Identity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement

Shaila Vester-Skinner is a 2022 Winter Fellow at Green 2.0, and currently majoring in Environmental Science and Policy with a Concentration in Human response to climate change at George Mason University. In this blog post to mark Black Climate Week, Shaila writes about how air pollution has disproportionately affected Black and POC communities and why this needs to change. This story resonated with Shaila because as a Black woman, she doesn’t want to continue to see other POC/Black citizens endure these conditions.

Brown Girl Surf, is an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit that is focused on creating a surf culture that is rooted in joy, inclusion, and empowerment. This guest blog post by the organization’s executive director, Adriana Guerrero, talks about the mission of the organization and why it’s important to increase access to the ocean.

Anjulina Desai is a co-founder of DEZEN, the first circular fashion accessory brand ensuring sustainability by using renewable, plant-based, petroleum-free materials with zero-waste production, made in the U.S. Based in San Francisco, DEZEN, uses technology to minimize its impact as a low carbon brand and has won awards for its innovation in design. The company’s mission is to design beautiful, innovative accessories that are respectful to the earth and the people who work with the company. In this guest blog for Green 2.0, Anjulina discusses how consumers can use their wallets to fight for a healthier planet.

Gloria Walton is an award-winning organizer, writer, and President & CEO of The Solutions Project. She joined the organization from Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), a South LA-based community organization developing cutting-edge strategies to ensure that Black and Brown, poor and working-class communities have an equal voice in the democratic process, where she was President & CEO for 10 years. In this guest blog post, she discusses the importance of community in the philanthropic sector.

Alejandro Galicia Cervantes is a 2021 Fall Fellow at Green 2.0 and a current senior at the University of California - Davis, pursuing a bachelor's degree in economics and political science. He is a community changemaker by craft, program developer by training, an entrepreneurial scholar at heart: His mission is not only to curate a longitudinal study mapping legal status disparities but to build systems to support our most vulnerable communities. To mark International Migrants Day taking place on December 18, Alejandro writes about how deteriorating environmental conditions displace individuals around the world.

Chante Lee is a 2021 fall fellow at Green 2.0. She is currently a senior at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington where she is finishing her last quarter as an Urban Planning and Sustainable Development major with a focus in Environmental Justice. She has also been extremely involved in the Ethnic Student Center on campus. In addition, Chante has worked at Starbucks part-time as a barista since high school and throughout college. She loves collecting houseplants and cooking new recipes. In this blog post, Chante discusses the importance of green space accessibility and her interest in pursuing urban planning as a career.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is an independent conservation organization that uses advocacy, education, environmental restoration, and litigation to protect and improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. In this guest blog post, the foundation examines a case of long-term environmental injustice near Baltimore, Maryland, and how the wrongs of the past could be addressed.

The State Energy and Environmental Impact Center is an independent non-partisan academic center that supports state attorneys general in their environmental work. In this guest blog post, the Center highlights the perspectives of attorneys of color from the Building Power in the Environmental Movement series, and looks ahead to the next event in the series, which will focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and anti-racism in the environmental public sector.

Juliana Ojeda is the Program Associate at Green 2.0 where she works to support administrative and programmatic operations of the organization. She is a graduate of the University of Florida earning Bachelor’s in Political Science and a minor in Anthropology. Juliana began with Green 2.0 as a 2021 fall fellow. In her first blog for Green 2.0, she writes about what Latina Equal Pay Day means to her.

Maite Arce is the founder and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation. She is an environmental movement leader working to connect Hispanic and Latino communities to the political power of Latinx communities. She lives in Purcellville, Virginia and her ancestral origins are of the Cochimi people of Baja peninsula and her Spanish roots. In this guest blog post to mark the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, she shares her motivations and the connections that infuse her passion for nature and community.