Who is the Environmental Justice Community Connector Initiative
Our Environmental Justice Community Connector Initiative (EJ CCI) is a group of respected community leaders from across our state who are familiar with the issues and concerns of the communities that they represent. EJ CCI members are important voices for traditionally marginalized and underserved communities of color and low wealth communities that are disproportionately impacted by pollution in North Carolina. Each member has experience working on the ground with grassroots community and environmental justice organizations. The group is diverse in terms of age, race, and geography.
What does the Environmental Justice Community Connector Initiative do
Members of the EJ CCI provide advice and recommendations to NC Conservation Network on a range of issues and strategies. They help guide our engagement with decision-makers at the local and state levels; help us reach, empower, and mobilize impacted community members; and strengthen our public communications efforts.
NC Conservation Network convenes this group on a regular basis to discuss matters of importance including public education, capacity building, advocacy, and outreach efforts. Feedback gathered during discussions with the members is used to advocate with our partners to build equity into all policy proposals and campaigns.
Examples of issue work
To date, the EJ CCI has considered issues related to clean energy, transportation, waste disposal, water quality, air quality, and more.
NC Conservation Network is expanding our efforts with the EJ CCI so that more issues include genuine representation of the communities and voices that have not traditionally been included at the table when environmental policy is developed.
Find out more
To find out more about the EJ CCI, please contact Christine Diaz, Environmental Justice Coordinator, at christine [at] ncconservationnetwork.org.
