Greening Youth Foundation (GYF) CEO and Founder Angelou Ezeilo, a leading expert on diversity, equity and inclusion in the conservation field, has joined Rachel’s Network as an advisor. Angelou is working to change the face of conservation in the United States and help young people of color find meaningful outdoor careers.
Rachel’s Network announced that it has awarded climate champion Annel Hernandez with its inaugural Catalyst Award. As associate director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance and member of the NY Renews coalition, Annel was one of the key players in the passage of New York’s new climate law passed in July 2019, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Rachel’s Network announced that it has awarded tribal attorney Tara Houska with its inaugural Catalyst Award. Tara (Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe) is former campaigns director of Honor the Earth, former advisor on Native American affairs to Bernie Sanders, and founder of Giniw collective, a grassroots, frontlines effort led by indigenous women to protect Anishinaabe territory from the destruction of Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands project.
Rachel’s Network announced that it has awarded environmental justice advocate Juliana Pino with its inaugural Catalyst Award. Juliana is policy director at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), a community-based frontline group that organizes for environmental justice and self-determination of immigrant, low-income, and working-class families. She was lead negotiator for low-income programs in the 2016 Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act, the most transformative piece of energy system legislation in the state’s history.
Rachel’s Network announced that it has awarded environmental policy leader Brionté McCorkle with its inaugural Catalyst Award. Brionté is the director of Georgia Conservation Voters (GCV) where she works to elect pro-environment candidates and hold elected officials accountable. In 2014, Brionté led the Georgia Sierra Club’s successful effort to expand Atlanta’s transit system.
Rachel’s Network announced that it has awarded safe drinking water advocate Maria Herrera with its inaugural Catalyst Award. Maria has devoted her career to addressing drinking water challenges in disadvantaged and rural farmworker communities. As the manager of community engagement and planning at Self-Help Enterprises, she and her team pioneered the Rural Communities Water Managers Leadership Institute, a program that helps communities in the San Joaquin Valley engage with and influence regional water planning and sustainability programs.
