Environmental Justice and Community Engagement (E-Discuss, BYO/Potluck Lunch)

We all know we need a greener future.

But how do we enable a truly just transition? How do we meaningfully engage diverse communities in sustainability work?

Hear from environmental justice expert and former nonprofit attorney Marybelle Tobias in this E-Discuss lunchtime event.

This event will not be recorded, but if you can’t make it, you check out EJS work here: https://environmentaljusticesolutions.com/projects-2/

About the speaker:

Marybelle Tobias is an environmental and climate justice consultant with over 19 years of experience. As a nonprofit attorney, Marybelle represented community groups working on the State’s GHG reduction targets, shaped the California Climate Investment Program and Investment Guidelines, and provided detailed recommendations to government agencies regarding land use decisions and implementation of environmental and civil rights law. To shape development of California’s Climate Investment program, her work brought local, regional, and statewide coalitions together, securing robust investment guidelines, and hundreds of millions of dollars allocated to projects that benefit EJ communities across the state. Prior to consulting, Marybelle was a visiting professor of environmental justice at the International University College of Turin (Italy) and at UC Berkeley School of Law.

Marybelle founded Environmental Justice Solutions (E/J Solutions), a consulting firm, in 2017 to carry out equitable community engagement, and develop just, equitable, sustainable and inclusive initiatives in environmental, climate, housing, transportation, and civil rights policy. Marybelle graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in Political Science and a Political Theory concentration, where she received the Dean’s Award and was a McNair Scholar. She received her law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) and joined the California bar in 2007.

Project she has worked on include Community Outreach Services, Building Electrification & Targeted Gas Decommissioning Focus Groups for Ava Community Energy (then EBCE), Albany Targeted Gas Line Decommissioning for Equitable Electrification, San Leandro Community Climate Solutions project, West Oakland AB 617 Community Action Plan: Owning Our Air, Ava Community Energy (then EBCE) Alameda County Connected Communities Focus Groups, and the Millbrae Community Social Equity Committee & Social Equity Strategic Plan.

About E-Discuss:

E-Discuss is an informal potluck meetup of folks in sustainability with presentations on various topics. It started in dorm rooms at Stanford circa 2006 and has grown to a community of clean energy enthusiasts around the Bay. Usually events are weekday evenings; we are experimenting with a daytime event this month!

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