EmpowerHer: Voices For Change

In the finale of EmpowerHer: Voices For Change, Hemani meets with Erica Circino, author of “Thicker than Water” to discuss plastic pollution and environmental injustice in minority and low-income communities. Erica shares her journey documenting the plastic pollution crisis and her personal upbringing facing environmental injustice in Long Island.

In this episode of EmpowerHer: Voices For Change, Hemani meets with Professor Joni Seager, a Professor at Bentley University who has written articles for the United Nations and the World Wide Fund for Nature, to discuss the gendered-aspects of climate change and its effects both globally and in the United States. Professor Seager explains the phenomenon of "women being the safeguarders of water" and the repercussions this has when dealing with the climate crisis and the relationship between natural disasters and the surge of sexual violence that follows.

In this episode of EmpowerHer: Voices For Change, Hemani meets with Stephanie Bertaina, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency to discuss real stories about the most vulnerable communities impacted by climate change right here in the U.S. Steph discuss her work in rural communities and the role of all levels of government in combatting the climate crisis.

Meet your host, Hemani Patel, in the first episode of EmpowerHer, Hemani gives a brief crash course on climate change and its global ramifications. Hemani defines climate change and gives an overview the intersection of girls' access to education and climate-related events.