To support the health, well-being, and sustainability of humanity, our ocean and Great Lakes depend on the actions we take now and require the knowledge, perspectives, and values of the communities most affected by environmental racism and climate change. Achieving justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion requires the marine and Great Lakes community examine its decision-making and power structures to ensure access to the resources, benefits, and opportunities that come from those structures. CHOW’s opening plenary will look at the historical lack of inclusion and the failure to center justice and equity in ocean and coastal conservation. The plenary will discuss how the broader ocean and Great Lakes community can work together toward collective action and equitable outcomes in the future.
Opening Remarks
- Brenda Mallory, JD, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Moderator
- Yoshitaka Ota, Ph.D., Director, Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, University of Washington EarthLab
Speakers
- Michael E. Roberts, President and CEO, First Nations Development Institute
- Jacqueline Patterson, Senior Director, Environmental and Climate Justice, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
- Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Founder and Executive Director, Azul
- Summer Lee Haunani Sylva, JD, Executive Director, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation