In alignment with the University of Michigan’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium's 2025 theme of "Restless Dissatisfaction: An Urgent Call for the Pursuit of Justice and Equality, the School for Environment and Sustainability and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program presented a panel discussion, “Paving the Way: Taking Bold Action Toward Environmental Justice,” on January 27 and featured transformative leaders in environmental justice, energy and sustainability:
- Shalanda H. Baker, U-M's first vice provost for sustainability and climate action and STPP faculty affiliate
- Tony G. Reames, SEAS associate professor, who served as deputy director for energy justice and principal deputy director for the Office of State and Community Energy Programs, U.S. Department of Energy, and STPP faculty affiliate
- Carla Walker-Miller, CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services
- Jalonne White-Newsome, the first federal chief environmental officer at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
- Maddie Miller (moderator), SEAS PhD candidate and the founder and CEO of NexTiles, a Detroit-based textile recycling company that converts textile waste into building materials and other eco-friendly products
Panelists spoke about the current environmental justice moment we are in, what inspired them to become EJ champions, the clean energy transition, and their calls to action to advance environmental justice. Read more and watch the full panel video.
A group of STPP students engaged in an informal lunchtime conversation with Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, former White House Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer at the Council on Environmental Quality. Students learned about Dr. White-Newsome's expansive career in environmental justice, ranging from private industry, academia, nonprofit advocacy, and government. The group discussed concrete actions that one can take in the present day to carry on this important work.
Read more and watch the full panel.