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| November Membership Meeting: Wrap Up 2025 & Get Ready for 2026 on Nov. 15th
You don’t want to miss our November Membership Meeting, where we celebrate all that we achieved this year and preview what we have planned for next year – including the unveiling of our 2026 Policy Agenda. Join us in-person on Saturday, Nov. 15th (a week later than usual) from 10:00 AM-1:00 PM at the Most Worshipful Prince Hall, located at 454 West 155th Street. RSVP |
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| Policy and Activism: Reimagining Power for Climate Justice
Peggy Shepard will be on the Policy and Activism: Reimagining Power for Climate Justice panel as part of Women and Sustainability’s Uplift Summit 2025 on Saturday, Nov. 15th. The day-long event leverages Columbia University's academic leadership to unite industry leaders, academics, policymakers, and students to accelerate climate solutions, gender equity, and sustainable innovation through series of panels and networking sessions featuring inspiring women leaders. Examining how women are shaping climate policy and justice from grassroots activism to global negotiations, this panel will run from 2:45-3:45 PM in the Low Library Faculty Room at Columbia University. In addition to Shepard, the other panelists include Julianne McCallum, Project Manager, New Nuclear at the Nuclear Energy Institute; Madison Moore, Counsel, Clean Energy Policy & Community Engagement at the Edison Electric Institute; and Qing Xu, Policy Specialist, Sustainable Finance at UN Women. Aghnia Dima, MPA Candidate, Global Energy Fellow, Columbia SIPA, will moderate. RSVP |
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| CRUP Emergency Preparedness Workshop in Spanish
Marileidy Pimentel Paniagua will be conducting a Spanish-language Climate Ready Uptown Plan (CRUP) workshop from 10:00-11:00 AM on Monday, Nov. 17th in the Family Room at the Salome Ureña Campus of Children’s Aid, which is located at 4600 Broadway. CRUP is a community-driven emergency preparedness plan for Northern Manhattan. Children’s Aid is co-hosting this event, which is open to the public. RSVP |
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| EJNYC Plan: Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Panel Discussions
As part of the effort to gather community input for the EJNYC Plan, a citywide plan to address the environmental justice issues identified the EJNYC Report, the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) is hosting panel discussions across every borough to introduce environmental justice communities, advocates, and policymakers to the work being done around the city. These include: Reducing Air Pollution: Electrifying NYC from its Streets to the Harbor from 6:30-8:00 PM on Thursday, Nov. 13th at the Hunts Point Recreation Center, 765 Manida Street in the Bronx. RSVP Riding Out the (Heat) Wave: Adapting to and Mitigating Extreme Heat in NYC from 6:30-8:00 PM on Monday, Nov. 17th at the Esperanza Preparatory Magnet School – M372, located at 240 East 109th Street in East Harlem (see below). RSVP Closing the Green Space Access Gap in NYC from 6:30-8:00 PM on Wednesday, Nov. 19th at the Brooklyn Technical High School, located at 29 Fort Greene Plaza in Brooklyn. RSVP Building Resiliency in Environmental Justice Communities: Adapting to Flooding and Extreme Rainfallfrom 6:30-8:00 PM on Thursday, Nov. 20th at the Nancy DeBenedittis School – PS 16Q, located at 41-15 104th Street in Corona, Queens. RSVP Equitable Approaches to Address Climate Change, Food Insecurity, and Poverty from 6:30-8:00 PM on Tuesday, Dec. 2nd at Port Richmond High School, located at 85 St. Joseph’s Avenue on Staten Island. RSVP In addition, WE ACT will be hosting a community charette in Harlem on Saturday, Dec. 6th (see below) to gather input for the EJNYC Plan. RSVP |
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| Riding Out the (Heat) Wave: Adapting to and Mitigating Extreme Heat in NYC
Caleb Smith will be on the Riding Out the (Heat) Wave: Adapting to and Mitigating Extreme Heat in NYC panel discussion from 6:30-8:00 PM on Monday, Nov. 17th. Hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) as part of a series of panels being held in all five boroughs in preparation for the EJNYC Plan, this free event will be held at the Esperanza Preparatory Magnet School – M372, located at 240 East 109th Street in East Harlem. The focus of the discussion will be what the City and community organizations are doing to help adapt to extreme heat, the deadliest impact of climate change. In addition to Smith, the other panelists include Dr. Laura Bozzi, Executive Director of Environmental Health Policy at NYC Health; Jen Leone, Assistant Commissioner and Chief Sustainability Officer at HPD; Emily Maxwell, Senior Advisor at the City Parks Foundation; and Navé Strauss, Director of Tree Planting at NYC Parks. Paul Onyx Lozito, Deputy Executive Director of MOCEJ, will moderate. RSVP |
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| Period Justice: Confronting Toxic Chemicals in Feminine Care
Liz Reyes will be on the Period Justice: Confronting Toxic Chemicals in Feminine Care panel discussion on Thursday, Nov. 20th from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center, located at 530 West 166th Street. Hosted by the National Dominican Women Caucus, this bilingual community conversation will focus on menstrual equity, health justice, and access to safe, affordable, toxic-free feminine care products. In addition to Reyes, the other panelists include Dr. Rosanna De La Cruz, a Holistic Endocrinologist & Acupuncturist, and someone from Brujas of Brooklyn, Educators, Healers & Advocates for Womb Wellness and Ancestral Healing. Claudia Mendoza from the Mami Chula Social Club will moderate. RSVP |
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| EJNYC Community Charrette: Getting Input on Environmental Justice Issues in Harlem
WE ACT has joined forces with New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) to work together on a citywide outreach effort to engage communities and get their input on the EJNYC Plan, a plan to address the environmental justice issues identified in the EJNYC Report. Engaging with the residents of New York’s environmental justice communities, those who are most impacted by these issues, will be critical in developing effective, equitable solutions. Our first charrette will be here in Harlem on Saturday, Dec. 6th at 9:00 AM at the Manhattanville Community Center. Come join us and help ensure that the voices of our community are included in this plan. RSVP |
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| EJLF Advocacy Day: Bringing Environmental Justice Advocates to Capitol Hill
This week we hosted an Environmental Justice Leadership Forum (EJLF) Advocacy Day in Washington, DC, which included nearly 30 leaders from dozens of environmental justice organizations meeting with members of congress to advocate for the needs of their respective communities. Learn More |
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Big thanks to Earthjustice, which supported this fly-in advocacy event as an Environmental Justice Community Builder sponsor. |
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And thanks to NRDC, which supported the reception. |
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| Video Replay: Abundance Agenda and Environmental Justice Webinar
In case you missed it, WE ACT and Strategic Movement Collective co-hosted a webinar exploring the Abundance Agenda and its potential impacts for environmental justice communities. Speakers included Dana Johnson, Strategic Movement Collective; Albert Yuan, WE ACT; Alvaro S. Sanchez, Shared Prosperity Strategist; Hannah Story Brown, Revolving Door Project; and Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, Western Environmental Law Center. Watch |
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| Our Ad Campaign for the Manhattan Clean Energy Hub Hits the Streets
WE ACT hosts the New York State Research and Development Authority‘s Manhattan Clean Energy Hub, a web-based service that provides Manhattan tenants, nonprofits, small businesses, and affordable housing owners free information about and connections to low- and no-cost renewable energy upgrades that improve indoor air quality and reduce utility costs. To raise awareness of the hub, we have placed ads for it on bus shelters and LinkNYC kiosks in English and in Spanish in Northern Manhattan, Hell’s Kitchen, and the Lower East Side as well as in select print and online media outlets serving these communities. See What the Hub Can Do for You |
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| Peggy Shepard and Leslie Fields (pictured above, left to right) were in Rio for the C40 World Mayors Summit ahead of COP30, the annual United Nations' Climate Conference. |
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| Mae Kennedy reports two wins from Geneva, where she is attending the United Nations' COP6 Minamata Convention on Mercury. First, the Conference of the Parties agreed to phase out mercury-containing dental amalgam by 2034. Dental amalgam is a cavity filling containing 50-percent mercury and is primarily used in low-income communities and communities of color. The Conference of the Parties also took important steps to strengthen implementation of Article 4 of the Convention, which bans the manufacture, import, and export of mercury-added cosmetics, including skin lightening products. The decision calls on the Minamata Secretariat to identify countries with challenges establishing and enforcing the bans and assist in bridging these gaps. It also loops in the World Customs Organization, Interpol, and other international organizations to investigate the illegal trade of these products. Photo courtesy of HSD/ENB. |
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| WE ACT staff spoke at the American Public Health Association’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Manny Salgado (pictured above) gave a presentation on Environmental Justice Mapping Tools as part of a discussion on Cumulative Impacts: Moving from Maps to Model Policies, and Denise Patel gave a presentation on How Federal Environmental Health Policy Changes Impact Environmental Justice Communities as part of a session on Meeting the Moment in Environmental Health. |
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| Karla Cordero (above center) is down in Puerto Rico for the 2025 SOMOS Conference, where she connected with Paul Lozito, Deputy Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (above left), and Julie Tighe, President of NYLCV & NYLCVEF (above right), at a clean energy event sponsored by the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Environmental Advocates New York, NYLCVEF, and New York Offshore Wind Alliance. |
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Mariclaire Joseph (above, far left) and Marciely Alvarado (above, far right) attended the annual Día de los Muertos Celebration at El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem. |
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| Cancer & Environment 2025
Silent Spring Institute and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center are hosting a one-day Continuing Medical Education event on the state of the science of environmental carcinogenesis and the role physicians, nurses, and healthcare providers play in reducing risk from exposure to environmental chemicals. The event is in-person with a virtual option as well, from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Friday, Nov. 14th at the Irving Cancer Research Center Auditorium (1130 Saint Nicholas Avenue) or via Zoom. RSVP |
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