EPA Appoints New Members to National Environmental Justice Advisory Council
WASHINGTON (November 20, 2019) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the appointment of eight new members to the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC).
“The NEJAC provides vital feedback and advice to EPA on our efforts to improve public health and protect the environment. Every American deserves environmental justice, regardless of zip code or tax bracket,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “I am honored to welcome this accomplished group of professionals and look forward to learning from their perspectives as they contribute to the NEJAC mission.”
Established in 1993, the NEJAC provides advice and recommendations about broad, cross-cutting issues related to environmental justice to the EPA administrator. New members – who come from academia, community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, state and local governments, tribal governments, and industry – will serve for a one-year term.
EPA selected new members from a pool of approximately 100 highly qualified candidates. Selections were made in accordance with the NEJAC charter to achieve balance and diversity in terms of geographic location, gender, ethnicity, and stakeholder perspective.
The new NEJAC members and their affiliations are listed below:
Academia
• Deborah Markowitz, JD – University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont
• Benjamin Pauli, PhD – Kettering University, Flint, Michigan
Business and Industry
• Venu Ghanta – Duke Energy, Washington, District of Columbia
Community Based Organizations
• Pamela Talley – Lewis Place Historical Preservation Inc., St. Louis, Missouri
• Cemelli de Aztlan – El Paso Equal Voice Network, El Paso, Texas
Non-Governmental Organizations
• Jacqueline Shirley – Rural Community Assistance Corporation, Albuquerque, New Mexico
•Ayako Nagano – Common Vision and NorCal Resilience Network, Berkeley, California
Tribal Indigenous Governments and Organizations
• John Doyle – Little Big Horn College, Crow Agency, Montana
EPA would like to thank the following departing members of the NEJAC:
• Charles Chase, PhD – University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
• Mike Ellerbrock, PhD – Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
• Jill Witkowski Heaps, JD – Vermont Law School, Royalton, Vermont
• Dewey F. Youngerman III – Continental Maritime of San Diego, San Diego, California
• Erica Holloman – Southeast CARE Coalition, Newport News, Virginia
• Cynthia Kim Len Rezentes – Mohala I Ka Wai, Waianae, Hawaii
• Ellen Drew – Rural Communities Assistance Corporation, Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Rosalyn LaPier – Piegan Institute, Browning, Montana
For more information about the NEJAC: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice
For more information about applying for the NEJAC: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/nominations-nejac