Around Town with Phil: Environmental Justice Call to Action

The "Environmental Justice Call to Action Forum" is taking place on Thursday June 14 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Fairfield Inn, Waypoint Event Center at 185 MacArthur Drive in New Bedford.

The "Environmental Justice Call to Action Forum" is a discussion covering Environmental Justice, Superfund, Brownfields, Workforce Development, and Urban and Rural Revitalization.

The special guest will be Alexandra Dunn, Regional Administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Dunn serves as the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 1. Her responsibilities include overseeing the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and ten tribal nations.

Prior to joining EPA Region 1, Dunn served as executive director and general counsel for the Environmental Council of States (ECOS), a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to helping state agencies improve environmental outcomes for all Americans. Since 2014, Dunn has helped state governments improve water infrastructure, air pollution control, site cleanup, chemical management, and economic development. Prior to joining ECOS, Dunn served as executive director and general counsel for the Association of Clean Water Administrators.

Dunn has been published in the areas of the ethics of community advocacy, environmental justice, urban sustainability, water quality, cooperative federalism, and the Clean Water Act. She has taught on the subjects of environmental justice, and human rights and the environment as dean of Environmental Law Programs at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She has also taught at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, where she served as faculty adviser to the student Environmental Law Society. Dunn most recently taught environmental justice as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at the American University's Washington College of Law.

In 2015, Dunn was elected to the American College of Environmental Lawyers and served in leadership roles through the end of 2017. She also served through the end of 2017 on the executive committee and board of directors of the Environmental Law Institute. She has chaired the American Bar Association's (ABA) section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, its World Justice Task Force, and served on the ABA Presidential Force on Sustainable Development.

Dunn received a B.A. in political science from James Madison University followed by a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law, where she was elected editor-in-chief of the law review. She is a member of the bar in D.C., Maryland, and New York, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP by Monday, June 11 at 5 p.m.

For more information, please call (508) 993-8500, or email obvdcbr@yahoo.com

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