The Yale Center for Environmental Justice (YCEJ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Terry Yasuko Ogawa as its new Program Manager, effective December 1, 2025. A seasoned leader with a unique multidisciplinary background spanning environmental and cultural justice, spiritual leadership, and community-based advocacy, Rev. Ogawa brings over two decades of experience in bridging the gap between institutional policy and grassroots community needs.
Ogawa joins YCEJ at a pivotal moment as the Center expands its capacity to support frontline communities and students through the “Global EJ/Environmental Joy Congress” and the Collaborative Clinic for Non-Profit Viability, which supports environmental justice and Indigenous organizations across the United States. She will expand strategic partnerships, grow student engagement and service, and strengthen operational excellence, ensuring the Center’s programs are resourced for long-term impact.
“Terry’s rare combination of operational environmental justice experience in, for example, coastal management and land use policy combined with her profound experience in spiritual care and community outreach is exactly what YCEJ needs”, said Dr. Michel Gelobter, Executive Director of YCEJ. “As we move to operationalize ‘Environmental Joy,’ and support EJ and indigenous communities, Terry’s background ensures we can execute complex logistics without losing sight of the human spirit at the center of our work.”
Environmental Justice Pioneer Charles Lee added, “Having known Terry from her early days as a United Church of Christ environmental justice fellow, I know that she brings much more than a unique set of skills and experiences to her new position as the Program Manager at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice. Terry brings a transformative combination of knowledge of environmental science, ability to engage frontline communities, and understanding of the importance of faith that will be truly valuable to the environmental justice movement during these pivotal times.”
Ogawa most recently served as an Area Conference Minister with the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC), where she provided direct strategic guidance and leadership development for nearly 100 congregations across Massachusetts and Connecticut and indirectly impacted nearly 600.
This appointment marks a return to Connecticut for Ogawa, where early in her career she served as a NOAA Coastal Management Fellow at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, developing visual assessment tools for coastal resiliency. She continued to champion environmental justice and community resilience in leadership roles across the country. She previously led community-engaged efforts in North Carolina, Hawaiʻi, California, and Washington D.C, including initiatives on land use planning, homelessness chaplaincy, voter participation, environmental justice advocacy, as well as serving as a local church pastor.
Ogawa’s deep experience in event management includes planning the first Faith-Based Summit on Homelessness in Hawaiʻi. In the summer of 2025, she led a national Service of Appreciation for Federal Environmental Justice Staff and Grantees on behalf of the UCC, bringing together movement, faith, community, and government leaders in recognition of their impactful work– and what we stand to lose with their dismissal.
“Her appointment as Program Manager is not only a gift to Yale but to all of us who care about justice, community, and the future of our shared humanity,” said Rev. Darrell Goodwin, Executive Conference Minister of the Southern New England Conference, UCC. “Terry brings a rare combination of moral clarity, deep cultural wisdom, and generous leadership to every space she serves. I have no doubt that Terry’s presence will strengthen the work of the Center and inspire the kind of courageous, imaginative engagement our world urgently needs.”
Ogawa holds a Masters of Science in Natural Resources and the Environment (Resource Policy and Behavior: Environmental Justice concentration) from the University of Michigan; a Masters of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion; and a Certificate in Asian and Oceanic Cultures and Faith Traditions from the Graduate Theological Union.
In her studies at Pacific School of Religion, Ogawa researched the legacy of missionary heritage of the UCC in Hawai‘i, its implication for the UCC’s relationship with Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) churches, and theologies of reconciliation. At Michigan, Ogawa’s research examined land, development, and displacement in the black communities of the South Carolina Lowcountry, including how heirs’ property shapes community identity and place attachment. This multi-faceted expertise allows Ogawa to navigate the technical aspects of environmental policy while addressing the moral and spiritual dimensions of environmental justice: a key asset for YCEJ’s mission of achieving justice and sowing joy as a means to inspire hope, direction, and action.
“Throughout my career, from coastal management in Connecticut to homelessness chaplaincy in Honolulu, I have focused on how institutions can better serve the people and places they impact, especially at the intersection of land, culture, and spirituality” Ogawa said. “I’m thrilled to bring my experience in environmental planning, spiritual care, and community engagement to Yale to support students and frontline communities to lead change together.”
