuss where they see the movement over the coming decade.\r\nModerator: Tali Natter<\/strong>, Research Coordinator, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\nPanelists:\r\nWawa Gatheru<\/strong>, Founder & Executive Director, Black Girl Environmentalist\r\nMeisei Gonzalez<\/strong>, GreenLatinos\r\nAsada Rashidi<\/strong>, Environmental Justice Organizer, SWEA\r\nJada Tulloch<\/strong>, Youth Engagement & Environmental Justice Educator, South Bronx Unite\r\n\r\n2:45\u20133:45 PM<\/strong>\u00a0(Concurrent Sessions)\r\nThe Cost of Cutting Corners: Permitting, Public Health & the Future of Environmental Justice\u00a0<\/strong>in the Main Auditorium (Second Floor)\r\nA panel discussion on the need to resist compromise and instead scale-up proven local solutions.\r\nModerator: Anastasia Gordon<\/strong>, Federal Policy Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\nPanelists:\r\nAdriana Espinoza<\/strong>, Chief of Staff, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation\r\nCaitlion Hunter<\/strong>, Research and Policy Director, RISE St. James Louisiana\r\nBrion Oaks<\/strong>, Executive Director, Texas Campaign for the Environment\r\nJane Patton<\/strong>, Campaign Manager, US Fossil Economy, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)\r\nDr. Inyang Uwak<\/strong>, Director for Research & Policy, Air Alliance Houston\r\n\r\n4:00\u20135:00 PM<\/strong> (Concurrent Sessions)\r\nSustainable, Healthy, Affordable Housing<\/strong>\u00a0in the Main Auditorium (Second Floor)\r\nHousing sits at the intersection of health, climate, and economic justice \u2013 where a home should be affordable to keep, safe to live in, and built to last. This panel will explore how we deliver housing that meets all three demands at once.\r\nModerator: Jaron Burke<\/strong>, Senior Program Manager, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and Director, Manhattan Clean Energy Hub\r\nPanelists:\r\nMichael Hernandez<\/strong>, Senior Manager, New York Policy, Building Decarbonization Coalition\r\nDr. Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir<\/strong>, Pediatric Pulmonology, CUIMC\/NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital\r\nDaphany Rose Sanchez<\/strong>, Executive Director, KC3\r\n\r\n4:00\u20135:00 PM<\/strong>\u00a0(Concurrent Sessions)\r\nData Centers: Lessons from Local Campaigns<\/strong>\u00a0in Room 301 (Third Floor)\r\nThis panel will convene experts that are confronting data centers from several regions to discuss the parallels and differences in their experiences and ultimately take away lessons on data center organizing from across the country.\r\nModerator: Denise Patel<\/strong>, National Organizing Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\nPanelists:\r\nAlex Beauchamp<\/strong>, Northern Regional Director, New York Food and Water Watch\r\nBen Grillot<\/strong>, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center\r\nEan Tafoya<\/strong>, Vice President of State Programs, GreenLatinos\r\nMarco Tedesco<\/strong>, Research Professor, Marine and Polar Geophysics, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), Columbia Climate School at Columbia, and Adjunct Scientist, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)\r\n\r\n5:30\u20137:30 PM\r\nClosing Reception<\/strong>\u00a0in the Atrium (First Floor)\r\nDrinks, light fare, and networking\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n REGISTER HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nLocation, Partners, & Other Details<\/strong>\r\nThe Lee C. Bollinger Forum at Columbia University is located at 601 West 125th Street (the corner of Broadway & West 125th Street). The event is co-hosted by WE ACT for Environmental Justice, the Columbia Climate School, and Beyond Petrochemicals. Entry is free to all who have registered<\/a>, though we welcome donations<\/a>.","include_drop_cap":false}}]},"yoast_head":"\n