This article was jointly written by Stephanie Reese, Almeta E. Cooper, and Luz Drada.
It’s Women’s History Month, a time Moms Clean Air Force doubles down on what we do every month: Highlight the resilience, leadership, and impact of women in the environmental movement. Take these five powerful leaders, women at the forefront of current and historical movements addressing industrial pollution, public health disparities, and equitable environmental policy for neighborhoods that have been marginalized, which are often populated with Black, Latino, and Indigenous families. Some of these mighty five are known nationally and globally, while others are local heroes, not as much in the spotlight but no less incredible. All their stories are captivating, no matter the month.
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Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva, Indian physicist and social activist, founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy in 1982, an organization that promotes sustainable agricultural practices in India. She’s known for speaking out against Asia’s Green Revolution, an effort to increase food production with the extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers. Through her organization, she has offered local farmers an alternative to intensive farming with chemicals, establishing more than 40 seed banks across her country in an effort to preserve Indian agricultural heritage.
Vandana’s reach is global as she has written many books with an international following including, Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge, which explores the ethical and ecological implications of the exploitation of Indigenous knowledge and biological resources, like plants and animals, by corporations without proper compensation.
JoAnn Tall
JoAnn Tall, a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe from South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, has played a pivotal role in protecting Indigenous lands from environmental hazards. In 1987, she fought a proposed Honeywell nuclear weapons testing site in North Dakota’s Black Hills, raising awareness about the project through a Tribe-owned radio station. She also built a resistance camp at the site. These efforts ultimately led to the project’s abandonment.
With her group, the Native Resources Coalition, JoAnn also successfully opposed the development of hazardous waste landfills on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in the early 1990s. This work inspired other Tribal communities to resist similar environmentally detrimental projects—and earned JoAnn the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1993. She continues to inspire today.
Peggy Shepard
Peggy Shepard is often called the godmother of the environmental justice movement because she has dedicated four decades to championing environmental health and equity. Her activism first gained national attention 35 years ago when, on Martin Luther King Day in 1988, she led a protest blocking traffic to demand action on sewage pollution in Harlem. This was one of the earliest demonstrations to highlight environmental racism in the U.S., and it led her to found WE ACT for Environmental Justice later that year.
Peggy’s relentless advocacy for policies that protect public health and challenge systemic environmental inequities has shaped national conversations on environmental justice. Her unparalleled work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the 10th Annual Heinz Award for the Environment and the Jane Jacobs Medal for Lifetime Achievement.
Elizabeth Yeampierre
Elizabeth Yeampierre is an internationally recognized Puerto Rican attorney whose work emphasizes the intersectionality of environmental and racial justice. As the Executive Director of UPROSE, Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community-based organization, she has spent the last three decades empowering local communities to build climate resilience and advocating for sustainable development.
Under her leadership, UPROSE has successfully doubled the amount of open space in the Sunset Park neighborhood and launched initiatives like the Climate Justice and Community Resiliency Center following Superstorm Sandy. She co-chairs the Climate Justice Alliance and was the first Latina to chair EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Dr. Dorceta Taylor
Dr. Dorceta Taylor is the author of groundbreaking research on diversity in environmental organizations. Her book The Rise of the American Conservation Movement examines how environmental policies have historically intersected with social dynamics, like racism, classism, and gender discrimination. Her research has led major environmental organizations to acknowledge their own historically discriminatory practices and has also influenced local, state, and national policies that promote environmental equity and inclusion.
Dorceta’s work continues today. She’s currently a professor at the Yale School for the Environment, where she spearheaded the development of the People of Color Environmental Professionals: Profiles of Courage and Leadership database. She has received numerous accolades for her contributions, including the National Audubon Society Women in Conservation Award and the National Science Foundation Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.
Tell Congress: Protect Our Ability to Prepare for and Recover From Severe Weather Threats