This February, we welcomed guest speaker Peggy Shepard. She is co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, based in West Harlem. She has successfully combined grassroots organizing; environmental advocacy and environmental health research to become one of the most highly respected environmental advocates in the country today.
In her talk “Keepers of the Land: Pioneers of Sustainability and Environmental Justice,” she addressed principles of climate justice. “I was particularly struck by the powerful image she conveyed of communities that have been made ‘sacrifice zones’ to enable the consumption patterns of other communities,” John Clinton, founder and former director of Milano’s Environmental Policy and Sustainability management program, noted, “Peggy Shepard has raised awareness of such injustice, and mobilized communities to act.”
Peggy Shepard took pioneering steps in advancing environmental justice in urban communities to ensure that the entitlement of clean air, water and soil extends to all people and communities. Her courageous advocacy and message about how communities influence the course of social change continue to inspire rich discussion.
