EPA ADMINISTRATOR LISA P. JACKSON TO ADDRESS GREEN FOR ALL ACADEMY FELLOWS ON IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, July 14th, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will speak with leaders from low-income communities and communities of color at the Green For All Academy convening.

The three-day convening, which began on Monday, will focus on how to build an inclusive green economy and green movement. Green For All will cover topics ranging from the oil spill and the climate bill to the use of hip hop and art in fueling green activism in communities. Over the last three years, Green For All Academy graduates have organized approximately 1,000 events across the country to educate and mobilize low-income communities of color around climate solutions and green jobs.

“We find ourselves in a historical moment,” said Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green For All. “For those of us who care about justice, for those of us who want a better country, this is our moment, this is our movement.”

In the opening session of the convening on Monday, Nicole Godfrey with the New Orleans Council for Community and Justice spoke with tears in her eyes about the impact of the oil spill on her hometown, New Orleans. “We are losing our animals, our shores and our livelihoods," said Godfrey. "Now is the time we need to work to make a difference.”

Markese Bryant, a Green For All College Ambassador, helped to organize the convening.  “We need more cats from the hood to step up into leadership positions or we will be locked out of this new economy as we were locked out of the old economy, " Bryant said. "We have the opportunity right now to be a part of something bigger than we ever thought.”

In addition to EPA Administrator Jackson, other speakers include: political commentator Jeff Johnson of BET; Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy; and Michael Blake from the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Ellis-Lamkins noted, “Every person deserves the right to go to work, and not have to choose between his safety and putting food on the table. In the community where I grew up, this was not a choice we could make freely. That is why this convening of community leaders at this time in history is so important.”