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2022 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE AND TRAINING PROGRAM
Enhancing Communities Through Capacity
Building and Technical Assistance
AGENDA
New Opportunities and Trends in Environmental Justice in 2022 and Beyond
DAY 1 – Wednesday, March 9, 2022
YOUTH/EMERGING LEADERS SUMMIT
Washington Marriott at Metro Center
Grand Ballroom Salons A-D
775 12th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
8:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Registration
Exhibit Hall Open
9:00 a.m.—9:30 a.m.
Welcome/Opening Remarks
Conference Facilitator
Ms. Carolyn Sawyer
Communications Strategist
Tom Sawyer Company
Dr. Melinda Downing
Environmental Justice Program Manager
U.S. Department of Energy
9:30 a.m.—10:30 a.m.
PANEL: Virtual Environmental Justice Academy. Undergraduate students Sierra Generette and Justice Wright spent their Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters interning with the Mentorship for Environmental Scholars (MES) Program. Their internship focused on creating virtual Environmental Justice trainings to be delivered to middle and high school students. The results of this 10-week academic year internship formed the Pre-College University’s Virtual Environmental Justice Academy.
Clarence T. Brown
Executive Director
Pre-College University, Inc.
Sierra Generette
Former Mentorship for Environmental Scholars (MES) Intern
Justice Wright
Former Mentorship for Environmental Scholars (MES) Intern
Dave J. Wess
Dean of Students
Pre-College University, Inc.
10:30 a.m.—10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 a.m.—12:45 p.m.
PANEL: Educate, Motivate, Innovate: Building the Next Generation of Environmental Justice Leaders (The Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice’s “Educate, Motivate and Innovate (EMI) Environmental Justice Initiative”).
OVERVIEW:
Joanna Mounce Stancil
EMI Chair
USDA Forest Service
Washington, D.C.
EMI and CUPP Collaboration:
CUPP is a unique program that coordinates partnerships between local colleges/universities with communities in need throughout the southeast. College and university students provide technical assistance, free of charge, to underserved communities through planned projects. CUPP has completed over 100 projects throughout the United States, obtaining several dedicated college/university and non-profit partners.
Jeannie Williamson
EPA Region 4 College/Underserved Community Partnership Program (CUPP) Coordinator
PRESENTATION: Redlining and Environmental Justice: Identifying the roots of Child Health Vulnerabilities to Climate Change. This presentation will explore how children’s environmental health disparities correlate with the historical practices of redlining and provide valuable insight on the structural roots of environmental health disparities, in the context of climate change.
Dr. Leslie Isadore Rubin
Director of Break the Cycle Program
Southeastern Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit
Devon Nenon
Undergraduate Student (Junior)
Major: Sustainability Studies
University of Florida
PRESENTATION: Georgia State University Students Assist Duck Hill, Mississippi Citizens Stay Informed About Their Community. The Georgia State University’s Computer Information System’s Department partnered with the Montgomery Citizens United for Prosperity (MCUP) to assist the Duck Hill community build a digital presence on the Internet. The presentation will show how the webpage will benefit the community.
Alicia Gholar
Computer Information Systems
Georgia State University
Romona Taylor Williams
Executive Director
Mississippi Communities United for Prosperity
Carelis Zambrano Bellorin
Major: Computer Information Systems
Georgia State University
PRESENTATION: Kentucky State University Assists in Preparing Educational Products for Low-income Communities in Kentucky. Kentucky’s Division of Water has partnered with Kentucky State University under the CUPP program to assist in developing easily accessible, easily interpreted educational documents for the lead testing in drinking water program. This presentation will show the research conducted by student to prepare these documents for use in low-income communities within the state.
Gabriel Tanner
Kentucky Division of Water
Kabita Paudel
Graduate Student, Master of Science in Environmental Studies
Major: Environmental studies (GIS, Remote Sensing)
Kentucky State University
PRESENTATION: Tech for Environmental Justice: BEEnevolent Hive and Mobile Application. The audience will learn about the plight of the honeybees and technological solutions for the honeybees. The audience will also learn about a tool for environmental reporting, environmental justice education and connectivity.
Sade Shofidiya
Graduate Student
Major: Public Administration – Museum Administration
Savannah State University
12:45 p.m.—1:00 p.m.
Break
1:00 p.m.—2:30 p.m.
Lunch
Luncheon Speaker:
Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis
Executive VP of Academic Affairs
Oakland University
Lake Angelus, MI
DAY 2 – Thursday, March 10, 2022
Washington Marriott at Metro Center
Grand Ballroom Salons A-D
775 12th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
8:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Open
Conference Facilitator
Ms. Carolyn Sawyer
Communications Strategist
Tom Sawyer Company
8:30 a.m.—9:15 a.m.
PANEL: Community and College Partners Program (C2P2): Developing Alternative Energy Options for Indigenous People in Tyonek, Alaska
Michael Burns
Founder/Executive Director
C2P2
Margaret McCurdy
Graduate Student, Peace Engineering Program
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
Joan Nguyen
Graduate Student, Peace Engineering Program
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
Kate Ryan
Graduate Student, Peace Engineering Program
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
9:15 a.m.—9:55a.m.
Introduction of Keynote Speakers
Dr. Melinda Downing
Environmental Justice Program Manager
U.S. Department of Energy
KEYNOTE REMARKS
The Honorable James E. Clyburn
Majority Whip (Democrat, 6th District, South Carolina)
The Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Secretary
U.S. Department of Energy
9:55 a.m.—10:05 a.m.
BREAK
10:05 a.m.—11:15 a.m.
PANEL: Estimating Disproportionate Impacts of Climate Change on Childhood Asthma Rates Among Socially Vulnerable Populations in the U.S.
Margaret Black
Abt Associates
Stefani L. Penn
Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc)
Lauren E. Gentile
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Estimating the Benefits of Reduced Air Pollution During COVID-19 for Socially Vulnerable Populations in New York City.
David Cooley
Abt Associates
11:15 a.m.—12:15 p.m.
PANEL: USDA Forest Service’s Environmental Justice and Climate Change Related Topics.
Elisabeth Grinspoon, Ph.D.
Environmental Justice and Technology Transfer Specialist
Office of Sustainability and Climate
USDA Forest Service
Dixie Porter
Deputy Director
Office of Sustainability and Climate (OSC)
USDA Forest Service
12:15 p.m.—12:30 p.m.
BREAK
12:30 p.m.—1:45 p.m.
LUNCH
Introduction of Luncheon Keynote Speaker
Dr. Melinda Downing
Environmental Justice Program Manager
U.S. Department of Energy
KEYNOTE REMARKS
The Honorable David Turk
Deputy Secretary
United States Department of Energy
Washington, D.C.
1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
BREAK
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
PRESENTATIONS:
Approaches for Evaluating Environmental
Justice Issues at the State Level
Lisa McDonald, PhD
Senior Associate
Abt Associates
Appliance Standards: The Best Climate Change Policy You’ve Never Heard Of
Madeline Parker
Outreach & Coalition-Building Associate
Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP)
3:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m.
PRESENTATIONS:
Bridging America’s Outdoor Equity Gap
Diane Regas
President and CEO
The Trust for Public Land
In Defense of a Greenspace: Students Discover Agency in the Practice of Community-Engaged Technical Communication
Bob Hyland
Associate Professor
University of Cincinnati
DAY 2 – Thursday, March 10, 2022
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS
Grand Ballroom Salon E
10:00 a.m.–-11:00 a.m.
What’s in My Neighborhood? How Communities Can Use EPA’s TRI Toxics Tracker to Identify Industrial Sources of Toxic Chemical Releases and Other Waste Management Activities.
EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program provides a detailed, multimedia dataset covering annual releases and other waste management activities from over 20,000 facilities in the United States for hundreds of different toxic chemicals. EPA makes these data available to the public, which can help inform decision-making by government agencies, community groups, companies, and other stakeholders. This training workshop will provide users with a basic introduction to the TRI Program and what types of data and information are collected by the EPA, as well as a live demonstration of the online TRI Toxics Tracker tool. TRI Toxics Tracker can be used to answer a variety of questions all in one place, such as what toxic chemical releases are occurring in a particular community with EJ concerns and which facilities might be contributing to disproportionate releases potentially affecting nearby residents.
T.J. Pepping
Abt Associates
11:15 a.m.—12:15 p.m.
Pragmatic Approaches: Reaching Students in Areas with Limited Broadband to Access College Education
Lack of broadband access is a limiting factor to academic advancement of a remarkable number of youths in rural areas in America and worldwide. It has been documented that in rural areas, nearly one-fourth of the population – 14.5 million people lack access to this service. In tribal areas, nearly one-third of the population lacks access. Even in areas where broadband is available, approximately 100 million Americans still do not subscribe (FCC 2022). Consequently, an outreach was conducted in a rural area (Marion) of South Carolina with ineffective or no access to broadband. Parents and their high schoolers were invited. During this event, we had on board from Allen University, officials from the admission office, financial aid office, the university counsellors, a faculty and one junior student from Allen University.
Application forms were already printed out and handed over to high schoolers during this outreach. Seven high school students completed the application form on the spot. The financial aid officer succeeded in assisting one of these seven students to complete her FAFSA right on the spot using our personal hotspot internet access provided at the outreach site. Application forms were given to the high school students that attended with the promise to share with their friends. It is uber-important for colleges to make concerted efforts in reaching suburbs with limited broadband access. Such that youths in these areas will not be left behind. This workshop intends to shed more light on pragmatic approaches employed to forestall bottlenecks encountered during the outreach.
Oluwole Ariyo, PhD
Principal Investigator, Environmental Justice Institute
Allen University
2:00 p.m.—4 p.m.
EJ & NEPA Workshop: Considering Cumulative Effects and EJ in the NEPA Process
Increasingly, decisionmakers are recognizing the importance of looking at projects in the context of prior impacts and developments within the community or region. Direct effects continue to be most important to decisionmakers, in part because they are more certain. Nonetheless, the importance of other environmental stressors requires the need to address cumulative impacts on environmental justice (EJ) populations. The purpose of the workshop is to increase understanding of cumulative effects consideration of environmental justice (EJ) populations in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. The specific focus is the importance of understanding cumulative effects are caused by the aggregate of past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions that, for many EJ populations, may last for many years beyond the life of the action that caused the effects. The goal is to provide an understanding of the principles of a cumulative effects analysis within Environmental Justice (EJ) communities.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published their Phase 1 revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Regulations which focused on a narrow set of changes to the 2020 regulations that restores some of the regulatory provisions from the 1978 NEPA Regulations. One of the changes restores the definition of “effects,” including use of the terms “direct,” “indirect,” and “cumulative” and removed potential limitations on effects analysis.
The NEPA Subcommittee of the White House Interagency Environmental Justice Council (WHEJAC) formally known as the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG), produced the “Promising Practices for EJ Methodologies in NEPA Reviews” (Promising Practices Report) and address various methodologies for addressing effects within an EJ analysis and will be utilized in this session.
The workshop is designed to address the changes in NEPA regulations, provide expectations for cumulative effects analysis and provide case study examples for cumulative effects.
Denise C. Freeman
Co-chair, NEPA Committee, WH EJ Interagency Council
Senior Advisor/Communications Liaison
Office of Legacy Management
U.S. Department of Energy
Jomar Maldonado
Director for NEPA
Council on Environmental Quality
Executive Office of the President
Carolyn L. Nelson, P.E.
Co-chair, NEPA Committee, WH EJ Interagency Council
Sr. Project Development/Environmental Specialist
Office of Project Development and Environmental Review
USDOT-Federal Highway Administration
DAY 3 – Friday, March 11, 2022
THIRD FULL DAY OF THE 2022 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE AND TRAINING PROGRAM
Washington Marriott at Metro Center
Grand Ballroom Salons A-D
775 12th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
8:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Open
Conference Facilitator
Ms. Carolyn Sawyer
Communications Strategist
Tom Sawyer Company
9:00 a.m.—10:00 a.m.
PRESENTATION: THE EVOLVING PARK IDEA
David Vassar and Sally Kaplan have spent a lifetime making films and video about the natural world, parks, and environmental issues. They will present and discuss three short film clips which illustrate the evolving mission of parks: the importance of equitable access, the growing need for urban parks and historic sites that represent diverse peoples, and the battle to preserve lands that remain sacred for Native Americans. Clips include an interview with Robert Garcia, founder of City Project.
David Vassar
Sally Kaplan
Producers
Backcountry Pictures
10:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m.
PANEL: Closing the Infrastructure Gap for Those in Need: Accessing Engineering Consulting Services for Infrastructure Provision in Underserved Areas of the US and its territories.
Natalie Celmo
Senior Program Engineer
Community Engineering Corps employed by Engineers Without Borders USA
Ellie Carley
Senior Program Coordinator
Community Engineering Corps employed by Engineers Without Borders USA
11:00 a.m.—11:15 a.m.
Break
11:15 a.m.—12:15 p.m.
PANEL: Resources, Tools, and Strategies to Promote Equitable Investments in Transportation Infrastructure.
James Schroll
Senior Analyst
Abt Associates
Nissa Tupper
Transportation and Public Health Planner
Minnesota Department of Transportation
Benito Perez
Policy Director
Transportation for America
Chris Forinash
Principal
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates
12:15 p.m.—12:45 p.m.
BREAK
12:45 p.m.—2:00 p.m.
LUNCH
Introduction of Luncheon Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kim Lambert
Environmental Justice Coordinator
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
KEYNOTE REMARKS
Mike Martinez
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks
U.S. Department of the Interior
2:00 p.m.—2:15 p.m.
BREAK
2:15 p.m.—3:30 p.m.
PRESENTATIONS:
USDA Forest Service Environmental Justice Mapping Program
Mark D. O. Adams
Senior GIS Specialist
Office of Sustainability and Climate (OSC)
USDA Forest Service
Dixie Porter
Deputy Director
Office of Sustainability and Climate (OSC)
USDA Forest Service
Satellite Data for Environmental Justice: Advancing EJ Mapping Tools and Building a New Community of Practice
Lauren Johnson
The George Washington University Milken Institute
School of Public Health
3:30 p.m.—4:00 p.m.
CLOSING REMARKS
Dr. Melinda Downing
Environmental Justice Program Manager
U.S. Department of Energy
Mr. Benjamin F. Wilson, Esq.
Chairman, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.
Chairman, Board of Directors, National Environmental Justice Conference, Inc.
Timothy Fields, Jr.
Senior Vice President, MDB, Inc.
Vice-Chairman, Board of Directors
National Environmental Justice
Conference, Inc.
DAY 3 – Friday, March 11, 2022
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS
Grand Ballroom Salon E
9:30 a.m.—11:00 a.m.
Federal Title VI and Environmental Justice
This session will be a discussion with Federal civil rights offices engaged in Title VI enforcement and compliance work related to environmental and health programs receiving
federal financial assistance.
Title VI Committee
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Daria Neal
Deputy Chief, Federal Coordination & Compliance Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Lilian Dorka
Director, External Civil Rights and Compliance Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Carla Carter
Associate Deputy Director, Civil Rights Division in the Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Amy Vance
Title VI Coordinator, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Yvette Rivera
Associate Director for Equity and Access Division
Departmental Office of Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Transportation
Jacy Gaige
FHEO Director of Compliance and Disability Rights
U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
11:30 a.m.—12:45 p.m.
USDA Forest Service Conservation Education Strategy: Advancing Equity
and Justice for All
The USDA Forest Service Conservation Education Program is developing a new Conservation Education Strategy to provide clear, agency-wide program direction, unifying how the Forest Service communicates the value and interdependence of Conservation Education while empowering delivery of programs that uplift our communities and partners. We aim to achieve a comprehensive strategy that advances equity and environmental justice for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent inequality. This session will engage participants in innovative thinking around the Forest Service’s new Conservation Education Strategy. We will review the draft strategy and engage in a small group discussions focused on how the FS and partners/communities can effectively collaborate in the advancement of equity and inclusion in Conservation Education programming.
John Crockett
Associate Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry
USDA Forest Service
Tinelle Bustam
National Director
USDA Forest Service Conservation Education
Rachel Bayer
Environmental Education Specialist
USDA Forest Service Conservation Education
Elaine Jackson-Retondo
Program Manager
Regional Preservation Partnership and History
Department of The Interior Park Service
Amtchat Edwards
Education Specialist
USDA Forest Service Conservation Education
2:30 p.m.—3:30 p.m.
Incorporating Cumulative Risk into Tribal Risk Assessments
Tribal Nations are disproportionately affected by environmental issues, including contamination and climate impacts. Further, Tribes are a uniquely vulnerable population in the US, as Federal agencies have a Trust responsibility to Tribes, stemming from historical treaties, requiring government to government consultation, and the respecting of treaty rights (e.g., the right to hunt/fish/gather in usual and accustomed places). Tribal communities may be at greater risk of exposure to contamination than the general population because of dependence on the environment for sustenance (hunting, gathering, fishing); fixed boundaries of reservations (compounding the effects of shifting biological populations); and confounding equity issues (such as social and health inequities). For these reasons, risk assessments that do not consider the cumulative impacts of both contaminant and non-contaminant stressors will fail to fully characterize health risk to Tribal Nations.
The purpose of this workshop is to share examples, ideas, and considerations for incorporating cumulative risk into Tribal risk assessments. Through the presentation of case studies and facilitated discussions, the goal of this workshop is to provide a broader understanding of Tribal risk assessment and to stimulate discussion and engagement on this topic.
Beth Riess
Associate
Abt Associates
Michelle Krasnec, PhD
Senior Scientist
Abt Associates
NOTICE:
The National Environmental Justice Conference, Inc., prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and sex. Persons who need special accommodations to fully participate in the conference, workshops, or training programs, and persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the Conference Coordinator at 202-827-2224. Because of chemical sensitivity of many people, we are requesting that attendees wear unscented toiletry items. Images from this conference may be captured, published and distributed.