COVER IMAGE HERE

Environmental Justice For AllThe Sierra Club proudly

supports WE ACT and has been

pleased to host their federal

policy office in Washington DC,

in order to bring strong and

equal environmental protection

to everyone.

E X P L O R E , E N J O Y , A N D P R O T E C T T H E P L A N E T .

Photo courtesy Girls Inc.

Thank you WE ACT for supporting the Adirondack Council and the Adirondack Diversity Initiative

efforts to help build an Adirondack Park that is more welcoming and

inclusive for everyone!

54

With great gratitude and respect

The John Merck Fund congratulates

Dr. Frederica Perera of theColumbia Center for Children's Environmental Health

for her many achievements to advance environmental health and justice.

Thank you, Ricky!

CCCEH IS GRATEFUL FOR 20 YEARS OF

PARTNERSHIP WITH WE ACT,

ALLOWING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL

RESEARCH TO LEAD TO MEANINGFUL

CHANGE IN NYC COMMUNITIES.

ccceh.org

6 7

Opening Remarks and WelcomeGregory Anderson, Board Chair, WE ACT

Peggy Shepard, Executive Director, WE ACT

-

Award Presentation

Introduction of HonoreesCecil Corbin-Mark, Deputy Director, WE ACT

Christopher EriksonBusiness Manager, Local Union No. 3, IBEW

Nicole SitaramanSenior Manager of Public Policy, Sunrun

Jeff JonesEnvironmental Consultant and Political Strategist, Jeff Jones Strategies

Nicky SheatsFounding Member, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

Frederica PereraFounding Director, Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health

-

Live Programmatic Auction

-A dialogue on

The Equitable & Just National Climate Platform

moderated by Peggy Shepard

featuringMichael Brune, Executive Director, Sierra Club

Abigail Dillen, President, EarthjusticeChristy Goldfuss, Sr. VP of Energy & Environment, Center for American ProgressCecilia Martinez, Executive Director, Center for Earth, Energy, and Democracy

and Nicky Sheats

-

Closing

PROGRAM

for all you do to fight for a safe and healthy planet.

WE ACTThank you

98

Additional victories won during this very productive legislative session include:

• The Child Safe Products Act, which phases out the most dangerous chemicals in children’s products by 2023.

• The Period Product Labeling Act (S2387B/A164B), the first legislation of its kind in the nation, requires manufacturers to identify ingredients on period product packaging sold in New York.

• The NYS Environmental Justice Advisory Board (S2385/A1564), a permanent body

ensuring our communities have a voice in Albany.

At the federal and national level, our Washington, DC Federal Policy office is serving as a home base for members of the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum to engage with policymakers, including:

• Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cory Booker, and Bernie Sanders;• the architects of the Green New Deal;• the Senate Climate Task Force; and• the Congressional Black Caucus Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force.

The Equitable and Just National Climate Platform, launched this July, was a major outcome involving our DC team and EJ Forum partners. The platform (the focus of tonight’s dialogue, and featured on page 16 and 17 of this journal) is a milestone for the coalition of major environmental groups and EJ organizations who have committed to finding common ground to design equitable, winning national climate solutions.

This has been a milestone year for WE ACT and the environmental justice movement. Thank you for joining us tonight for an evening celebrating what we’ve accomplished together. In solidarity,

Peggy Shepard, Executive Director

2019 has been a year in which the urgency of rational climate policy has become more glaring than ever. It’s also been a year for turning the tide against attacks on our environment and against vulnerable communities. This year WE ACT played a lead role in grassroots advocacy leading to important climate policy, including:

• The NYC Climate Mobilization Act, a package of bills which constitutes the biggest single carbon reduction effort by any city in the world.

• The historic Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York State 100% by 2050

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

1110

Christopher EriksonBusiness Manager, Local Union No. 3, IBEWChristopher has been a part of Local 3 since his Electrical Apprenticeship in 1975. In his role as Business Manager, he has successfully negotiated over 150 collective bargaining agreements, resulting in improved pensions and benefits that provide a higher degree of security for tens of thousands of Local 3 members. He serves as Chairman of the International Executive Council of the IBEW, and is a member of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), the IBEW Minority Caucus, and the NAACP. Christopher earned SUNY Associate and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Labor/Management Relations from the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies.

Jeff JonesEnvironmental Consultant and Political Strategist,Jeff Jones StrategiesJeff has been a WE ACT Board member for more than a decade. Through his Albany-based consulting firm, Jeff Jones Strategies, he assists grassroots organizations with political and media strategies. Along with being a seasoned consultant, Jeff is a long-time activist for social and environmental justice. Today, Jeff continues to combat climate change by working with organizations like Alliance for Clean Energy New York, League of Conservation Voters, John Brown Lives!, the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy, and EcoViva.

Nicole SitaramanSenior Manager of Public Policy, SunrunNicole spearheads Sunrun’s engagement in legislative and regulatory policy initiatives in the Mid-Atlantic region. In this role, Nicole advocates for policies that enable increased and equitable access to solar and battery storage to facilitate a more decentralized energy grid powered by the people, for the people. In 2019, Nicole was selected as a New Voices in Energy Fellow by the Aspen Institute. In 2018, she was honored as a WRISE Honors in Public Policy and Advocacy recipient by the Women in Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy and listed as a Catalyst in the 2018 Grist.org Top 50 List. Nicole is an alumna of Yale University and Boston University School of Law.

HONOREES

Frederica Perera, Ph.D.Founding Director, Director of Translational Research,Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental HealthDr. Frederica Perera, DrPH, Ph.D., is Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University, the founding director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, and the current director of the CCCEH Program on Translational Research. Ricky is internationally recognized for pioneering the field of molecular epidemiology, utilizing biomarkers to understand links between environmental exposures and disease with the goal of prevention. The Center’s research has revealed that prenatal exposures such as air pollutants, chemicals in plastics, pesticides and flame retardants are linked to neurodevelopmental problems, obesity and/or asthma in childhood. She has written extensively on the multiple threats to children’s health and future well-being from chemicals, air pollution and climate change, and the health and economic benefits of government action.

Nicky Sheats, Ph.D.Founding Member, NJ Environmental Justice AllianceDirector, Center for the Urban EnvironmentNicky directs the Center for the Urban Environment of the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy at Thomas Edison State University, which provides support to the EJ community. He works on issues that include air pollution, climate change, cumulative impacts, developing EJ legal strategies and increasing the working capacity of the EJ community. Nicky is a founding member of the NJ EJ Alliance, EJ Leadership Forum, and EJ and Science Initiative. He served on the NJ Clean Air Council, EPA’s Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and National EJ Advisory Council, and was a co-author of the human health chapter of the 2014 national climate assessment. He earned a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences, J.D. and M.P.P. from Harvard University.

HONOREES

CONGRATULATIONSTO OUR HONOREES

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SPECIAL THANKS

WE ACT thanks our generous 2018-2019 Institutional Partners, ACTivist Circle Members, and individual donors:

Foundation and Institutional Partners

The JPB FoundationThe New York Community TrustEnergy FoundationNew York State Department of Environmental ConservationHigh Meadows FoundationThe Bay and Paul FoundationsThe Cedar Tree FoundationThe Kresge FoundationThe Morton K. and Jane Blaustein FoundationPassport FoundationThe Mertz Gilmore FoundationThe John Merck FundEnvironmental Health Strategy CenterMarisla FoundationNew York Energy Democracy AllianceSierra ClubEarthjusticeLily Auchincloss FoundationNews Corp GivingCon EdisonNatural Resources Defense CouncilNational Audubon SocietyAECOMWest Harlem Local Development CorporationToxic-Free FutureColumbia Community ServiceNew York State Nurses AssociationIchan School of Medicine at Mount SinaiThe Nature ConservancyGreen and Healthy Homes InitiativeColumbia Mailman School of Public HealthLeague of Conservation VotersHerbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer CenterCapalino+Company

ACTivist Circle

Catalyst ($10,000+)Anonymous DonorAnonymous DonorBarbara FifeMegan EvansDavid Evans

Ambassador ($5,000+)Ken MakJeffrey GracerDennis Derryck and Joy AndersonBlack Widow Termite & Pest Control CorpSusan MandelCovanta Energy, LLC

Champion ($2,500+)Sarangi IyengarClay HilesBryan RobertsLaurance RockefellerEric GoldsteinTrust for Public LandGregory AndersonAlexander PapachristouAlan BerlowEve WetlauferJeff Jones and Eleanor SteinGreater New York LECET FundTransportation Workers Union of Greater New York Local 100NY RenewsThe General Contractors Association of New York

Supporter ($1,000+)William JanewayMarjorie HartFredric WesslerHarmon Foundation, Inc.Marianne Engelman LadoCharles LovedayDart WestphalWinifred CorbinJudy WilliamsEgo HayesPatricia TerryElizabeth (Leah) ArroyoFrances and Joe FritzPhillip Morrow

Vernice Miller-TravisJoseph GrazianoHolger EislColumbia University, Government & Community AffairsNicholas FreudenbergIrwin EngelmanMarlena SonnRuth Ann NortonAbby LeighSKEO SolutionsLael Goodman and Vikram ShankarChris WardAmelia ShedroMichela WeihlCharlotte MatthewsSteven Markowitz

WE ACT Thanks Our Donors

Charles Komanoff Charles AllisonScott OstfeldWendy MackenzieKerri HollowayMcKissack & McKissackArden DownPaula DiPernaOgonnaya Dotson-NewmanVirginia KasselAmanda CastelThomas MatteClaire BarnettFrederica PereraBarbara BrennerAngela DewsKaren BackusMaida GalvezBlaikie and Robert WorthCafe OnePaul GallayJames ShippMary WatsonMadeleine CohenX CaffeMatthew ChachereScott ShapiroCorbin Hill Food ProjectDavid DiDomenicoKate AscherShelby DrescherGary Claar

SPECIAL THANKS

Caroline KingHealthy Building NetworkCarolyn Fine FriedmanMalavika SahaiMuzquiz MinervaLew DalyChrissy RubinMarkus HilpertAndrea BaccarelliMary Beth TerryJanet CharlesLynn MiaoEliza TaylorAlfred JesselGrant AssociatesMark SolomonRena and Stewart DianaMartha SwanBrandon ButlerKate DalyCarly HoogendykBarnard College Committee on SustainabilityUnitarian Universalist Congregation of the Hudson ValleyKeelan DianaAlice DearChristopher SowersJennifer HirschJulia BoakBruce RosenRobin GuentherDavid DerryckKeecha GardnerStefan FritzCharles CallawayDeirdre AherneCheryl MerzelMegan McLaughlinSarah KovnerFrances BeineckeKatherine KennedyThomas OuterbridgeEdward TowlesLynne RichardsonBellevue/NYU Occupational & Environmental Medicine ClinicGail KohanekWaterfront AllianceRory ChristianBrooke HavlikColumbia NIEHS Center for

Environmental HealthBen HankoBill UlfelderArturo Garcia-CostasEstela VazquezDonna De CostanzoAcklema MohammadJamie TybergJames ReynoldsRobert PiraniYianice HernandezDaniel HansonJonathan GreenthalOlivia FarrJulia TigheMichael O’DonnellLisa HertzJoshua FisherGopa IyerJovanca SantanaKaren O’MalleyWomen’s Voices for the EarthPerry SheffieldValerie BradleyJacqueline HueyUrsula EmbolaAlan McGowanDebra JamesJeffrey DeneroffRuth SmithRebecca Schoenberg-JonesBrandon LewisMichael WashburnNancy AndersonNicky SheatsFlorence LiuJohn McKoyMerle CarrollJoanna KapnerGeoffrey EatonJonathan ReissRebecca BratspiesToby Sheppard BlochSandra GittensSarah MartinLaura NorwitzAnthony CrusorYvonne OverMichael HeimbinderAline EulerJacqueline PattersonEileen ThomasMichael GreenNatalia Antrobus

Rema DavisCharles PennerSophia GutherzAnn RauchLeah RaintreeAlyssa RidleyShelley KarsonChristina MahleLois RakovBrett RobertsonWilliam WalshCreshevsky NoahNoah CreshevskySydney BriggsMargaret MacdonaldEdward McAdamsLoren BlackfordJill RocheMonica BeneytoDayna MatthewAdriana EspinozaHamdan AzharAnissa Timothy-CaesarCenter for Health, Environment & JusticeSusan GabrielEleanor CooperMeredith MinklerJames BaxterAdvance Consulting LLCJason CohenDavid AvitalEdison HoChristiana MartensonDeepa SivarajanKiona NiehausPatrick FinneganKari BomashMichelle WeinbergNorah MacKendrickClara O’Malley

WE ACT Thanks Our 2019 Gala AdvocatesKen Mak and Heakyung ChungAlice DearEgo Hays

1514

Peggy ShepardExecutive Director

Lubna AhmedDirector of Environmental Health

Charles CallawaySenior Organizer & Outreach Coordinator

Chris DobensDirector of Communications

Sam DossDevelopment Associate

Morgan FritzDirector of Development

Sonal JesselPolicy & Advocacy Coordinator

WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan, community-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices.

Cecil Corbin-MarkDeputy Director/Director of Policy Initiatives

Dana JohnsonCommunications Manager

Tina JohnsonOutreach Coordinator & Community Organizer

Evelyn JosephDirector of Administration & HR

Carlos JusinoInformation Systems & Technology Manager

Stephan Roundtree, Jr.Environmental Policy & Advocacy Coordinator

Kerene TayloeDirector of Federal Legislative Affairs

WE ACT STAFF

ChairGregory J. Anderson Agent at New York Life Insurance Company & Financial Services Professional at NYLIFE Securities LLCNew York, NY

SecretaryMarianne Engelman Lado, Esq.Visiting Professor of Law, Environmental Justice Clinic, Vermont Law School Lecturer, Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental StudiesNew Haven, CT

TreasurerKen P. MakFinancial Services ProfessionalNew York, NY

Charles H. Allison, Jr.Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Finance, Energy Policy, and Sustainability Management and Faculty DirectorThe Finance Lab at The New School New York, NY

Peter BokorVice PresidentMorton and Jane Blaustein FoundationNew York, NY

Rory ChristianPrincipalConcentric Consulting Group, LLC. New York, NY

Dennis A. Derryck, Ph.D.Founder, PresidentCorbin Hill Food ProjectNew York, NY

David Evans, Ph.D.Professor Emeritus and Special Lecturer of Sociomedical Sciences at CUMC, Pediatric Pulmonary Division & Children’s Center for Environmental HealthBrooklyn, NY

Eric A. Goldstein, Esq.Senior Attorney and New York Environment DirectorNatural Resources Defense CouncilNew York, NY

Al Huang, Esq.Senior Attorney, Environmental JusticeNatural Resource Defense CouncilNew York, NY

Sarangi IyengarSenior Manager of ComplianceOscar HealthNew York, NY

Jeff Jones Consultant, Jeff Jones Strategies Albany, NY

Vernice Miller-TravisWE ACT Co-FounderExecutive Vice President for Environment and SustainabilityMetropolitan GroupWashington, DC

Phillip MorrowPresident and CEOSoBROBronx, NY Peggy ShepardCo-Founder and Executive Director WE ACT for Environmental JusticeNew York, NY

Dart WestphalSenior AssociateSupport Center for Nonprofit ManagementNew York, NY

WE ACT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

1716

As part of our 2019 Gala program, we are hosting a panel discussion on the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform with several of the co-authors and inaugural signatories. Leading U.S. environmental justice and national environmental groups worked together over the past year to achieve consensus on this bold and historic climate platform. The platform was created to confront the widening dangers of our climate crisis.  It highlights a shared vision and calls for national climate action that confronts racial, economic, and environmental injustice as it enacts deep cuts in climate pollution and accelerates a pollution-free energy future that benefits all communities.

The platform was formally released in July 2019 to help guide, aid, and inform local, regional, and national policymakers, business leaders, and civil society advocates in addressing the central environmental threat facing humankind — before it’s too late. The platform goals are:

• No community left behind• A healthy climate and air quality• Reduction in cumulative impacts• An inclusive, just, and pollution-free energy economy• Access to affordable energy• A healthy transportation and goods movement system• Safe, healthy communities and infrastructure• Economic diversity and community wealth building• Anti-displacement, relocation, and the right to return• Water access and affordability• Self-determination, land access, and redevelopment• Funding and research• U.S. responsibility for climate action and international cooperation

To read the full platform and see all the signatories, visit ajustclimate.org.

EQUITABLE & JUST NATIONAL CLIMATE PLATFORM

Abigail Dillen President

Earthjustice

DR. Cecilia MartinezCo-founder, Executive Director

Center for Earth, Energy, and Democracy

Dr. Nicky Sheats

Founding MemberNJ Environmental Justice Alliance

Michael BruneExecutive Director

Sierra Club

Christy GoldfussSr. VP of Energy and Environment

Center for American Progress

Moderated by

peggy shepardExecutive Director

WE ACT for Environmental Justice

WE ACT is honored to present a panel discussion with some of the architects of the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform:

EQUITABLE & JUST NATIONAL CLIMATE PLATFORM

CONGRATULATIONS FROM OUR FRIENDS

EDF congratulates WE ACT for empowering communities in 2019

Audubon thanks WE ACT for more than 30 years of environmental justice leadership.

Congratulations to the outstanding 2019 honorees.

Together, we can ensure bright futures for all of our communities, our birds, and our planet.

Photo: Mike Fernandez/Audubon

“Our vision is that all people and all communities have the right to breathe

clean air, live free of dangerous levels of toxic pollution, access healthy food, and

share the benefits of a prosperous and vibrant clean economy.”

Our vision for a just climate future includes…

A just climate future begins today. Join us at AJustClimate.org

A healthy climate and air quality for all

Access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity, water, and transportation for every community

An inclusive, just, and pollution-free energy economy with high-quality jobs

Safe, healthy communities and infrastructure

More than 200 environmental justice groups and national environmental organizations have committed to work together to advance a bold and equitable national climate agenda.

We believe communities that bear the greatest burdens from pollution, climate change, and economic inequality should co-lead the way in shaping the bold solutions we need to tackle the climate crisis and environmental racism. The platform lays out how we can—and will—get there together.

A JUST CLIMATE FUTURE

BEGINS ON THE FRONT LINES

OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS

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UCSUSA.ORG

THANK YOUDR. NICKY SHEATSUCS joins WE ACT in congratulating Dr. Nicky Sheats for all his hard work to advance justice and equity in environmental policy, and thanks him for generously sharing his expertise.

Congratulations to Peggy Shepard and the WE ACT

community for your outstanding accomplishments

to improve environmental health and justice.

David Evans, Ph.D.www.nysna.org nynurses

The New York State Nurses Association salutes

WE ACT for Environmental

Justice and its leadership in the movement

for environmental justice

We are a proud partner and sponsor of the WE ACT 30th Anniversary Gala, and extend our deepest congratulations to this years award honorees.

At 350.org our mission is to be a part of building a multiracial and multigenerational movement that can stand up to the fossil fuel industry. As an international movement of ordinary people we are committed to working with the larger movement for social justice to build a world of community led renewable energy for all.

We look forward to deeper engagement for a better tomorrow. Learn more about us at 350.org

The Nature Conservancy proudly supports

WE ACT

The world we depend on depends on us.

2322

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ongratulations to Peggy and the entire WE ACT team for

your dedication to the environmental movement and social justice. We can all use a healthy measure of inspiration to keep working together to make a difference.

Jeffrey Gracer, ChairNYC Climate Action Alliance

C

Congratulations to all the honorees for this well-deserved recognition

Capalino+Company is proud to support WE ACT’s 2019 Annual Gala

WWW.CAPALINO.COM

212.616.5810 • @CAPALINO

2524

Founded in 2009, Corbin Hill Food Projectdelivers fresh food sourced from local farms to

low-income communities of color here in the city.

Since our founding 10 years ago,

more than

9000people have

become

Shareholders

Originally forty-two, we nowpartner with

200farms to supply us with

fresh produce

Thanks to our Social Impact programlaunched in 2018, more than

Shareholders received subsidized shares

COMMUNITY OWNERSH IP

FOODSOVERE IGNTY

RACIALEQUITY

SH IFT INGPOWER

We need YOU!CORBINHILL-FOODPROJECT.ORG/DONATE

For Corbin Hill Food project to grow, we need yourhelp. Please join us in this important effort to bring

fresh food to those who need it most.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT REDEFINED

www.grantassociatesinc.com

Grant associates is a proud partner of We act for environmental Justice

BuildingClean.org: Your free source to find local, healthy energy-efficient building products.

An initiative of the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation.

Building Clean Is proud to recognize

WE ACT As a trailblazer in the fight

for environmental and economic justice.

Thanks Peggy and Cecil for your leadership.

CONGRATULATIONS

for years of impact and change in the world!

Your Friends & Allies at

for Environmental JusticeWE ACT

2726

JOMIDA Associates, LLC celebrates a five year partnership with WE ACT in providing OSHA Construction Safety training to over 400 participants. Providing all your safety training needs. Call us for a quote.

“Making a difference - One soul at a time.”

Jonathan M. Davis, OSHA Outreach Instructorjomidaenv@gmail.com973-851-4922

2928

LF Training Consultants

A full service environmental training firm serving business and government clients throughout the tri-state area

Limas Forte, Authorized Construction Trainer & Certified EPA Lead Safety RRP Principal Instructor, congratulates WE ACT for its work in building Safe and Healthy Communities!

Limas Forte, MPA(347) 782-5075

LForte@msn.com

Congratulations to WE ACT!

Congratulations to

WE ACTon celebrating 31

years of empowering communities to power change!

William West, DDS30 East 40th Street, Suite 705

New York, NY 10016(212) 685-2323

Proud to partner with WE ACT as we workfor a world where all people are healthyand thriving, with equal access to safefood and drinking water, and productsthat are toxic-free and climate-friendly.

207-699-5789www.ourhealthyfuture.org

CONGRATULATIONS

HONOREE CHRISTOPHER ERIKSON

BUSINESS MANAGER

LOCAL UNION NO. 3, I.B.E.W. AFL-CIO

THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR

ALL YOUR SOLAR NEEDS

30

THANK YOU FROM OUR SPONSORS

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CHANGEMAKERS

Jeffrey B. Gracer

The New York League of Conservation Voters

is happy to congratulate

WE ACT for Environmental Justice

on your 2019 Gala

and honoree, NYLCV Capital Region Chapter Board Member

Jeff Jones

for his dedication to the organization.

www.nylcv.org

THANK YOU FROM OUR SPONSORS

FRONTLINE WARRIORS

CLIMATE JUSTICE ADVOCATES

Dr. David Evans

Dr. Frederica Perera and Frederick A.O. Schwarz