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.

  • CHCI Issue Summit 2024 – Latinos en La Lucha: Climate Challenges and Green [...]

    Julie A. Gonzalez
    The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) hosted a dynamic two-day Issue Summit on May 7-8, 2024, focusing on critical issues impacting the nation and the Latino community. Held at the Capital Turnaround, the summit provided a platform for high-level discussions on health, technology, workforce, economic empowerment, and leadership, with a special emphasis on the Latino […]

  • Report: Agenda for a Progressive Political Economy of Carbon Removal

    Simon Nicholson
    The Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal released their most recent report- “Agenda for a Progressive Political Economy of Carbon Removal.” In this report, they “look to the possible versions of a future with carbon removal, imagining its best forms, its worst forms, and its most likely forms.” You can read all of the Institute’s findings […]

  • 2024 Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lecture on the Environment Recap

    Malini Ranganathan
    On April 23rd, American University and SIS hosted Peggy Shepard as the speaker for the 2024 Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lecture on the Environment. Co-founder and Executive Director of WEACT (West Harlem Environmental Action), Peggy Shepard gave a historical overview of the founding of the organization and her ongoing involvement in local and national environmental justice […]

  • 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 […]

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

David Bartlett

Senior Professorial Lecturer, Department of Management

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

Nicole Darnall

Arlene R. and Robert P. Kogod Eminent Scholar Chair in Sustainability

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

Sarah Iverson

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
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

Magnolia Mead

CECE Fellow & Research Assistant

Simon Nicholson

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

Jennifer Oetzel

Research Professor, Department of Management

Marcos A. Orellana

Director, Global Toxics and Human Rights Project

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