Front and Centered

Hi friends! 😁 We're back and we're kicking off 2025 with a free, virtual briefing open to all, where you can join us as we launch our legislative agenda for 2025. Our legislative briefing takes place on January 7th, at 12 noon. Join us for the lunch hour to learn more about our priority legislation, including the Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Pollution Act which aims to protect communities from harmful facilities, and our Right to Energy campaign, which seeks to ensure energy assistance for low-income residents in Washington State. This legislative session in Olympia is pivotal, as lawmakers will be addressing issues that directly impact #EnvironmentalJustice, #PublicHealth, and economic equity. The incoming presidential administration poses challenges to our values and policy priorities, and at the federal level, changes in energy policies and climate resilience strategies could significantly impact local actions, underscoring the urgency of our work. Amid these challenges, our agenda and advocacy this legislative session will focus on holding the state's legislature accountable to its commitments to climate justice, environmental justice, and the well-being of frontline communities. Want to learn more about how you can help us move forward our agenda for climate and environmental justice? Check out the link and register for our virtual legislative briefing this coming Tuesday, Jan. 7! 🧡❤️💚💛

After 10 years co-creating and leading Front and Centered and advancing our ground-breaking policies and programs in climate, environment, and Just Transition to new economy, in October I announced I would step out of the Co-Executive Director role and December was my last month.  Front and Centered is in a great place, and thank you to Aurora Martin and the whole FC staff team for stepping up, and giving me a chance to step into some new shoes, the work continues! After a break, and some months abroad, I will contribute to FC in senior advisory consulting role. I continue to contribute to Just Solutions as a Senior Fellow, Peoples Economy Lab, and other unique projects as time allows, so feel free to be in touch with me; and for FC specific inquires reach out to Aurora or the FC staff team.

Hey friends, Front and Centered is closed for nearly all of the remaining calendar year! You may see some updates here because social media never sleeps, 😁 but our offices are closed and we'll be back in full swing on Jan. 2. We wish you a happy #WinterSolstice today and hope the rest of your holiday season is safe and warm. 🤗 Make sure to take time to connect with loved ones and practice self-care—it's super important! 🥰 #TisTheSeason

If climate change keeps you up at night or just feeling #eco-anxiety, join us in our coming virtual workshop Exploring community, ecological, and climate resilience, scheduled on December 3, 2024, from 4:30 to 6:00 PM. We will learn what means to be resilient at different levels and how it can be incorporated into learning and community activities within a grassroots #JustTransition vision. Our main facilitator will be Lydia Geschiere, East Sound Regional FieldSTEM Coordinator at Pacific Education Institute, supported by Isabel Carrera Zamanillo, Community Education Coordinator at Front and Centered.  At Community Education In Action, we promote collective action through co-design and co-learning. Unleash your creativity as we craft together inspiring learning resources to address climate change through the lens of environmental and climate justice!  All workshops and materials are offered in English and Spanish. ***K-12 teachers in Washington State who complete the virtual or in-person workshops will receive clock hours (regular and STEM) More information is in the registration form. 📣Register Today! at https://lnkd.in/g8kPzfKF 📣¡Regístrate hoy! en https://bit.ly/CEA_Español

Happy #TranspoTuesday! 👨🏾🦽🚎🚗🚈🚲🚝 We wanted to remind everyone that applications to the #TransportationJustice Leadership Grant Program are still open. Go to FrontAndCentered.Org for more info, or go directly to our grant program "microsite" to learn more: https://lnkd.in/g8UdnUZi Transportation is a major contributor to #GreenhouseGas emissions, disproportionately affecting #EnvironmentalJustice communities. Projects funded by this grant will focus on innovative, community-centered solutions that reduce emissions, enhance accessibility, and create long-term, equitable transportation infrastructure. We are excited to serve as a community grant maker and coordinator for this unique opportunity, which will not only provide funding to community projects in alignment with carbon-reduction strategies statewide, but also provide recommendations for the Washington State Department of Transportation to consider when building upon the outcomes of this program. Together, we can pave the way for community-centered leadership and transportation solutions! Apply for our grants as soon as you can, or share this information with someone you know who might be interested in being a part of this work! ❤️

With new uncertainty at the national level, you may be feeling anxiety, fear, and concern for your communities. You may also feel conflicted or powerless because the institutions that harm our communities by perpetuating white supremacy, patriarchy, and colonialism were already in place before #ElectionDay and wouldn’t have suddenly vanished the day after, regardless of the result. We expect a hostile federal administration, and we will need to work to protect Washingtonians. As we plan for changes ahead, it’s clear our work here in #WashingtonState must provide a hopeful model of what a #JustTransition looks like, and that we must link arms with frontline communities across the nation and the world, to stand together in resilience as we face the ecological crisis and extractive economy that are upon us. At the state level, Front and Centered advocated in partnership with other organizations and leaders against all four state ballot initiatives, and three of the four went down on election night. We should celebrate this as a victory that proves that our climate, our health, and putting people over profit are all top priorities for the people of Washington State. We can look forward to continued state climate investments, and we won’t stop directing attention to the legislative commitment that 40% of environmental investments must go to frontline communities. At the same time, the passage of I-2066 means we’ll have to work that much harder to ensure that justice is a key part of our transition away from natural gas, and that everyone has access to affordable, clean energy. As Washington State moves forward within this new national context, we must remember that if we are to truly advance and safeguard #ClimateJustice and #EnvironmentalJustice, just making fossil fuels more expensive will not be enough. To make our collective vision possible we must lead by example, stop polluting projects before they start, and create the world we want to see from the ground up. Even as we celebrate our victories and feel sorrow over our setbacks, our work to advance a Just Transition continues. We’re honored to stand with you and to have your support. Let’s keep working together for the world we want. In solidarity, The Front and Centered team #Elections2024 Photos by Pixel and Film Photography and Video

The priority deadline to apply for these two positions is TOMORROW (Friday, November 8)! Applications will be reviewed and considered on a rolling basis, with interviews anticipated to start mid-November. #WereHiring #WashingtonState

Calling all educators, students, and community members! Front and Centered, ClimeTime, and a dynamic group of community partners are hosting Community Education in Action, a workshop series that brings climate and environmental justice to life through co-learning and creativity. These sessions—both virtual and in-person—will explore a Just Transition, community resilience, and how we can drive positive change together. K-12 educators in WA will earn clock hours, and intergenerational attendees can participate with materials, prizes, and bilingual support. 🗓️ Virtual: Nov 14, Dec 3, Jan 16 🗓️ In-Person: Tacoma (Mar 1), Pasco (Mar 22) Register here and join the movement for a just and resilient future: https://lnkd.in/grU4r7i6 #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateEducation #CommunityEmpowerment

We excited to tell you about our latest #EnvironmentalJustice Funding Opportunities that will be going live tomorrow! These capacity grant opportunities are administered by the Frontline Funding Collaborative, a partnership between Front and Centered and four other #WashingtonState organizations that are catalyzing investments in climate and environmental justice: Asia Pacific Cultural Center Latino Community Fund Of Washington State NA'AH ILLAHEE FUND WASHINGTON STATE COALITION OF AFRICAN COMMUNITY LEADERS   These grants are intended to support community organizations whose capacity building efforts are aligned with and will advance the goals of the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act. Nonprofit, 501(c)(3) community-based organizations throughout Washington State who work with overburdened and vulnerable communities are encouraged to apply for these unique capacity grants. Learn more about this grant opportunity TOMORROW (Tuesday October 29), 12.30–1.30 PM. You can join us via Zoom: https://lnkd.in/gC8_YWkv (We realize this info session is happening on short notice, so stay tuned on social media for more advanced notice about future info sessions if you can't make this one 😎)

How can we ensure that #WashingtonState policies are shaped by frontline communities most impacted by pollution and income inequality? Alongside our fellow partner organizations, Front and Centered is convening #CommunityAssemblies across the state to center community expertise and make our government’s approach to making laws and investing public money more effective. Disparities in health care, housing, and safe environments are due, in part, to a disconnect between government policy making and community members with lived experiences of these challenges. Community Assemblies are a tool for building capacity for greater collaboration between people and government. "People who struggle to make ends meet on a minimum wage job or live in neighborhoods with air pollution have important ideas on how to address challenges that affect their lives everyday," said Deric Gruen, Front and Centered Co-Executive Director. “Community Assemblies can make government programs and investments more effective and create a healthier democracy.” “Community Assemblies are a bold investment in low-income and Black, Indigenous, and communities of color to elevate community expertise and solutions to budget and policy makers on sustainable investments to raise the economic and environmental floors in Washington,” said Lindsay Morgan Tracy, Innovator-in-Chief, Washington Economic Justice Alliance, at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Read the full joint press release at our blog: https://lnkd.in/gy-Nkhu7 Statewide Poverty Action Network People's Economy Lab #JustTransition #ClimateJustice #EnvironmentalJustice