About salish sea environmental equity and justice symposium
Addressing inequity and working toward environmental justice is essential to a successful environmental movement. Currently, there are significant disparities in the representation, content, and processes for implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the environmental field across the Salish Sea and the Pacific Northwest Coast. Although professionals in this field are aware and concerned about issues related to DEI, there is an overall lack of understanding for how to integrate these concepts into the environmental workforce. Addressing inequity and working toward environmental justice is essential to a successful environmental movement.
This event is intended for environmental researchers and educators, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, municipalities, Tribes and First Nations, practitioners, and consulting groups whose work is within the Salish Sea and Pacific Northwest Coast region.
Salish Sea Environmental Equity and Justice Symposium
November 15, 2019, 9AM-6PM
wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House
4249 Whitman Court, Seattle, WA 98195
Change from Within: Diversifying the Environmental Movement (public event)
November 14, 2019, 6:30PM-9:30PM
Seattle Aquarium
1483 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101
Contact Information:
Jasmmine Ramgotra, Symposium Planner
[email protected]
This event is intended for environmental researchers and educators, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, municipalities, Tribes and First Nations, practitioners, and consulting groups whose work is within the Salish Sea and Pacific Northwest Coast region.
Salish Sea Environmental Equity and Justice Symposium
November 15, 2019, 9AM-6PM
wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House
4249 Whitman Court, Seattle, WA 98195
Change from Within: Diversifying the Environmental Movement (public event)
November 14, 2019, 6:30PM-9:30PM
Seattle Aquarium
1483 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101
Contact Information:
Jasmmine Ramgotra, Symposium Planner
[email protected]
BACKGROUND AND WHO WE ARE
If we are to shift the paradigm of conservation to be a thriving movement, then diversity, equity, and inclusion needs to be embedded into the DNA of the Salish Sea and its conservation efforts. DEI is essential to ensure equitable and just conservation outcomes. At the 2018 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (SSEC), the panel Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Environmental Progress addressed questions of workplace culture, equitable hiring practices, retaining people of color within institutions, appropriate and equitable engagement with historically marginalized communities, roles and protocol for respecting and incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems, and the role of education within DEI strategies. The “standing room only” attendance indicated that there was a strong interest and need to continue these conversations around DEI within the environmental field in the Salish Sea region.
The following is the list of individuals who have participated in the planning of the Salish Sea Equity and Justice Symposium (in alphabetical order):
Sara Breslow - Social Science Lead, EarthLab
Sara Jo Breslow is an environmental anthropologist and transdisciplinarian broadly interested in the interdependencies of sustainability and social justice. She currently serves as the Social Science Lead at EarthLab at the University of Washington where she catalyzes collaborative environmental problem-solving. In her own research, Sara uses ethnographic and arts-based methods to study senses of place, environmental conflict, and human well-being with a focus on the Salish Sea region, and translates social science into tools for decision-making at local to global scales. Sara holds a BA in biology from Swarthmore College and a PhD in anthropology from the University of Washington.
Michael Chang - Climate Adaptation Specialist, Makah Tribe
Mike is the Climate Adaptation Specialist for the Makah Tribe. He is a queer, first-generation immigrant. He is aboriginal Taiwanese (Amis) on his maternal side and is trilingual. He has led the Makah Tribe's Climate Impacts Assessment and coordinates the climate adaptation and resiliency planning process across tribal departments and the Makah tribal community. He was an author for the Northwest chapter of the recent U.S. 4th National Climate Assessment, where he focused on highlighting climate impacts to Tribes and Indigenous peoples, cultural heritage, and frontline communities. In his free time, he loves to swim and is learning how to sail.
Ava Holliday - Founding Partner, Avarna Group
Ava (she/her) believes a sustainable future is dependent on simultaneously working towards social and environmental justice. She has devoted the last eight years to researching and working in this field. As a graduate student at the University of Washington in the department of Anthropology, Ava was able to deepen her understanding about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts and challenges in environmentalism, conservation, and outdoor recreation. At UW, she taught courses covering topics such as power, identity, environmentalism, health, and wilderness. She left graduate school to put theory into practice at the Avarna Group. In addition to her work at the Avarna Group, she has supported the LGBTQ Outdoor Summit and serves on the Next 100 Coalition. Throughout her academic and professional career, Ava has supported thousands of people and hundreds of organizations in service of deepening understanding of and cultivating skills to address oppression in environmentalism, conservation and outdoor education.
Nancy Huizar - Climate Justice Organizer, Got Green
Nancy is a south Seattle native with leadership experience in environmental justice. Nancy holds a degree in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences from the University of Washington. She has experience in research, policy, community organizing, and education and outreach. From 2016 to 2019 she served as a committee member on Got Green’s Young Leaders campaign where she worked to create Green Job Pathways for low income, youth of color. Nancy also co-chairs the City of Seattle’s Environmental Justice Committee. In her free time she likes to hang out with her dog and go for walks around Seattle.
Jasmmine Ramgotra - Founder, Culture SHIFT
Jasmmine Kaur Ramgotra (JASE) is the founder of Culture SHIFT, a digital dance and production company that uses movement to tell stories, start conversations, and spark individual action and behavior change. @jasecreations is focused on teaching emotional intelligence through movement, mindfulness, and activating energy with creative collaboration. Combining mediums from research, to movement, to music and live performance she creates multi-dimensional experiences that shift paradigms and lead to deep cultural change with a specific focus on environmental and social justice.
Melissa Watkinson, Chickasaw - Social Scientist, Washington Sea Grant
Melissa Watkinson (Chickasaw) is a social scientist with Washington Sea Grant where she supports the Olympic Coast Ocean Acidification Vulnerability study, a community-based participatory project with WA’s coastal treaty tribes. She also works on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to ensure that the environmental workforce is representative of the communities most impacted by climate change. Melissa has a master’s degree in policy studies from the University of Washington Bothell. In 2016, she completed the Hershman Marine Policy Fellowship at The Nature Conservancy. Melissa served on the City of Seattle’s Environmental Justice Committee from 2016-2019.
Dana Wu/吳 淑 如 - Community Outreach Coordinator, Seattle Aquarium
Dana (吳 淑 如; pronouns: she/her/they/them) identifies as queer, ethnically Teochew, and the eldest child of refugee parents displaced by and survived what some call the "Vietnam War".
Dana was raised on the ancestral homelands of the Tongva and Gabrielino tribes, and is a first-gen college graduate with Biology and Environmental Studies degrees. Dana's dedication to marine conservation led them to work with the Student Conservation Association and Olympic National Park, leading community science programs and coordinating marine debris removal projects along WA's wilderness coastline. As the Aquarium’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Dana connects historically disenfranchised partners with their local beaches and watersheds.
If we are to shift the paradigm of conservation to be a thriving movement, then diversity, equity, and inclusion needs to be embedded into the DNA of the Salish Sea and its conservation efforts. DEI is essential to ensure equitable and just conservation outcomes. At the 2018 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (SSEC), the panel Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Environmental Progress addressed questions of workplace culture, equitable hiring practices, retaining people of color within institutions, appropriate and equitable engagement with historically marginalized communities, roles and protocol for respecting and incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems, and the role of education within DEI strategies. The “standing room only” attendance indicated that there was a strong interest and need to continue these conversations around DEI within the environmental field in the Salish Sea region.
The following is the list of individuals who have participated in the planning of the Salish Sea Equity and Justice Symposium (in alphabetical order):
Sara Breslow - Social Science Lead, EarthLab
Sara Jo Breslow is an environmental anthropologist and transdisciplinarian broadly interested in the interdependencies of sustainability and social justice. She currently serves as the Social Science Lead at EarthLab at the University of Washington where she catalyzes collaborative environmental problem-solving. In her own research, Sara uses ethnographic and arts-based methods to study senses of place, environmental conflict, and human well-being with a focus on the Salish Sea region, and translates social science into tools for decision-making at local to global scales. Sara holds a BA in biology from Swarthmore College and a PhD in anthropology from the University of Washington.
Michael Chang - Climate Adaptation Specialist, Makah Tribe
Mike is the Climate Adaptation Specialist for the Makah Tribe. He is a queer, first-generation immigrant. He is aboriginal Taiwanese (Amis) on his maternal side and is trilingual. He has led the Makah Tribe's Climate Impacts Assessment and coordinates the climate adaptation and resiliency planning process across tribal departments and the Makah tribal community. He was an author for the Northwest chapter of the recent U.S. 4th National Climate Assessment, where he focused on highlighting climate impacts to Tribes and Indigenous peoples, cultural heritage, and frontline communities. In his free time, he loves to swim and is learning how to sail.
Ava Holliday - Founding Partner, Avarna Group
Ava (she/her) believes a sustainable future is dependent on simultaneously working towards social and environmental justice. She has devoted the last eight years to researching and working in this field. As a graduate student at the University of Washington in the department of Anthropology, Ava was able to deepen her understanding about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts and challenges in environmentalism, conservation, and outdoor recreation. At UW, she taught courses covering topics such as power, identity, environmentalism, health, and wilderness. She left graduate school to put theory into practice at the Avarna Group. In addition to her work at the Avarna Group, she has supported the LGBTQ Outdoor Summit and serves on the Next 100 Coalition. Throughout her academic and professional career, Ava has supported thousands of people and hundreds of organizations in service of deepening understanding of and cultivating skills to address oppression in environmentalism, conservation and outdoor education.
Nancy Huizar - Climate Justice Organizer, Got Green
Nancy is a south Seattle native with leadership experience in environmental justice. Nancy holds a degree in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences from the University of Washington. She has experience in research, policy, community organizing, and education and outreach. From 2016 to 2019 she served as a committee member on Got Green’s Young Leaders campaign where she worked to create Green Job Pathways for low income, youth of color. Nancy also co-chairs the City of Seattle’s Environmental Justice Committee. In her free time she likes to hang out with her dog and go for walks around Seattle.
Jasmmine Ramgotra - Founder, Culture SHIFT
Jasmmine Kaur Ramgotra (JASE) is the founder of Culture SHIFT, a digital dance and production company that uses movement to tell stories, start conversations, and spark individual action and behavior change. @jasecreations is focused on teaching emotional intelligence through movement, mindfulness, and activating energy with creative collaboration. Combining mediums from research, to movement, to music and live performance she creates multi-dimensional experiences that shift paradigms and lead to deep cultural change with a specific focus on environmental and social justice.
Melissa Watkinson, Chickasaw - Social Scientist, Washington Sea Grant
Melissa Watkinson (Chickasaw) is a social scientist with Washington Sea Grant where she supports the Olympic Coast Ocean Acidification Vulnerability study, a community-based participatory project with WA’s coastal treaty tribes. She also works on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to ensure that the environmental workforce is representative of the communities most impacted by climate change. Melissa has a master’s degree in policy studies from the University of Washington Bothell. In 2016, she completed the Hershman Marine Policy Fellowship at The Nature Conservancy. Melissa served on the City of Seattle’s Environmental Justice Committee from 2016-2019.
Dana Wu/吳 淑 如 - Community Outreach Coordinator, Seattle Aquarium
Dana (吳 淑 如; pronouns: she/her/they/them) identifies as queer, ethnically Teochew, and the eldest child of refugee parents displaced by and survived what some call the "Vietnam War".
Dana was raised on the ancestral homelands of the Tongva and Gabrielino tribes, and is a first-gen college graduate with Biology and Environmental Studies degrees. Dana's dedication to marine conservation led them to work with the Student Conservation Association and Olympic National Park, leading community science programs and coordinating marine debris removal projects along WA's wilderness coastline. As the Aquarium’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Dana connects historically disenfranchised partners with their local beaches and watersheds.