John, 

We’ve been gratified by the response to the release of our Racial Equity Report. Since anti-racism work is never done, we're excited to announce our next step in the journey.

Washington Conservation Action has signed on to Green 2.0’s Pay Equity Pledge, a national campaign to increase pay equity for people of color—particularly women of color— in environmental organizations. Green 2.0 is a national research and advocacy group that seeks to increase racial diversity in the environmental movement.

The pledge says: Our organization is committing to conducting a pay equity analysis of staff compensation to look at differences in compensation in regard to race, ethnicity, and gender, to collect and analyze relevant data, and take corrective actions to remediate pay disparities.

We’re proud to be the first Washington state organization to sign the pledge.

You can learn more about the pledge here. We'll keep you in the loop as we work toward this goal in the months to come. Thanks so much for all of your support.

At WCA, we believe that racial justice and environmental justice must form the foundation of environmental progress. We work toward that goal daily, and this pledge forms part of those efforts. Together, we can make even more bold progress for people and the environment.
 

Thanks for being on this path with us,
Alyssa Macy (she/her)
CEO, Washington Conservation Action
Citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon

Racism is inextricably linked to climate change: The industries and systems that are damaging both the planet and people profit by shunting pollution and its problems onto those least responsible, and those least able to respond. Carbon pollution disproportionately harms communities of color, Tribal Nations and rural communities.

Ten years ago, few organizations were doing the important work of addressing environmental racism. We started that work slowly and gradually. We made mistakes. We moved forward, only to move back and then forward again. We continue to lean in, to learn, and to grow. 

As our commitment to anti-racism grew stronger, we realized that fighting inequality is not only the best way forward in our work, but the only way. Because of our anti-racism work, we developed new partnerships, new ways of thinking and working. Eventually, this approach achieved better progress. For instance, the relationships we fostered in this work made possible the broad coalition that pushed to pass the Climate Commitment Act, our state’s polluter-pay carbon law, the nation’s strongest.

We remain committed to anti-racism and equity as the norm in our organization, in our movement, and in our communities.

That’s why, I am humbled to share Washington Conservation Action’s Racial Equity Report, showcasing our journey and significant advancements since 2014 to advance racial equity both within our organization and in the broader environmental movement.

Thanks to our former CEO Joan Crooks, previous board members, and the countless staff who pushed us to stretch and grow. I would also like to thank our organizational partners across Washington who have encouraged this work and kept us accountable to our ideals. 

Tomorrow, as a continuation of this work, we’re joining national organizations to announce being a part of the national Pay Equity Pledge, which is a campaign to increase pay equity for people of color—particularly women of color— in environmental organizations. In the meantime, you can learn more about our racial equity journey here. 

In humble gratitude,

Alyssa Macy (she/her)
CEO, Washington Conservation Action
Citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon

Join us for Spark: Powering Transformative Change, our annual event on May 9, 2024.
We are excited to gather in community to meet the moment for healthy communities, a clean environment, and justice!