Who is the Northwest Environmental Justice Center?

Written By Emily Irish

By Tyler Wagner, Interim Co-Director of the Northwest Environmental Justice Center

“Our region already possesses the community leadership, knowledge, and people power to proactively work toward thriving futures.”

When I first started working for the Northwest Environmental Justice Center (NWEJC), our co-director Lynny Brown shared this sentiment with me. Our starting point for our region and our Center’s work lies in the strength, knowledge, and power that already exists within each of you reading this. 

HOW CAN THE NWEJC HELP?

The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Grant (EJCPS) is a program that provides funding for activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms. Unite Oregon is a nonprofit, led by people of color, immigrants and refugees, rural communities, and people experiencing poverty, that works across Oregon to build a unified intercultural movement for justice. Unite Oregon had a perfect project for the Collaborative Problem Solving program to establish climate resilience hubs, yet Unite Oregon didn’t hear about the opportunity until late in the application process. The NW Environmental Justice Center was able to coach Unite in turning their project into a successfully funded EPA proposal.

Yet, in this time of increasing and intersectional justice issues, there are persistent roadblocks that so many in our region face. Sometimes you just need more people power to solve a problem. Sometimes you just need a chunk of money to plant the trees, clean up toxic dumps, or build the solar panels on the preschool. And even when there is money, it can be a convoluted process for communities to get from all that possibility to effectively producing and seeing the change they desire.

We know communities across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are already working hard to organize, address environmental injustices, and create a more just future. Leadership within Tribal governments, rural municipalities, community-based organizations (CBOs), and many other communities across our region have, now and throughout history, been stepping up to address these needs. Many of us within the NWEJC are part of these communities too, and have been part of this work. Now, through the NWEJC, we are here to support you. To meet community needs, the Center is actively listening, collaborating, and finding solutions alongside you. Together, we can build the connections needed to look generations into the future where all communities can thrive—no exceptions.

A key part of the Northwest Environmental Justice Center is our network of state organizers that will lead the outreach and relationship-building efforts essential to our work. Each state organizing team has designed an outreach plan that matches the unique cultures, geography, and needs to reach EJ communities where they are at. So who are our organizing teams?

Willamette Partnership working with the Coquille Tribe at their Climate Action Task Force Retreat

State organizers will be available to communities through virtual meetings, phone, and email. They will be on the ground in communities, organizing events, and joining existing events near you. We’ve also partnered with Linguava, an organization that works with certified interpreters, to ensure our organizers can support communities, in real-time, across dozens of languages.

Organizers and their outreach is an essential part of the Northwest Environmental Justice Center and our commitment to EJ communities. But no matter how people find out about the Center - whether it is through an organizer, word of mouth, social media, or other routes, we are just glad you have found us and we’re here to work with you. Even if we’re not the right folks to help you out, we’ll help you find the support that you need.

So how can we be of service?

1:1 Pro Bono Technical Assistance

  • Through our network of partner organizations we will provide direct technical assistance projects to environmental justice communities that range from light-touch navigating communities to existing resources, to medium-touch preparation for receiving federal funds or updating community needs assessments, to more-intensive supports for policy analysis or construction projects. You can request technical assistance on our website. If you’re not sure if your request fits within the technical assistance we can provide, we encourage you to ask us or fill out an intake form anyway and we’ll follow up with you.

    Cohort Learning and Leadership Development

  • We will offer cohort learning groups where environmental justice community leaders and organizations can participate in training, be part of a facilitated community of practice for a year or longer, and access tools and assistance. Each annual cohort will include 10-20 participants. Our cohorts will include:

    • Money, Finding It and Using It

    • Policy Navigation

    • Environmental Justice Leadership Institute

    • Data Justice

Resource Hub

  • Our website will consolidate information to make it easily accessible and will include a self-guided resource list and funding opportunities for quick searching. Our social media and monthly newsletter will share key updates and information regularly.

    Ethical Storytelling and Accountability

  • We will provide resources and assistance for communities to tell and amplify their own stories. We’ll uplift stories of success, innovation, and healing that are happening all over our region. We’ll also honor our responsibility to utilize our elevated platform to advocate for the needs and goals of communities to agency leadership. 


We’re excited to work alongside you and your community at this important time on this essential work. Let us know, how can we be of assistance to you?

Emily Irish
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