As an organization committed to supporting the most marginalized leaders in the environmental movement, Rachel’s Network is appalled by recent moves to rollback DEI in the Trump administration. We stand with our grantee-partners and broader network in continuing to shine a light on injustice and ways to dismantle it. We will also continue to run the Catalyst Award, our annual program for women environmental leaders of color.
Rachel’s Network hosted its first in-person event exclusively for Catalyst awardees and finalists at the Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in November for a gathering focused on care and restoration for women environmental leaders of color.
Rachel’s Network announced the awardees and finalists of its 2024 Catalyst Award. The award honors women leaders of color for their commitment to a healthy planet, and provides them with financial support, wraparound leadership services, and public recognition.
Last week, the Supreme Court issued three decisions that have profoundly damaged our country’s ability to address pollution and climate change. We in the nonprofit sector must do all we can to shore up vulnerable communities in the face of these attacks.
In April, members Tacy Hahn and Kim Milligan joined an Earthjustice-organized trip to Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley”—an 85-mile corridor along the Mississippi River known for its heavy industry and high cancer rates. The trip introduced funders to the vast scale of petrochemical operations in the region and the grassroots leaders fighting for their communities. Tacy spoke with Rachel’s Network about her experience on the trip.