Our Story
NJEJA's Beginnings
We welcome you to our story, our beginnings, to the essence that brought this alliance together: a heart-felt desire for justice and community.
These stories pay homage to the EJ organizers and advocates that started NJEJA, who have been fighting the same fight for the last 19 years; and who continue to fight and push towards Environmental Justice for our communities.
Sharing our stories is a form of resistance and reclamation of our narratives. It is an expression of joy, solidarity, and community care.
Milestones
NJEJA’s Milestones are breakthroughs that represent our unwavering commitment to environmental justice and our communities
We owe these successes to the perseverance and dedication of EJ organizers, community leaders, and advocates who continue to volunteer their time and labor to the advancement of the EJ Movement
The accomplishments we’ve highlighted built the pathway to the historic passing of the first Environmental Justice and Cumulative Impacts Law in New Jersey and nationwide, a victory in the long struggle of the EJ movement.
As you learn more about our past work, we invite you to join us in the fight for Environmental Justice as we focus on building healthy and equitable communities for current and future generations.
Future Ahead
NJEJA’s work is rooted in its early beginnings and significant milestones. In 2022, we marked 20 years of EJ advocacy and work in NJ! We are grateful, honored, and appreciative of the trust EJ communities have placed in us over the years.
NJEJA will expand its activities, engage its communities further, and create spaces for EJ communities to convene.
We are also calling on the youth of New Jersey to join us in learning, building, and fighting for Environmental Justice. The future of NJEJA depends on passing down the torch to the energy of future generations.
Vision
The New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA) is committed to working together on creating healthy, sustainable and just communities by eliminating environmental injustices in low income and communities of color.
Mission
The New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance is an alliance of New Jersey-based organizations and individuals working together to identify, prevent, and reduce and/or eliminate environmental injustices that exist in communities of color and low-income communities. NJEJA will support community efforts to remediate and rebuild impacted neighborhoods, using the community’s vision of improvement, through education, advocacy, the review and promulgation of public policies, training, and through organizing and technical assistance.
- NJEJA was founded by a broad-based group of community, (traditional) environmental, faith, labor, academic, and civil rights organizations and individuals concerned about the increasing siting of toxic and hazardous facilities in communities of color and low-income communities. Many of these communities (also called “EJ communities”) were already burdened with large concentrations of pollution and the adverse health, economic, educational, and overall quality of life impacts associated with pollution.
- NJEJA is a statewide alliance of organizations and individuals focused on critical environmental justice issues. In addition to addressing statewide issues, the organization also works on local concerns in north, central, and south Jersey.
- NJEJA provides direct leadership and support on a host of environmental and policy efforts throughout EJ communities in New Jersey.
- NJEJA is not only geographically diverse but is also the only statewide environmental organization in New Jersey that has a significant number of people of color in its membership and leadership. This diversity is one of NJEJA’s most important assets and allows us to bring a unique perspective to issues that is otherwise often absent in mainstream environmental policy discussions within New Jersey.
Through the efforts of NJEJA and its organizational partners, there is now a New Jersey Environmental Justice Movement that continues to take action to ensure that all New Jersey residents, regardless of their race, color, ethnicity, religion, or economic status, are able to live, work, play, worship, and attend school in clean, safe, healthy, and sustainable environments.
Our Values
Environmental Justice Principles
Delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held on October 24-27, 1991, in Washington DC, drafted and adopted 17 principles of Environmental Justice. Since then, The Principles have served as a defining document for the growing grassroots movement for environmental justice.
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Jeméz Principles For Democratic Organizing
On December 6-8, 1996, forty people of color and European-American representatives met in Jemez, New Mexico, for the “Working Group Meeting on Globalization and Trade.” The following “Jemez Principles” for democratic organizing were adopted by the participants.
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Statewide Policy Platform
NJEJA has developed numerous policy recommendations intended to improve the environmental quality, public health, and well-being of residents in communities of color and low-income communities — i.e., environmental justice (EJ) communities — which are often overburdened by disproportionate environmental pollution.
Our Team
Staff
Melissa Miles (she/her)
Executive Director
Melissa Miles (she/her) is an Environmental and Climate Justice advocate who began her career as a community organizer while living in an environmental justice community in Newark, New Jersey. She holds an MA in Anthropology from The New School, yet maintains that her knowledge of EJ is rooted in her lived experience, the training she received from veteran organizers, and her accountability to her community. Melissa is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, an organization with a history of leadership in the local and national EJ movement. She is a recipient of the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for her work on the landmark Environmental Justice Law (2020). She serves as co-chair of the NJDEP Environmental Justice Advisory Council, a steering committee member of Coalition for Healthy Ports, the grassroots co-chair and a steering committee member of Building Equity and Alignment for EJ (BEA), and is the EJ Director for the NJ Reparations Council. Melissa is also a proud alum of the inaugural cohort of the EJ Disrupt Design Fellowship of the Tishman Environment and Design Center at the New School.
Sarah Baldwin (she/her)
Director of Operations
Sarah Baldwin (she/her) is an environmental justice advocate with experience in both the federal and non-profit sectors. Her knowledge of EJ has been informed by her background in constituent advocacy for immigrant communities, as well as her history of organizing for climate justice.
Sarah is a Master's candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, and holds a BA in political science and English from Bucknell University. Her past work and activism focus on the intersection of environmental justice and health inequities in overburdened communities.
Oriana Holmes-Price (she/her)
Director of Organizing
Oriana (she/her) joins the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance as the Director of Organizing, prioritizing community engagement, public education, and statewide and national coalition management pertinent to our waste justice, energy, and ports campaigns. A New Jersey native passionate about transformative and restorative social and environmental justice, Oriana brings extensive experience from her time in corporate, nonprofit and government spaces working to advance equitable and community driven programming. Working most recently as the External Affairs Coordinator for an offshore wind developer, Oriana has sharpened her skills in strategic stakeholder engagement and public affairs, building successful statewide relationships and partnerships.
Oriana has previously served as a student activist, leading the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG Students) as the State Board Chair, State Board Vice Chair, and two times as the Rutgers-Camden Chapter Chair advocating for social and environmental change. She also brings experience from her time working on a Congressional campaign and interning in the Office of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. Oriana obtained her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Legal Studies and a certification in National Security as well as her M.S. in Public Affairs and Community Development from Rutgers-University Camden.
Brooke Helmick (she/her)
Director of Policy
Brooke serves as the Director of Policy for NJEJA. In this role, she works to further education, advocacy, and policies that prioritize justice and equity for New Jersey's low-income communities and communities of color.
Prior to joining NJEJA, she worked as a Research Assistant for Princeton University Bridging Divides Initiative, as a Community Engagement Graduate Intern for All In Together, and as a Policy Fellow and Disability Rights Advocate for the Los Angeles City Civil, Human Rights, and Equity Department.
Brooke earned her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Gender Studies with minors in Global Studies and Theatre. Her research at UCLA focused on the disproportionate impact of climate change and climate-related risk on women of color, particularly those in the Global South. She went on to earn her M.A. in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights where she published her thesis highlighting the relationship between social wellness and rates of extremism to identify policy mechanisms for community safety, violence prevention, and democratic stability.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and hiking as well as engaging in the arts as a method for healing, transformation, and social change.
Halimah Shabazz (she/her)
Green Careers Program Manager
Halimah is an environmental justice advocate. Her background as a sustainability professional allows her to intersect with environmental and human systems. She has a LEED Green Associate Certification, which foundationally introduces aspects of how the built environment has created disparities within marginalized communities. She has experience working in local government and the nonprofit space, fostering programs and operations around climate change and environmental justice.
Halimah earned a Master of Science in Sustainability Science, Sustainability Leadership from Montclair State University. Her previous work focused on brownfield redevelopment, environmental justice, social equity, and renewable energy.
Emily Koai (she/her)
SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER
Emily (she/her) serves as the Special Projects Manager for NJEJA.
Originally pursuing marine sciences, she sought to delve into wetland conservation and flood prevention efforts. This journey eventually led her to human ecology, where she explored new perspectives on climate-related events. Along this path, she actively engaged in research on diverse topics such as food insecurity and social vulnerability.
Emily is committed to supporting existing advocacy, education, and outreach efforts through her work, hobbies, and relationships.
She holds a B.S. in Environmental Policy, Institutions, and Behavior from Rutgers- New Brunswick.
Quiya Harris (she/they)
Green Careers VISTA
Quiya is excited to join the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance as the Green Careers VISTA through EngageNJ. She is an environmental justice advocate and is committed to supporting outreach and youth engagement initiatives. Quiya earned a Bachelor's degree in Sustainable Development from Columbia University. Her previous experience at Columbia includes environmental consulting and a research assistantship studying Freedom Schools. In her free time, Quiya enjoys spending time in nature and reading.
Ayomiposi Oluwakuyide (she/her)
Policy VISTA
Posi joins NJEJA as an EngageCorps Policy VISTA. In this role, she hopes to engage in policy work that helps address climate issues that are disproportionately affecting low-income communities as well as contribute to community-driven initiatives that empower intentional and effective changes in legislation.
Posi recently earned her B.A. in Economics from Washington and Lee University. Her academic career at W&L was focused on understanding the causes and consequences of poverty, leading her to engage in projects that ranged from understanding racial disparities in access to food assistance programs in her area to investigating the affects of representation, or lack thereof, on quality of humanitarian assistance provided. She has both research and policy experience, and she is committed to being a supportive member of this team.
Interns
Jodi Siegel (she/her)
Hi! My name is Jodi Siegel and I am a rising senior at Bucknell University. I am an Environmental Studies major and Dance/ Political Science minor at Bucknell, and I am so excited to get started as a Policy Intern with the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance. A fun fact about me is that I have been a dancer since the age of three and I am currently Co-Captain of the Bison Girls Dance Team at school!
Leel Dias (he/him)
Leel is a rising sophmore at Columbia University studying environmental science. At Columbia, Leel works for the Climate School's Environmental Justice Network and works in the Schaefer Cosmo Lab at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Leel is also leads Columbia's Hub of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led movement fighting to stop the climate crisis. Leel enjoys playing cello, spending time in nature, and going on long runs (also in nature!).
Board Of Trustees
Co-Founder & President of NJEJA, Member of Coalition for Healthy Ports Steering Committee. Member of EJ Leadership Forum on Climate Change; Director, Center for the Urban Environment at Thomas Edison State College. Primary organizer, EJ and Science Initiative and Northeast EJ Attorneys Group. Member, NJ Clean Air Council, USEPA’s National EJ Council and Clean Air Act Advisory Committee. Recipient of USEPA Region 2 Environmental Achievement Award. B.A. Economics, Princeton University; J.D. , Harvard Law School; MPP, Kennedy School, Harvard University; Ph.D., Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.
Ana is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management graduate program at The New School University. She also serves as the Associate Director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School. Prior to The New School she served as the Director of Environmental Justice and Community Development at the Ironbound Community Corporation, in her hometown of Newark, NJ. Ana’s professional practice is focused on advancing environmental justice through collaborative work with communities on issues ranging from cumulative impacts, air pollution, local planning tools and zero waste systems. Her current practice includes research on the equity implications of state level climate and energy policies and the launch of a national environmental justice movement fellowship for EJ activists around the country. Ana serves on the 4th New York City Panel on Climate Change as well as the Board of Trustees for the Ironbound Community Corporation, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and the Victoria Foundation.
Kerry’s prior positions include serving as Executive Director (League of Women Voters of New Jersey), Urban Project Director (Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions), Executive Director (Asbury Park Consortium), and Community Organizer, (Ironbound Community Corporation and the Ironbound Committee Against Toxic Waste.) Notably, she produced the award-winning documentary entitled, “Greetings from Asbury Park” shown throughout the country and on PBS in 2009, and assembled the same crew to create “Storming for the Vote: Hurricane Sandy and the Election” for the LWVNJ in 2013.
Theodore (Ted) Carrington, former VP of NJ NAACP, is a long-time civil rights and environmental activist and former director of GreenFaith’s Environmental Justice Program. Ted is particularly skilled at speaking with African American and Latino congregations about environmental concerns. In his role at GreenFaith, he engaged faith-based and environmental groups about issues of environmental racism and injustice.
For the past four years, Cynthia has served as Co-Chair of the City of Newark Environmental Commission. She previously served as Policy Coordinator for the Climate Justice Alliance–a national organization that links over 70 frontline communities–and as Environmental Justice Organizer for the Ironbound Community Corporation. She holds a Masters in Sociology of Law from the Instituto Internacional de Sociología Jurídica of Spain and a certificate in Urban Agriculture from Farm School NYC. She serves on the Steering Committee of the NJ Latino Action Network, where she chairs the Environmental Justice Committee.
Ingrid has a JD from Vermont Law School, where she concentrated her studies on water law and property law. She has experience working with environmental legislation and lands preservation. Ingrid received her MA in International Relations at The New School. Ingrid also brings a decade of experience in wealth management. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Ingrid has lived in Europe and South America. She speaks German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Partners & Collaborators
NJEJA works with grassroots social justice frontlines groups, who support reduction of environmental harms. If you are interested in working with NJEJA, click here.
Grassroots Partners
- Ironbound Community Corporation
- South Ward Environmental Alliance
Coalitions
- Coalition for Healthy Ports (CHPS)
- Moving Forward Network (MFN)
- EJ Leadership Forum
- Building Equity and Alliance for Impact
Institutional Partners
- Center for Urban Policy at Kean
- The New School Tishman Environment & Design Center
- EOHSI at Rutgers
- LAN - Latino Action Network
- NAACP