WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden Administration named the National Wildlife Federation as one of 17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers, which will work to connect communities with resources, training, and assistance to access, navigate, and manage federal grants. The National Wildlife Federation and its peer organizations will help deliver federal resources to the communities and places necessary to help address long-standing and ongoing environmental and energy injustices.
 
“For too long, communities seeking federal grants and assistance have run up against obstacles created by generations of systemic racism. Serving as an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center will help us expand our work connecting frontline communities with federal resources and support their work to address environmental injustices and enduring public health problems,” said Adrienne Hollis, vice president of environmental justice, public health, and community revitalization at the National Wildlife Federation. “We look forward to working with our community partners and allies in this new capacity.”
 
“The climate crisis and the unnatural disasters it fuels are only exacerbating the environmental and energy injustices affecting frontline communities,” said Shannon Heyck-Williams, associate vice president for climate and energy at the National Wildlife Federation. “We need to address the long-term drivers of the climate crisis, but we also need to help communities suffering today. This important designation will help the National Wildlife Federation help communities build capacity and access the funding and assistance they need to address persistent environmental threats and participate in the new clean energy economy.”

“Access to clean water is a fundamental right. The time is now that we address systemic barriers that exist to fully resource black and brown communities,” said Mariah Davis, acting director for the Choose Clean Water Coalition at the National Wildlife Federation. “The Choose Clean Water Coalition is committed to using our network of more than 285 nonprofit organizations in the Chesapeake Bay region to help alleviate barriers facing environmental justice communities. We will work together to restore clean water that is essential for a healthy and thriving environment.”