Reflections
By Frances Roberts-Gregory. Frances Roberts-Gregory with EGA Staffers Joshua Cohen and Gabriel Jones By Frances Roberts-Gregory. This summer, I challenged myself to think differently, behave differently and (ultimately) love a bit differently. With such a lofty goal in tow, I decided to try the nonprofit world in hopes of understanding how business professionals devise practical solutions to address environmental injustice and empower grassroots communities. Luckily, I found myself placed with the NY Environmental Grantmaker Associations office through the University of Michigan SEAS’s Environmental Fellows Program (... more
By Carolina Prado. Riding through the desert heat with my younger sister, I ask her whether she thinks we as a society can solve climate change. “Hell no” she answers, “there is too much to do.” My sister’s response corresponded well with all the articles I had been reading and the people I had been talking to all summer. When it comes to climate narrative: doom and gloom prevails. Through my fellowship with the Environmental Fellows Program, I am working with The Solutions Project, an organization committed to the transition to 100% clean energy for all. My work there analyzes climate change narratives and... more
By Kemet Azubuike. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) measures are increasingly being implemented across the environmental sector. These programs help bring fairness in the distribution of resources and allow the influence of marginalized groups in the decision making of organizations. Currently, in the heightened political environment where environmental issues and matters of race are at the forefront of political debate, DEI in the environmental sector is a critical intersection to observe. Although the solar industry is in its infancy, the implementation of DEI initiatives could significantly affect... more
By Ashley Bell. Prior to becoming a 2017 Environmental Fellow, the concept of “environmental philanthropy” was foreign to me. In fact, my first thoughts upon receiving an email from a friend regarding this opportunity was “Environmental philanthropy? What is that?” I would like to believe that I am an academic. When there are topics that are of interest to me, I research, question, and attempt to attain as much information as possible. Naturally, my first step upon receiving the email was to google the term expecting the search to return a dedicated Wikipedia page that would provide me with a simple, concise... more
By Victoria Ruddle. Over the past year, much discussion has been directed towards the relationships that the general public has with our institutions: academia, government, industry, etc. For environmentalists, the relationship between scientists and the public has increasingly become a cause for concern. The debate over climate change immediately springs to mind, but on both ends of the political spectrum there is growing distrust of scientists with respect to the environment, food, and medicine. In 2014, a survey by the Pew Research Center found that 34 percent of Americans say science has had a negative... more
By Lauren Beriont. As an EFP Fellow this year, I had the opportunity to work with the Pisces Foundation in San Francisco, CA. This fellowship built on my past experiences working alongside community foundations, coordinated funding models in the county I live in, and my academic focus on philanthropy and justice. This blog is written to trustees, boards, and staff in philanthropy in hopes that I can share some of what I have learned and we can work together to achieve both our environmental goals and social change. As some of you know, in 2013, the Overbrook Foundation convened leaders from across the country... more
By Ragini Kathail. Around the world, summer is getting hotter, threatening the health and lives of poor black and brown people who work or live outside, who have unreliable access to electricity, and who already live in communities surrounded by pollution-spewing vehicles, power plants, refineries, and factories. A recent New York Times piece described data from climate scientist James Hansen showing that, on a spectrum of “cold” to “extremely hot,” the distribution of summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere is moving rightward, indicating that there are more “hot” and “extremely hot” summers today... more
By Rachel Smith. The Great Bear Rainforest (GBR) stretches from Northern Vancouver Island to the Alaskan border and is the largest intact coastal temperate forest on Earth. Encompassing 6.4 million hectares of the British Columbian Coastline, the GBR and its adjacent marine environment has some of the highest biodiversity in North America, possibly the world. The region boasts healthy populations of sea wolves, spirit bears, humpback whales, old growth cedars, and rare glass sponges that are thousands of years old. It is understandable that a region as majestic as the GBR would host some of the world’s most... more
By ValaRae Partee. This summer I was selected to participate in the Environmental Fellows Program (EFP) through the University of Michigan and the Environmental Grantmakers Association. It’s been a life-changing experience to be in the presence of so many like-minded, caring, and welcoming groups of people. EFP was literally a breath of fresh air. When I was with the other Fellows, I forgot about my personal struggles and I could focus on positive strategies surrounding the environmental issues of the world. It’s in spaces like these that I am most complete and can fully devote myself toward positively... more