Two in three Americans support increasing funding to low-income communities and communities of color who are disproportionately harmed by air and water pollution. Distinguished environmental justice leaders will discuss this support and how they have leveraged public opinion research to make a difference for communities facing unfair harms from pollution.
Jacqueline Patterson is the Founder and Executive Director of the Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership. Prior to the launch of the Chisholm Legacy Project, Patterson served as the Senior Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program for over a decade.
Dana Johnson serves as Senior Director of Strategy and Federal Policy at WE ACT for Environmental Justice and has moderated conversations about equitable policy-making on behalf of the New York Bar Association and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Water Club.
Dr. Jennifer Carman manages climate public opinion survey research at YPCCC. Her work supports the development of strategies to foster behaviors with personal, social and environmental benefits through times of environmental change and stress.
Moderating is Professor Gerald Torres, Yale School of the Environment Professor and Yale Center for Environmental Justice Director. His research into how race and ethnicity impact environmental policy has been influential in the emergence and evolution of the field of environmental justice. His work also includes the study of conflicts over resource management between Native American tribes, states, and the federal government.
This event is hosted by the Yale Center for Environmental Communication, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, and the Yale Center for Environmental Justice.