Episode 35: Building a National EJ Movement from the Midwest with CEED

Fifteen years ago, the Center for Earth, Energy & Democracy (CEED) was founded in Minneapolis by a group of researchers, educators, and community activists to support communities, especially the most vulnerable, in ensuring their needs and realities are reflected in energy and environmental solutions. Over the years, CEED has helped build grassroots networks and coalitions that drive strategic policies. In 2018, CEED brought together a national coalition of organizations aligned on environmental justice values, known as the Platform for a Just Climate. During Trump’s second term, the Platform continues to defend EJ progress while pushing for bigger systemic shifts in our culture and democracy as a pathway to winning a just climate future for all. In this episode, our host Aiko Schaefer sits down with Byron Ramos Gudiel, Executive Director at CEED, and Dalal Aboulhosn, Managing Director at CEED, to discuss what makes the Midwest so ripe for movement-building and what it will take for all of us invested in a safe, healthy, and equitable future to win. Guests: Byron Ramos Gudiel is a Central American immigrant and got his organizing start fighting California’s Prop 187 as a student in the early 90’s. Since then, he has been involved in organizing for racial, immigrant, educational and environmental justice. Notably, Byron has made contributions to the social justice movement through leadership roles in the US Social Forum, Coalition for Educational Justice, Climate Justice Alliance. the California EJ Alliance, and Communities for a Better Environment. Before joining CEED, Byron served as the Chief Field Officer for the Sierra Club. Dalal Anne Aboulhosn is Managing Director of CEED, where she advances environmental justice, energy equity, and community-led solutions. She has worked with Presidential Administrations, Members of Congress, and frontline communities nationwide on energy, conservation, and justice issues. Her advocacy began with grassroots organizing against mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia. Dalal holds a Master of Public Administration from George Mason University and lives in Washington, DC.