Environmental & Social Justice

Fellow, Fellows Advisory Committee

Bruni Pizarro

2017 Fellow
Bruni Pizarro (she/ella) is the Director of Brand Strategy & Partner at For La Diáspora, a creative studio that connects brands to the Latine community through culturally-driven design and bilingual communications. Her family migrated from...
Fellow

Mia Karisa Dawson

2017 Fellow
Mia Karisa Dawson is an urban human geographer and educator. Since receiving her doctorate in Geography in 2023 from the University of California, Davis, Mia received postdoctoral awards from the University of California, Los Angeles, and...
Fellow

Zineb Bouzoubaa

2017 Fellow
Zineb Bouzoubaa is a Senior Data Climate Specialist at Bloomberg, where she is part of the newly-formed GFANZ (Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero) team. In this role, she uses data to drive the global financial sector’s work to ensure...
Fellow Story

Cal Ag Roots program sparks critical dialogue on California's agricultural system

California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS) received two years of Switzer Leadership Grant support to launch a new staff position for Ildi Carlisle-Cummins as Director of the Cal Ag Roots program. Cal Ag Roots, created by Ildi, aims to put historical roots under current California food and farming movements by telling the stories of California's agricultural development in innovative, useful, and relevant ways.
June 2, 2017
Fellow, Fellows Advisory Committee

Genie Bey

2017 Fellow
Genie Bey is an environmental professional with over a decade of experience advancing climate adaptation, environmental justice, and community resilience across public and nonprofit sectors. She co-leads NOAA’s Climate Adaptation Partnerships (CAP) program, managing a national portfolio of interdisciplinary, community-engaged research focused on extreme heat, flooding, wildfire, and displacement. Genie holds an M.A. in Geography from California State University, Long Beach, and dual B.S. degrees in Urban Ecology and Environmental & Sustainability Studies from the University of Utah.
Fellow Story

Fuller finds socio-economic differences in toxic release inventory siting and emissions

Prior research has found that low socioeconomic status (SES) populations and minorities in some areas reside in communities with disproportionate exposure to hazardous chemicals. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relevance of socio-demographic characteristics on the presence of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, air releases, and prevalence and resolution of air quality complaints in the 20-county Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). We found that there were 4.7% more minority residents in census tracts where TRI facilities were located.
February 15, 2017
Fellow Story

North American Indigenous leaders share strategies and strengthen connections

The North American Community Environmental Leadership Exchange (NACELE), held October 14-17, 2013, convened Indigenous environmental practitioners from around North America in the Capay Valley, about 90 minutes from Berkeley, California. Thirty indigenous environmental leaders participated: tribal leaders, activists, ethnobotanists, NGO workers, scholars, young leaders, native scientists, cultural practitioners, and restoration ecologists. Attendees then took part in Bioneers 2013, and delivered a panel in its Indigenous Program.
November 9, 2016
Fellow Story

Climate Alliance maps Amazonian oil reserves and impacts of extraction

Dr. Tracey Osborne, partnering with Amazon Watch on the Climate Alliance Mapping Project, built a platform that factually and compellingly demonstrates the geographic footprint of Amazonian oil reserves and the human and natural resources its extraction threatens. Specific outcomes of this Switzer Leadership Grant project include:
October 27, 2016
Fellow Story

Greening cities makes for safer neighborhoods

Fellow J. Morgan Grove writes that within some neighborhoods, scientists are documenting a connection between trees and a specific social improvement: a reduction in crime. These studies combine modern mapping technology with spatial and economic statistics to compare crime levels between similar urban neighborhoods in the same city.
September 19, 2016
Fellow Story

Coleman quoted on potential deaths caused by food scarcity from global warming

Climate change-related food scarcity can lead to 500,000 deaths around the world by 2050, a new study has found. The research was the first to come up with an estimated number of deaths, based on changes in diet composition due to global warming.
June 29, 2016