Jul 30, 2021 | The Latest News
I’ll never forget the words of Emelda West, a small but mighty grandmother and activist from St. James Parish, La. It was in the late 1990s, and we had just worked together to stop the construction of a plastics plant in her hometown. West put her hand on my arm and said, “Dr. Wright, I just love you. I appreciate the work you’ve done to keep the poisons out of our community. But what we really need now are jobs for our kids.”
In the last year, many Americans have awakened to the layered injustices faced by communities of color. There’s the routine harassment and violence at the hands of the police. The polluting facilities — from plastics factories to bus depots and coal-fired power plants — that always seem to land in our neighborhoods. The underfunded schools, inadequate health care, and, as West observed, the persistent and devastating lack of opportunity.
In St. James Parish and across the country, our communities are coping with deep-rooted, multifaceted harms. Yes, we need to stop those harms from happening — by stopping the construction of new poison-spewing facilities, for example. But we also need to repair and revitalize the places we call home. It’s a complex challenge that calls for a holistic response. It calls for environmental justice.
For years, the mainstream environmental movement focused on a series of separate issues — from saving the whales to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The remedies were also narrowly targeted, through policy measures like cap-and-trade, for example, or techno-fixes like carbon capture and storage. Read more
Jul 26, 2021 | The Latest News
The qualifying period has concluded for candidates seeking the office of New Orleans City Council. The responsibilities of council members cover a host of subject matter areas: criminal justice, housing, land use, sanitation, budgeting, transportation, and the environment, among others.
Too often, candidates seeking the office of City Council do not talk about the extraordinary power of regulating Entergy, our city’s electric power utility. Elections come and go without so much as a statement by candidates on what they would do to lower the cost of Entergy bills, or how they would support energy efficiency and home weatherization. According to data kept by the US Department of Energy, more than half of New Orleans residents pay a high energy cost burden that’s as much as 28 percent of monthly income.
In past council races, televised debates rarely question candidates on their plans for eliminating the frequent number of power outages that occur, rain or shine. Candidates developed platforms that did not connect, much less mention, New Orleans’ vulnerability to the climate crisis and our place in a region that is engulfed by industrial pollution. Voters seldom heard candidates share their vision for improving livelihoods and neighborhoods with equitable energy policies.
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Jul 13, 2021 | The Latest News
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) is dedicated to improving the lives of children and families harmed by pollution and vulnerable to climate change in the Gulf Coast Region through research, education, community and student engagement for policy change, as well as health and safety worker training for environmental careers. The DSCEJ provides opportunities for communities, scientific researchers, and decision makers to collaborate on projects that promote the rights of all people to be free from environmental harm as it impacts health, jobs, housing, education, and overall quality of life. The DSCEJ operates three programs: (1) Research and Policy Studies; (2) Community and Student Education, Training, and Engagement; and (3) Environmental, Health and Safety Worker Training. Navigate NOLA, a division of the DSCEJ, provides social emotional wellness programs for children and adults. The DSCEJ directs and manages the newly re-launched National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN).
Jul 9, 2021 | The Latest News
Miyuki Hino and Earthea Nance
The year 2020 saw further devastating floods, caused by storms such as Cyclone Amphan in South Asia and a record-breaking hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. It is now clear that the changing climate is making coastal flooding more frequent, downpours heavier, and storms wetter. Less appreciated is that the impacts of increased flooding are distributed unequally and unfairly. The greatest burdens fall on the most vulnerable.
Global damage from floods and storms has been trending steadily upwards, from US$94 billion in the 1980s to more than $1 trillion in the 2010s, according to the emergency-events database EM-DAT (www.emdat.be). This increased economic burden is driven in part by changing climate patterns, alongside increased settlement and development in areas of higher hazard.
Decades of research on environmental justice and social vulnerability have shown that the risks and impacts from flooding are disproportionately borne by marginalized households. Over the past few years, researchers have begun to quantify this effect. For example, from 1999 to 2013, white residents of US counties with extensive damage from natural hazards, including flooding, on average gained $126,000 in wealth over this period; Black and Latinx residents on average lost $27,000 and $29,000, respectively. Communities with higher incomes often receive more aid after disasters.
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Jul 9, 2021 | The Latest News
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice is seeking an experienced Network Coordinator.
About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) is dedicated to improving the lives of children and families harmed by pollution and vulnerable to climate change in the Gulf Coast Region through research, education, community and student engagement for policy change, as well as health and safety worker training for environmental careers. The DSCEJ provides opportunities for communities, scientific researchers, and decision makers to collaborate on projects that promote the rights of all people to be free from environmental harm as it impacts health, jobs, housing, education, and overall quality of life. The DSCEJ operates three programs: (1) Research and Policy Studies; (2) Community and Student Education, Training, and Engagement; and (3) Environmental, Health and Safety Worker Training. Navigate NOLA, a division of the DSCEJ, provides social emotional wellness programs for children and adults. The DSCEJ directs and manages the newly re-launched the National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN).
DSCEJ is seeking a Network Coordinator for NBEJN who is self-driven and detail-oriented with a demonstrated passion for justice and equity. This individual will report to the Executive Director of DSCEJ.
Position
The Network Coordinator will play a critical role in helping NBEJN achieve its vision to provide high quality program coordination for members. The Network Coordinator will be responsible for a variety of professional activities to build relationships, trust, and alignment with NBEJN members; coordinate working groups; design, coordinate, and implement campaigns; and conduct qualitative and quantitative evaluations of programs and activities. The individual will be counted on for clear communications, effective organizing and coordination with diverse members, achieving project goals and objectives, and positioning NBEJN and its membership for continued success.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee program implementation in coordination with the Leadership Team
- Assist members to grow their organizations and capacities
- Build strategic partnerships
- Support consistent and progressive steps toward sustaining NBEJN and achieving programmatic priorities
- Monitor the status of work plans and priorities derived from the strategic plan; and regularly communicate with DSCEJ staff on the status in order to effectively coordinate accountabilities, objectives, and associated budgets
- Develop a knowledge management system that ensures maximum sharing of information and learning throughout the organization and the NBEJN membership
Specifically, the Network Coordinator will:
- Support the Leadership Team
- Maintain regular and effective communications with the NBEJN membership
- Schedule and organize meetings and events, as well as prepare and maintain agendas and minutes
- Ensure the implementation of policies and practices
- Communicate information and updates in a timely manner to the NBEJN membership
- Keep up-to-date on the plans and activities of the Work Groups, as well as maintain regular attendance at Work Group meetings
- Assist in developing a centralized information system
- Assist in disseminating communications to the media and on social media
- Create and regularly publish an NBEJN e-newsletter
- Facilitate opportunities for the NBEJN membership to have input on relevant federal and state policymaking
- Collaborate with DSCEJ staff on joint projects such as webinars, press conferences, etc.
- Help build positive relations between the Network membership and external parties
- Assist Network members in accessing communications technology (video conferencing, presentations, etc.)
- Organize and maintain NBEJN documents, records, photos, images, and videos
- Occasionally assist with the preparation of reports and proposals
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required, graduate degree preferred; at least 6 to 8 years of professional experience in a general management role, preferably in a rapidly evolving institution
- Highly organized and ability to wear multiple hats in an ambiguous, fast-moving environment; a driving force who manages toward clarity and solutions
- A successful track record in setting priorities, shaping processes, guiding people and systems, and developing the infrastructure that creates a stronger and more efficient organization
- Thorough understanding of project management; able to work effectively under pressure to meet tight deadlines and challenging goals
- A consummate team player with a flexible and creative approach
- Excellent communication and coalition building skills with an ability to balance, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders; high level of knowledge and understanding, especially as it relates to program replication, connecting programs to funding, creatively generating other resources, and building strategic partnerships
- Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and a demonstrated commitment to NBEJN mission
It is the policy of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
HOW TO APPLY: Please email a detailed cover letter highlighting your interest, your resume and three professional references to beverlyw@dscej.org. Please include the Network Coordinator Position in the subject line.
Jul 9, 2021 | The Latest News
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice is seeking an experienced Communications Coordinator.
About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) is dedicated to improving the lives of children and families harmed by pollution and vulnerable to climate change in the Gulf Coast Region through research, education, community and student engagement for policy change, as well as health and safety worker training for environmental careers. The DSCEJ provides opportunities for communities, scientific researchers, and decision makers to collaborate on projects that promote the rights of all people to be free from environmental harm as it impacts health, jobs, housing, education, and overall quality of life. The DSCEJ operates three programs: (1) Research and Policy Studies; (2) Community and Student Education, Training, and Engagement; and (3) Environmental, Health and Safety Worker Training. Navigate NOLA, a division of the DSCEJ, provides social emotional wellness programs for children and adults. The DSCEJ directs and manages the newly re-launched National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN).
DSCEJ is seeking a Communications Coordinator who is self-driven and detail-oriented with a demonstrated passion for justice and equity. This individual will report to the Executive Director of DSCEJ.
Position
The Communications Coordinator will set and guide the strategy for all communications, website, social media, as well as public relations messages and collateral to consistently articulate DSCEJ’s mission. The Communications Coordinator will work closely with program directors within the organization as the communications partner on a variety of strategic initiatives.
Responsibilities
- Develop, implement, and evaluate the annual communications plan across the network’s discreet audiences in collaboration with the DSCEJ team and constituents
- Lead the generation of online content that engages audience segments and leads to measurable action, as well as advise on who, where, and when to disseminate
- Put communications vehicles in place to create momentum and awareness as well as to test the effectiveness of communications activities
- Manage the development, distribution, and maintenance of all print and electronic collateral including, but not limited to, newsletters, brochures, and DSCEJ website
- Mentor and lead a team member responsible for DSCEJ website administration and coordination
- Coordinate webpage maintenance—ensure that new and consistent information (article links, stories, and events) is posted regularly
- Track and measure the level of engagement within the network over time
- Manage development, distribution, and maintenance of all print and electronic collateral including, but not limited to, newsletters, brochures, annual report, e-newsletters, and DSCEJ website
- Coordinate and organize annual meetings that engage the network’s discreet audiences
- Manage all media contacts
- Organize and maintain an archive of DSCEJ communications, including photos, images, and videos
Specifically, the Communications Coordinator will:
- Execute communications strategies and outreach materials for advocacy campaigns, signature events, and donor and supporter engagement. Items may include blog posts, press releases, Op-Eds, videos, social media content, and other items.
- Manage and regularly update content on DSCEJ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
- Create and manage the editorial calendar for website updates, newsletter content, social media posts and media pitches.
- Create a digital and traditional press kit that includes an organization backgrounder, program fact sheets, leadership bios, infographics, etc.
- Build and maintain positive working relationships with online, print and broadcast journalists; editorial writers and columnists; and opinion leaders.
- Regularly pitch news ideas to media that are aligned with DSCEJ program areas, signature events and thought leadership.
- Develop and implement a system to track electronic files, media lists, press clips, brochures, fact sheets, photos, images, videos, etc.
Qualifications
DSCEJ is seeking an accomplished Communications Coordinator who has at least 6 to 8 years of communications experience, ideally in an “in-house” leadership role within a complex (number and variety of constituents) nonprofit entity, and covering areas such as website content, newsletters, and donor communications. The ability to take knowledge, including scientific data, and transform it into impactful, accessible, and useful messages, and disseminate it to the right audiences through the best distribution channels is critical.
Specific requirements include:
• Highly collaborative style; experience developing and implementing communications strategies
• Excellent writing/editing and verbal communication skills
• A strong track record as an implementer who thrives on managing a variety of key initiatives concurrently
• Relationship builder with the flexibility and finesse to “manage by influence”
• High energy, maturity, and leadership with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position communications discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels
• Sincere commitment to work collaboratively with all constituent groups, including staff, board members, volunteers, donors, program participants, and other supporters
• Self-starter, able to work independently, and entrepreneurial; enjoys creating and implementing new initiatives
It is the policy of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
HOW TO APPLY: Please email a detailed cover letter highlighting your interest, your resume and three professional references to beverlyw@dscej.org. Please include the Communications Coordinator Position in the subject line.
