Welcome
The Yale Center for Environmental Justice is a joint undertaking between Yale School of the Environment and Yale Law School, in partnership with the Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration. YECJ is committed to strengthening institutional capacity to empower frontline communities to lead change by catalyzing partnerships and expanding interdisciplinary research, teaching, and practice in environmental justice. In addition, YCEJ promotes an expanded definition of environmental justice, recognizing the lived experiences and interconnected systemic inequities that shape environmental inequality.
Toward a Just Recovery:
Global Systems in Transition
Supported by The Graciela Chichilnisky Environmental Fund
in Honor of Natasha Chichilnisky-Heal
The 2021 Global Environmental Justice Conference at the Yale School of the Environment will focus on a just green recovery. As we emerge from the pandemic into the reality of climate disruption, it is clear that restarting the economy cannot mean a return to the status quo. Instead, leaders in government and policy, NGO’s, universities, the private sector, and grassroots coalitions have a pronounced opportunity to rethink how we live. Domestically and internationally, justice will be at the center of investments in the recovery, and this conference will investigate theories of change in energy and food justice. How do we get from the problems we diagnose to the solutions? How do those solutions address the real economic and physical challenges while keeping justice at the center?
Panelists will include scholars, practitioners, and activists at the forefront of building capacity for a just response. These interdisciplinary experts will consider the tasks necessary to advance food and energy justice in the face of climate disruption. The conference, supported by The Graciela Chichilnisky Environmental Fund in Honor of Natasha Chichilnisky-Heal, will be hosted in a hybrid format at the Yale School of the Environment and via Zoom and include interactive opportunities to engage the speakers and conference network.
Friday, October 29 8:30a.m. - 5:00p.m. EDT
Student
Opportunities
Academic Year Opportunities
The Environmental Justice Community Fellows Program employs Yale graduate students to do graduate-level environmental justice work or research with one of YCEJ’s local partner organizations. Student fellows work collaboratively on a partner-driven project with a host organization to co-develop solutions, usable knowledge, and resources. Students may work independently or collaboratively in pairs to bring complex, interdisciplinary approaches necessary to meet the scope and goals of the project. Student fellows typically work 5-7 hours a week from September to May including participation in a weekly reflective cohort of Yale students engaged in community-oriented work and research with local groups. Accepting Applications Now for 2021 – 2022 EJ Community Fellows! Currently enrolled YSE or YLS graduate students The Yale Center for Environmental Justice, led by Professor Gerald Torres, seeks a team of communications and events associates to amplify YCEJ’s goals through supporting effective communications and dynamic and engaging events during the fall semester. YCEJ is committed to catalyzing partnerships and expanding interdisciplinary research, teaching, and practice in environmental justice, strengthening institutional capacity to empower frontline communities to lead change. Our communications and events are essential to advancing these goals. YCEJ is looking for communications and events coordinators with the ability to connect this broader purpose with the small details that come together to make a meaningful experience. The event coordinators will work closely with YCEJ staff and the Global Environmental Justice conference planning team chaired by Gerald Torres and co-sponsored by the Yale Center for Climate Change and Health. Past conferences have drawn panelists and participants from around the globe. This year’s conference, Toward a Just Recovery: Global Systems in Transition will explore what a just recovery looks like in energy and food systems and perspectives from researchers and practitioners for how to get there. YCEJ will also be partnering with Centers, Programs, Learning Communities and others to host programming focused on reflective engagement with local groups actively involved in environmental justice work. Currently enrolled YSE or YLS graduate students or Yale undergraduate students The YCEJ Community Resource Lab partners with New Haven-based groups and institutions to advance community participation in decision-making. Community Resource Fellows work with partners to identify priorities and co-develop resources and tools to support strategic planning, communication, and advocacy. Participatory mapping processes are a centerpiece of this work. YCEJ matches Community Resource Fellows with a local partner and fellows meet weekly as a lab to deepen their learning and apply their skills across projects. Fellows also participate in a weekly reflective cohort of Yale students engaged in community-oriented work and research with local groups. As participants in this year’s pilot, Community Resource Fellows will greatly contribute to iteratively designing the Lab’s structure and processes. Currently enrolled YSE or YLS graduate students, currently enrolled undergraduate students by invitation The 2021-2022 Lab is full As part of a pilot program for Yale, CBEY launched a certificate in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy (FDCE) in July 2019. The first two cohorts of working professionals from across the clean energy sector graduated in May 2020 and 2021. 160 participants in the FDCE ’22 cohort will join their ranks at the start of this year’s academic program in July. As the second year of delivery of the FDCE program is drawing to a close, CBEY and the Yale Center for Environmental Justice (YCEJ) are collaborating on the creation of additional online courses on energy justice and clean energy development. The Energy Justice Course will be led by Gerald Torres. This position will support the development and production of case studies on energy justice for the online course, likely based both on interviews and documentary (desktop) research, and with a specific focus on clean energy deployment and financing. In addition, this position will support the delivery of an energy justice speaker series for the upcoming academic year. This position is expected to promote collaborative approaches to support the development of an on-campus course on energy justice as necessary. Yale graduate (matriculated) students only. This position is not open to undergraduate students or alums. 10 The YSE Environmental Justice Student Research Fellowship supports Masters and Doctoral students at the Yale School of the Environment doing research focused on environmental justice. Grants of up to $5000 are awarded competitively each year to eligible students. Recognizing that the field of environmental justice is broad and multidisciplinary, we welcome proposals from students across disciplines interested in researching a range of issues significant to social and environmental justice. This fellowship was established in 2019 by the Environmental Justice and Health Initiative and continues to support student research dedicated to environmental justice. March 9, 2022 at 1PM Eastern All Environmental Justice Student Research Fellowship applications must be submitted via the Yale Student Grants Database. Use the keywords “environmental justice” to find the listing. Please begin the application and document upload process early to avoid overloading the site in the minutes before the deadline. You may save incomplete drafts prior to submitting. Changes to the Fellowship will be announced in October 2021. Information coming soon
Environmental Justice Community Fellows
About the Environmental Justice Community Fellows Program
Who Can Apply?
Key Information
How to apply:
YCEJ Communications and Events Associate
Position Overview
Who can apply?
Key Information
Community Resource Lab
YCEJ Community Resource Lab Overview
Who Can Apply?
Key Information
YCEJ/CBEY Energy Justice Associate
General FDCE Program Information
Who can apply?
Hours/Week
Other Opportunities
YSE Environmental Justice Research Fellowship
Overview
Due Date:
To Apply:
Get Involved in New Haven
2021 Fall Course Guide
YCEJ promotes a broad definition of environmental justice recognizing the lived experiences and interconnected systemic inequities that shape environmental inequality. Courses across disciplines contribute to a complex understanding of environmental injustices and approaches to change.
We offer a selection of relevant courses across Yale in our 2021 Fall Course List.
The courses listed here explicitly engage with questions of justice or equity in environmental regulation or design or emphasize the communities included in environmental justice communities. Please note that this list does not include all classes important for doing comprehensive environmental justice work. Students seeking to pursue an environmental justice career pathway should also consider technical courses in science, engineering, public health or finance related to their area of focus. Consultation with your faculty or specialization advisor and affiliated center faculty is recommended to guide your course selection.
The People, Equity, and the Environment Specialization at YSE has an excellent course guide for students developing expertise in the social sciences including historical processes, power dynamics and changing societal values.
The Environmental Humanities Initiative at Yale also puts together a fantastic course guide each semester that can be found here.
For a full list of university-wide courses, see https://courses.yale.edu/
About Us
The Yale Center for Environmental Justice is a joint undertaking between Yale School of the Environment and Yale Law School, in partnership with the Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration. YECJ is committed to strengthening institutional capacity to empower frontline communities to lead change by catalyzing partnerships and expanding interdisciplinary research, teaching, and practice in environmental justice. In addition, YCEJ promotes an expanded definition of environmental justice, recognizing the lived experiences and interconnected systemic inequities that shape environmental inequality.
YCEJ brings this perspective to four priority areas:
1
Improve environmental decision-making using different disciplines to address areas of process failure
2
Create opportunities for engaged research and experiential learning in partnership with local environmental justice groups
3
Create links to indigenous environmental groups globally and tribal nations in the United States to address environmental justice issues as they arise in this specific legal and policy context
4
Advance just transitions in energy and food systems in the face of climate disruption with a focus on the connection between clean energy, food security, and food sovereignty
YCEJ currently hosts the Global Environmental Justice Conference and leads student programs to support career pathways in environmental justice including the Environmental Justice Community Fellows, Community Resource Lab, and the YSE Environmental Justice Research Fellowship. Currently, YCEJ is partnering with the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale (CBEY) to develop an energy justice module for the Financing and Deploying Clean Energy Certificate Program.
