This session will focus on the uneven impact of environmental issues on communities across the U.S. Key topics of discussion will address the unequal effects of COVID-19, raise questions about who gets access to basic resources (clean water and air), as well as the prevalence of food deserts across the country. Topics will also address how the AANHPI community specifically is affected by these phenomena.
Note: All WLP Sessions will be recorded live.
Destiney Mack, a 24-year-old Dallas, Texas native, climate organizer with the Sunrise Movement. A national campaign to advance a livable future and good jobs for all through a Green New Deal. A graduate of Salem College, Destiney completed her B.A in Environmental Studies with a concentration on policy and advocacy. She is fascinated by the complexity of human and environmental interactions and works to combat the inequities of social and ecological degradation. Destiney focused her research on ecology, sustainability, conservation and, most important to her, environmental justice. At Sunrise Movement, Destiney supports cultural transformation to help Sunrisers to see themselves as drivers of justice, equity, and anti-oppression. She works with partner organizations to design political education to strengthen Sunrise’s organizing towards our collective fight towards liberation. She enjoys using her communication and organizational skills to serve her family and local community by being an advocate against inequity. Along with her love for organizing, she enjoys bike riding, hiking, and anything outdoors and hopes to get a dog this year. Follow Destiney at Instagram: _destineymack Twitter: desme_ Facebook: Destiney Mack
Rozette De Castro is currently an International Government Relations Specialist at Ocean Conservancy, a conservation nonprofit headquartered in Washington D.C. Her work focuses on community engagement around combating plastic pollution in Vietnam as well as strategic research, planning and policy analysis for the organization’s International Government Relations team. Rozette holds a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley and when not in front of her work laptop- she is out hiking or sitting at local coffee shops daydreaming of her next beach adventure. Follow Rozette at @zettedecastro (Twitter)
Lealani Manuta was born and raised on Ramaytush Ohlone lands (aka San Francisco). After getting her B.A. in Community Studies at the University of CA, Santa Cruz Lealani became an environmental educator with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, a Bay Area regional and international solidarity community organizer. She is the founder of the Serve the Sounds podcast, co-facilitator of the Migratory Story, Urban Trail Blazers, Voiceover and Point Reyes National Science Adventure programs at the Crissy Field Center. Lealani serves as the co-chair for FACES, Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity and does communications work for OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates in San Francisco. Her day job consists of amplifying untold and hidden hxstories of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and San Francisco/Bay Area for youth and their families. She organizes within the seams and bridges of racial solidarity/equity, Asian American & Pacific Islander legislative advocacy and environmental justice. Please contact her at lealanidm@gmail.com for environmental justice and environmental racism workshops and other speaking engagements. Follow Lealani at @baylani_lealani
Lynette Pham currently works as the Regional Field Organizer at Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii. She has previously worked for the Alaska Democratic Party and Alaska Young Democrats and engaged in coordinating events and programs with the Alaska Youth for Environmental Action.
Vic Vong is Greenlining’s 2020-2021 Environmental Equity Fellow, centering communities on the frontlines of climate change through proactive and targeted investments in social and built infrastructure. Vic is a sociologist and policy analyst hailing from Occupied Duwamish Land, also called Seattle. Using their expertise on holistic community engagement, Vic is currently advising the City of Santa Cruz on integrating equity into their 2030 Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Vic brings expertise in advancing environmental equity through grassroots organizing, community-based organizations, and federal agencies. During the COVID-19 crisis, Vic experienced and witnessed how public health crises multiplied existing racial and social disparities. Vic’s other interests include making environmental justice memes, seeing how plants and animals (including humans) change over time, and smelling flowers. Follow Vic at Twitter @vongvic, IG: vicsaffirmations