Environmental Justice Initiative Launches at NYU School of Law

New York, NY—The Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law (“CRIL”) and the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy, & Land Use Law (“the Guarini Center”) are pleased to announce the launch of the Environmental Justice Initiative at NYU School of Law. 

“Everyone—regardless of race or any dimension of their identity—deserves access to a healthy, clean, and safe environment, and the full protection of the law” said CRIL Faculty Director Vincent Southerland. “The Initiative will deploy a range of tools to support and work in partnership with communities locally and nationwide to make that vision a reality. I am excited about the role it will play in advancing environmental and climate justice for years to come.”

The official launch event will take place on October 15, 2025, at 5:30pm in Lipton Hall, Faculty Club, NYU School of Law. Director Marianne Engelman-Lado will moderate a panel discussion on “The Past, Present, and Future of Environmental & Climate Justice—and How Can the New Environmental Justice Initiative Support the Movement?” Joining her are Environmental Justice Movement co-founders Charles Lee and Vernice Miller Travis, and NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Director Abre’ Conner.

“The Initiative offers law students the opportunity to develop skills that will be helpful in working with communities throughout the nation to improve access to basic environmental goods such as clean air and water,” explained Guarini Center Faculty Director Katrina Wyman. “I am grateful to Marie and Paul Napoli for making this possible, and to Marianne Engelman-Lado for the energy that she is bringing to the Initiative.”