Rising Tides

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome for a powerful reflection on her journey into environmental justice and the experiences that shaped her work at the highest levels of federal policy. She walks us through the four cornerstone initiatives she helped lead at the White House: Justice40, the Environmental Justice Scorecard, the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, and the Environmental Justice Executive Order, and how her diverse background lets her see environmental justice from many angles, combining both science and community insight.

As we discuss the loss of federal support under the new administration, Dr. White-Newsome offers practical advice: stay connected, stay engaged, and keep pushing for justice. And for young people who might be feeling discouraged, she leaves a hopeful message about focusing on what it takes to build the world we want for the future.

Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Justice Specialization at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. She began her career as a chemical engineer and has worked across multiple sectors including grassroots organizing, philanthropy, state government, and academia. She founded Empowering a Green Environment and Economy, LLC to advance public health, racial equity, and environmental justice. From 2022 to 2025, she served as the first Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer, leading the White House Office of Environmental Justice and helping drive the Biden-Harris Administration’s equity and climate initiatives.

Learn more about Dr. White-Newsome here.

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Sacoby Wilson, a nationally recognized environmental health scientist and scholar whose work centers on environmental justice, health equity, and community-engaged science.

We explore the many ways in which environmental injustice affects people’s health and discuss the reality of sacrifice zones, where residents face disproportionate environmental burdens and limited political power, leaving them to shoulder higher health risks. He shares the vision behind the Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health program (CEEJH INC), a community-driven initiative grounded in INpowerment and liberation science. The program equips communities with the tools and data they need to understand environmental and health challenges in their neighborhoods and take meaningful action. By putting power in the hands of residents rather than institutions, CEEJH INC enables communities to lead their own solutions.

Dr. Wilson serves as a Professor in the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health and in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Maryland. He also directs The Health, Environmental, and Economic Justice Lab, which provides technical assistance to communities confronting environmental injustice and related health disparities. His contributions have earned numerous honors, including the recent Heinz Award for his leadership at the intersection of research, public health, and grassroots organizing.

Learn more about Dr. Wilson here.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Javiera Barandiarán about how dominant approaches to climate change often ignore justice, deepen existing inequalities, and rely on solutions that shift environmental harm rather than eliminate it.

We discuss electric vehicles and lithium extraction, where Dr. Barandiarán challenges the idea that EVs are inherently sustainable. Drawing from her upcoming book Living Minerals, she argues that the global push for decarbonization is fueling endless extraction, driven by trade and consumption rather than ecological limits. A truly sustainable future, she suggests, would require slowing production and rethinking climate solutions from a justice perspective. Our conversation also explores the Rights of Nature framework and how it transforms environmental governance by centering ecosystems as living systems, not resources. 

Dr. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor of Global Studies at UC Santa Barbara and Director of the Center for Restorative Environmental Work. Her research focuses on the intersection of science, the environment, and development in Latin America. She is the author of several works on environmental politics, and her forthcoming book, Living Minerals: Nature, Trade, and Power in the Race for Lithium, will be published in January 2026. Dr. Barandiarán is a recipient of the Berlin Prize from the American Academy in Berlin and a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center for her work on lithium mining.

Learn more about Dr. Barandiarán here. 

In this episode, I sit down with educator and environmental justice leader Lindi von Mutius to discuss why access to green space is a matter of justice. Professor von Mutius explains how the denial of environmental goods has long shaped who gets to experience nature’s benefits and who does not, and how the physical and mental benefits of green space remain unevenly distributed across communities.

We talk about the long history of exclusion, from early prohibitions on Indigenous gathering practices and national park bans to discriminatory zoning and land-use laws. We then turn to the modern landscape, where disinvestment, distance, and broken infrastructure create barriers to access. Professor von Mutius shares insights from her work with the Trust for Public Land, including efforts like the Green Schoolyards campaign, and highlights promising policies such as the national program that provides free national park access for every fourth grader.

She also offers practical guidance for organizations to meet communities where they are, listen deeply, and resist top-down planning. Her ultimate goal is clear: a future where everyone lives within a ten-minute walking distance to nature. She envisions a world where federal policy prioritizes access, organizations that have traditionally excluded low-income communities expand opportunities, and everyone does a little bit to bring nature closer for all.

Lindi von Mutius is an environmental justice strategist, attorney, and educator. She is the Class of 1946 Distinguished Visiting Professor of Environmental Studies at Williams College and the Inaugural Director of the Salata Institute Climate Action Accelerator at Harvard University, where she works with faculty to ensure their research and climate solutions translate into action for external stakeholders and practitioners. Prior to these roles, she held senior leadership positions at the Trust for Public Land, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Defense Fund. Before her work in the nonprofit sector, she practiced environmental, corporate, and bankruptcy law, and collaborated with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action on expanding renewable energy tax credits in the United States.

Learn more about Lindi von Mutius here.

In this episode, I sit down with Isa Gaillard and Valeria Menendez from Equitable Cities, an organization with planners, researchers, and advocates transforming the way people move through their communities. Rooted in justice and lived experience, Equitable Cities addresses the inequities that have shaped America’s transportation systems, from highways that divide neighborhoods to underfunded public transit.

We explore why transportation is a justice issue, how historic policies and funding decisions continue to restrict mobility for communities of color, and what it means to design streets that allow everyone to move safely and freely. Isa and Valeria also share how Equitable Cities bridges the gap between community members and policymakers, and the transformative projects that are redefining access and opportunity across the country.

Check out the groundbreaking work of Equitable Cities at www.equitablecities.com and read more about Isa and Valeria below.

Isa Gaillard is a Senior Planner at Equitable Cities. He has experience in environmental justice, sustainable transportation, and capacity building. As an undergraduate student, Isa received a Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award for his efforts engaging diverse communities to promote cross-cultural collaboration. During his graduate studies, he developed a framework for how cities can integrate environmental justice into their planning processes. Prior to joining Equitable Cities, Isa developed and led the Towards Equitable Electric Mobility (TEEM) Community of Practice and supported the Greenlining Institute’s capacity building projects.

Valeria Menendez is a Senior Associate at Equitable Cities. She has an impressive interdisciplinary background, holding a Master’s degree in Environmental Policy and Planning. She has a comprehensive understanding of environmental and social dynamics, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration. Valeria is currently working on the Virginia Walkability Institute in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health, and with various communities around the country through the US Department of Transportation’s Thriving Communities Program.

In this episode, I speak with farmer and activist Karen Washington about the deep roots of food injustice and the power of communities to create change. Ms. Washington shares why she coined the term “food apartheid,” which captures the human realities of race, economics, and systemic inequity that “food desert” overlooks. 

Noting that hunger is manmade, Ms. Washington emphasizes that change happens by shifting power. She does not dwell on complaints and instead focuses on finding solutions. Ms. Washington (AKA "Mama K") urges young activists to speak up, especially in today’s political climate, and to work collectively because power comes from community.

For over four decades, Karen Washington has worked to create a more equitable food system, especially in urban communities. She co-founded Black Urban Growers and Rise & Root Farm, and she’s been a champion for community gardens, urban agriculture, and the fight against food apartheid. Ms. Washington has won a James Beard Foundation Humanitarian award, an Emerson Collective Fellowship recognition, and the Black Women Green Future award to name just a few. 

Learn more about Karen Washington here.

In this episode, I sit down with Professor Shalanda Baker, Vice Provost for Sustainability and Climate Action at the University of Michigan, and one of the nation’s most influential voices in energy justice. Under the Biden-Harris administration, Professor Baker served as the Director of the Office of Energy Justice and Equity at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she where she architected groundbreaking federal efforts to embed justice and equity into national energy policy. 

Guided by heart, integrity, and experience, Professor Baker has spent her career ensuring that those most impacted by environmental harm are not just protected in the clean energy transition, but are active participants in shaping it.

We discuss the foundations of energy justice, how traditional energy systems create disproportionate burdens, and why community-led solutions are essential to a just and equitable clean energy transition.

Learn more about Professor Baker here.

In this episode, I speak with Christopher Chavez, Deputy Policy Director at the Coalition for Clean Air, about his journey from growing up in Long Beach to becoming a leading advocate for air justice in California. Drawing from personal experience in one of the state’s most polluted regions, Chavez shares what inspired him to enter public service and how his work today connects policy to the real-life impacts of air pollution.

We talk about why low-income communities and communities of color are hit hardest by air pollution, and the challenges of pushing clean air policies in the face of economic and political resistance. Chavez reminds us that economic growth and public health are not mutually exclusive and that meaningful change happens when communities speak up.

He also shares what the Coalition for Clean Air is currently working on and why the fight for clean air is far from over but full of possibility.

Learn more about Christopher Chavez here. 

In this episode, I'm joined by Chanell Fletcher, Deputy Executive Officer of Equity, Communities & Environmental Justice at the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Ms. Fletcher leads statewide efforts to ensure that all communities, especially those historically marginalized, have access to clean air and protection from climate harm.

We talk about how policies like redlining and zoning have created unequal air quality outcomes across California, and what it means to take an equity-first approach to environmental regulation. From AB 617 to community air monitoring programs, Ms. Fletcher breaks down how justice-driven policy can reshape our air, our neighborhoods, and our futures.

We also explore the role of community organizing and the importance of youth to lead the fight for environmental justice.

Learn more about Chanell Fletcher here.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Benjamin Pauli, Associate Professor at Kettering University and longtime environmental justice advocate, to unpack the Flint water crisis: what caused it, who was responsible, and how the people of Flint fought back. Dr. Pauli shares his insights as a researcher, activist, and Flint resident, tracing how unelected emergency managers made top-down decisions and how those decisions led to widespread water contamination and a breakdown in public trust. He also discusses the critical role grassroots activism and community organizing played in exposing the crisis. 

Dr. Pauli is the author of Flint Fights Back: Environmental Justice and Democracy in the Flint Water Crisis, president of the board of the Environmental Transformation Movement of Flint, and acting chair of the Flint Water System Advisory Council and vice-chair of the EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. 

Learn more about Dr. Pauli’s work here.

Check out his book, Flint Fights Back: Environmental Justice and Democracy in the Flint Water Crisis, here.