Our 2022 Gala kicked off last Thursday with joy, giving, fellowship, great food, and celebration of our accomplishments. This was our first in-person gala in 2 years and, with over 300 people in attendance, it was amazing to finally be back in the same room with our friends, fellow activists, and supporters.
Congratulations to this year's Gala honorees! We celebrated three amazing advocates for environmental justice: Dr Beverly Wright, Mychal Johnson, and Jessica Ottney Mahar:
Dr. Beverly Wright is the Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in southern Louisiana. She is a revolutionary for environmental justice research and policy advocacy.
Mychal Johnson is the Co-founder and Director of South Bronx Unite. He is a long-time advocate for the health and justice of Bronx communities and has accomplished outstanding work in cumulative impacts policy.
Jessica Ottney Mahar is the Director of Policy and Strategy at The Nature Conservancy. She has led coalitions and secured critical policy change and funding for environmental justice in New York.
We also welcomed Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor, as a special guest!
And Vernice Miller-Travis, our Co-Founder and the Executive Vice President for Environmental and Social Justice at Metropolitan Group, did an incredible job leading our fundraising auction to support our environmental education work. For those of you who missed a chance to support us at the Gala, you can still make a donation online!
Thank you to everyone who joined us last Thursday to support of WE ACT!
Peggy Shepard (left) with Dr. Beverly Wright (right)
Jessica Ottney Mahar poses with her honoree award
Mychal Johnson (left) with Dana Johnson (right)
Ali Zaidi delivers remarks during the Gala
The First-Ever Climate Justice Pavilion at United Nations COP27 Starting Soon!
The debut of the first-ever Climate Justice Pavilion at COP27, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, November 6 - 18 is starting next week. We have partnered with the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice to host the pavilion and ensure that climate justice has a voice at this important convening of world leaders.
Much of our programming will be livestreamed, and you will be able to access that programming at cjpavilion.org when it goes live this weekend. In the meantime, you can read this article from Harlem World to learn more about why we are hosting the Climate Justice Pavilion.
Flip Your Ballot and Vote "YES" for
the Bond Act
Early voting for the extremely important midterm election has started in New York! You can vote early through Sunday, November 6th at an early voting center or vote on election day, November 8th at your local polling place. If you are voting by mail, you can drop your completed ballot off at a drop center or mail it in, as long as it is postmarked by November 8th.
When you go to vote in this election, be sure to flip your ballot over and vote "YES" for the Clean Water, Clean Air, Green Jobs Bond Act on the back of your ballot! The Bond Act will raise $4.2 billion to create cleaner air and water, reduce extreme heat, and upgrade infrastructure, creating nearly 100,000 local jobs with family-sustaining wages. The bond act will also direct at least 35% of funds to environmental justice communities like ours.
Join WE ACT and the Energy Democracy Alliance on November 10th, 6 - 7 pm to learn about statewide campaigns that are building a future where energy is affordable, clean and community owned. Meet Energy Democracy Alliance coalition members from across the state and gain a better understanding of how we plan to revolutionize our energy grid, bring down utility bills and transition to renewable energy.
Electric School Bus Program: Anastasia Gordon and Lonnie Portis teamed up to issue a statement about the recipients of the EPA's Clean School Bus Rebate program, which was featured in a Grist article. And that article appeared not just once but twice in Yahoo News, which is the world's fifth-largest English language news site with an estimated readership in excess of 530 million.
Super Storm Sandy Anniversary and Climate Justice: We worked with our fellow members of the Better Buildings NY coalition to host a press event in the South Bronx commemorating the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which devastated communities throughout the city 10 years ago. Lonnie Portis was quoted in a New York Amsterdam News article on where the city stands on climate justice 10 years after Superstorm Sandy.
Electrify NYC Schools: Sonal Jessel was among the voices in Harlem World supporting New York City Mayor Eric Adams' announcement to electrify NYC schools, saying: “Phasing out No. 4 fuel oil and electrifying schools equitably is an action we have been advocating to see for many years. Children in communities of color and low income are exposed to disproportionately more air pollution, leading to higher rates of asthma, and asthma is one of the leading causes of school absenteeism in New York City. These communities deserve to have schools that are a healthy environment for learning, and we thank Mayor Adams, the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, and New York City schools for coming together to take bold steps to protect our young New Yorkers today.”
Educating Youth About Beauty Products
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our DIY Beauty Night last week! We had a great gathering of young people from Northern Manhattan and the Bronx eager to learn about healthy ways to use make up. Many beauty products that are marketed to people of color are highly toxic and perpetuate racially biased beauty standards. So, we were very excited to educate our community about the dangers of these products and have fun making our own, healthy beauty products from scratch!
If you'd like to get involved with awareness about the toxicity of beauty products that are marketed to people of color, join our Beauty Inside Out working group which meets bi-monthly by contacting Sophia Huda at [email protected] and learn more about our work here.
TAKE ACTION: Bring the Zero Waste Bill Package to a vote!
The New York City Council’s Zero Waste Bill Package is a critical bill package for environmental justice in our city that WE ACT has been advocating for! This bill package will expand access to composting and recycling options for all households in Northern Manhattan, and will set the city on course to achieve zero waste by 2030. Contact Speaker Adams to demand that she brings this bill package to a vote.
As you may have noticed, the WE ACT team has been growing and we need your help to continue this growth! We are looking to hire the following positions:
In our New York City office:
Director of Environmental Health
Chief of Staff
Energy Justice Policy Specialist
Bilingual Community Organizer
In our Washington, DC office
National Coalition Director
National Coalition Manager Federal Regulatory Affairs Manager (Attorney)
Policy Director, Clean Air & Water (Attorney)
Senior Communications Manager
Visit weact.org/careers to download the job descriptions and apply for any of these positions. Join our team!
