Environmental Equity and Justice

Recognizing the ways that less-privileged communities, frontline communities and communities-of-color have been disproportionately harmed by environmental pollution and granted limited access to environmental goods and services, our projects direct attention to the need for more equitable and just solutions.

  • CECE Announce AIR Funded Post-Doctoral Fellowship

    CECE
    We are excited to announce that CECE has been awarded funding from the American Institute for Research (AIR) to support a Post-Doctoral Fellow for 18 months. The fellow will leverage the existing expertise within CECE’s four focus areas—Climate and Sustainability; Environment, Equity, and Justice; Food, Agriculture, and Land; and Water, Oceans, and Fisheries—to help broaden our educational […]

  • CECE Incubator Grant Project: Remote Sensing and Knowledge Co-Production in Northern Haiti

    Scott Freeman, Michael Alonzo
    Right now, Haiti is in a moment of intense political crisis, and gangs in urban Port-au-Prince have a stranglehold on the country’s economy. In the countryside, this means food, medicine, and other commodities are extremely expensive and hard to obtain. In this chaotic moment, this collaborative research continues to support civil society groups who are […]

  • Queer Brown Vegan Event

    CECE
    On March 7, CECE was thrilled to welcome Isaias Hernandez to AU for an informal discussion with students and the broader community. Isaias is a writer, influencer, educator, and activist who works on deconstructing complex environmental issues, while centering diversity and authenticity, and is the founder of Queer Brown Vegan. The center point of this […]

  • An Untapped Opportunity for DC’s Media: Connecting the gaps in the climate conversation 

    Rosalind Donald
    Years of heavy industry pollution mean DC’s rivers aren’t safe for fishing or swimming. Many local media articles carry updates on the health of the water, but, as a study of local media my class carried out indicates, journalists may not be linking stories about related topics like river pollution, trash pickup, and more, to […]

  • Article: Geopolitical Ecology for Our Times

    Malini Ranganathan, Garrett Graddy-Lovelace
    In their new guest editoral in Political Geography, Dr. Malini Rangathan, an Associate Professor in the School of International Service, and Dr. Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, a professor in the Department of Environment, Development, and Health, work together to explore the concept of geopolitical ecology as an alternative lens to traditional dominant framing. Geopolitical Ecology for Our […]

  • Marine-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: The Promise and Peril

    Simon Nicholson
    On Thursday, February 8th, the Institute of Responsible Carbon Removal convened a brown-bag presentation and discussion featuring Dr. Sara Nawaz, the Director of Research at American University’s Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy. Dr. Nawaz delivered a presentation entitled “Marine-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Promise and Peril,” which was moderated by Dr. Simon Nicholson. The […]

  • Book: Development in Africa’s Informal Settlements: Below the Proletariat

    Angela Pashayan
    Dr. Angela Pashaya, professor at American University’s School of International Service, launched her new book on February 1st. With over 60% of Africans living in slums, her new book Development in Africa’s Informal Settlements: Below the Proletariat includes ethnography, quantitative and quantitative research centered on the effectiveness of international development programs in African informal settlements […]

  • In the News: Apocalyptic Optimism Could Be the Antidote for Climate Fatalism

    Dana R. Fisher
    TIME excerpts CECE Director, Dana R. Fisher’s new book Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action. For the full excerpt click here

  • State of Deception Report Released on Mining and Water Rights in El Salvador

    Robin Broad
    On Thursday, January 11, MiningWatch Canada hosted a press release event presenting the findings from the ‘State of Deception’ fact-finding report on the detained water defenders, mining, and the state of human rights under the Bukele regime in El Salvador.  The report is co-authored by Robin Broad, a research professor in Environment, Development, and Health […]

  • COP28 DC Climate Hub

    Kyra Jones
    On Thursday, December 7th, CECE, The School of International Service, and We Don’t Have Time cohosted the COP28 DC Climate Hub. Policymakers, climate activists, journalists, and academic experts came together to discuss what is needed to ensure a just and equitable climate transition. This multi-panel event included: Ambassadors Up-Close: COP28 Reflections, The Power of Storytelling, […]

  • Six Students Awarded the Environmental Justice Community Lawyering Fellowship

    William John Snape, III
    Since 2019, American University Washington College of Law’s Program on Environmental and Energy Law (PEEL) has channeled a portion of its donations to support valuable opportunities for students, enabling them to engage in impactful study and work related to Environmental Justice. The initiative’s primary mission is to energize the next generation of AUWCL community lawyers […]

  • Article: How Effective are Climate Protests at Swaying Policy—and what could make a difference

    Dana R. Fisher
    Nature has just published “How Effective are Climate Protests at Swaying Policy—and what could make a difference.” By CECE Director Dana R. Fisher, Oscar Berglund, and Colin J. Davis. The piece integrates Fisher’s research on climate protests and the growing radical flank in climate activism with Berglund and Davis’ work on public responses to climate action, which […]

Environmental Equity and Justice Experts

Abeer Y Al-Eryani

Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Environment, Community, & Equity

Robert Albro

Research Associate Professor, Center for Latin American and Latino Studies

Michael Alonzo

Assistant Professor, Environmental Science

Valentina Aquila

Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science

Kristine Beran

Professorial Lecturer, Department of Environmental Science

Robin Broad

Research Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health
Jennifer Brown

Jenn Brown

Program Manager, Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy

Lauren Carruth

Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Environment, Development & Health

Ernesto Castañeda

Director, Center for Latin American and Latino Studies

C. Anne Claus

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology

Ken Conca

Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Rosalind Donald

Assistant Professor, Public Communication

Todd Eisenstadt

Research Director, Center for Environmental Policy

Larry Engel

Associate Director Center for Environmental Filmmaking

Dana R. Fisher

Director, Center for Environment, Community, & Equity

Scott Freeman

Senior Lecturer, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Julie A. Gonzalez

Environmental Justice Postdoctoral Fellow, CECE

Garrett Graddy-Lovelace

Provost Associate Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Edward Guetti

Professorial Lecturer, Department of Philosophy and Religion

David Hunter

Professor of Law, WCL Program on Environmental and Energy Law
Kyra Jones

Kyra Jones

Operations Manager

Victoria Kiechel

Senior Professorial Lecturer, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Chelsea Koch

Assistant Professor, Arctic Ecogeochemistry Lab/Department of Environmental Science Assistant Professor, Arctic Ecogeochemistry Lab/Department of Environmental Science

Maya Livio

Assistant Professor, Climate, Environmental Justice, Media and Communication
Marquise McGraw

Marquise McGraw

Professorial Lecturer, Department of Public Administration and Policy

Simon Nicholson

Co-Director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy

Jennifer Oetzel

Research Professor, Department of Management

Angela Pashayan

Professorial Lecturer, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Claudia Persico

Associate Professor, Public Administration and Policy

Natalia Piland

CECE Collaborating Researcher, Interdisciplinary Scientist
Malini Ranganathan

Malini Ranganathan

Associate Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Jesse Ribot

Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Ezra Rosser

Professor of Law, WCL Program on Environmental and Energy Law

Thurka Sangaramoorthy

Professor, Department of Anthropology

William John Snape, III

Professor and Director, WCL Program on Environmental and Energy Law

Maggie B. Stogner

Executive Director, Center For Environmental Filmmaking

David J. Vázquez

Associate Professor, Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies

Paul Yoo

Assistant Professor, Finance