EJ Academy
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What is the EJ Academy?
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) partnered to launch the first Environmental Justice Academy in Region 5. Through a series of nine modules, EJ Academy participants cultivate skills to identify environmental challenges and accomplish environmental improvement goals in their communities. The academy encourages collaborative problem-solving with local government, small businesses, academic institutions, and industry to create a shared vision among different stakeholders so that all parts of a community have a voice in addressing local environmental concerns.
The EJ academy has been a wonderful opportunity to bridge language from my background in environmental science to my passion for justice work and my work at the community foundation.
– Cait Botschner, Dayton Foundation
I’m very excited about implementing education, training, and awareness about environmental justice.
– Gayle Covington Fowler, Chief Engagement Officer, Just a Minute to Care
The program teaches the collaborative process, it teaches communities to empower themselves and it’s just a wonderful tool for networking and for environmental professionals, activists, and leaders.
– Justin Thompson, Student
The EJ Academy teaches participants:
- To leverage human, social, intellectual, technical, legal, and financial resources to make long-term progress in a community.
- To use consensus-building processes and skills to help ensure successful collaboration and negotiations.
- To increase capacity to address communities’ environmental and/or public health issues.
- A basic understanding of environmental justice and environmental regulations.
Following successful completion of the EJ Academy, the 21 graduates
- Completed a community portfolio, which may assist in securing funding, identifying community resources and challenges and establishing credibility among stakeholders.
- Completed an action plan to guide organizational activities.
- Identified and secured potential partners to assist with addressing their challenges.
- Networked with regional community leaders.
- Received individualized feedback, guidance, and assistance from a variety of experts, from EPA and other organizations.
2022 Themes
Among other topics, 2022 EJ Academy graduates learned
- how Dayton area communities addressed food insecurity and built consensus by creating the GEM City Co-op Market
- how to develop meaningful stakeholder relationships in local state transportation projects ex: Martin Luther King and I-71 interchange in Cincinnati
- about community advisory committees and collaboration across the Dayton area Superfund sites.
- to develop a project that addresses a local environmental or public health injustice and presented the projects to local funders.
- Winners:
- I Can’t Breathe (Taylor Curtis) -Webinar series on climate justice
- We want Justus (Courtney Rutledge)- EJ case law database
- Old North Dayton Mural (Jerry Bowling III)- mural depicting history of community
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Debra Shore, EPA Administrator speaking to an EJ Academy graduate
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Omar Muhammad, Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities
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Alfred Saucedo, EPA (left) speaking to EJ academy graduate
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Brian O' Martin, Executive Director, Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission mingling
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EJ Academy graduates
How can I find out more information?
For more information, please email R5 EJ Academy (R5_EJAcademy@epa.gov) or Elizabeth Poole (poole.elizabeth@epa.gov), 312-353-2087.