New Voices for Climate Justice

On Thursday, February 6, 2020, KGNU and the Foundations for Leaders Organizing for Water and Sustainability (FLOWS) at Boulder’s University of Colorado Environmental Center held the New Voices for Climate Justice: A Community Conversation on Grassroots Leadership and Sustainability event in Boulder County at the Dairy Arts Center.

Sustainability leaders and technicians in the FLOWS group lead a conversation about engaging underrepresented voices in climate work and discussed their efforts to make real change on an individual and community level with diverse students and low-income residents. They also expanded on some of the stories featured during a year-long partnership with KGNU exploring a different paradigm within sustainability work.

Listen to the event audio below:

FLOWS founder Michelle Gabrieloff-Parish notes, “Underrepresented communities often are environmental leaders but we’re not really recognized as such. FLOWS highlights the leadership of underrepresented and low-income communities… It’s not actually unusual. Globally, this is what the sustainability movement looks like.”

Featured Panelists:

• Michelle Gabrieloff-Parish: FLOWS Founder and Assistant Director for Energy and Climate Justice at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Environmental Center
• Angela Maria Ortiz Roa: FLOWS Coordinator, Climate Justice Leaders Program member and Columbian immigrant
• Henry Torres: FLOWS Resident Technician, Superintendent Union Iron Worker, Mono Verde guitarist and Venezuelan immigrant
• Andrew “Q” Jones: FLOWS Resident Technician, EFAA maintenance worker and Boulder Macy’s Fulfillment/Dock Worker
• Peterson Jean: FLOWS Resident Technician, Construction Worker, Entrepreneur, Front Range Community College Student, Climate Justice Leaders Program member and Haitian immigrant

The FLOWS radio series, made possible by a grant from Boulder County, featured in-depth news stories and audio shorts on sustainability practices and tips with leaders from the FLOWS program. The community-designed and led project aimed to highlight the knowledge, practice, and traditions around resource sustainability that have been woven into the daily lives of low-income and immigrant communities. The project also aimed to address a gap in the public education landscape and flip the typical top-down approach by providing stories and productions on sustainability solutions from a community perspective.

Access the entire archives of the FLOWS Radio Series here.

More about FLOWS here.

Watch the event video:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download