Tamara Toles O’Laughlin is a climate strategist and environmental advocate focused on people and planet. Her niche in environmental work is developing capacity-building programs and creating multimedia campaigns to dismantle privilege and increase opportunities for vulnerable populations to access healthy air, clean energy, and a toxic-free economy at the local, regional, and national levels. With over two decades of practice, Ms. O’Laughlin casts a wide net in service to community. Among her activities, she is a co-chair of the Green Leadership Trust, which builds a more powerful environmental movement by expanding the impact and leadership of people of color and Indigenous people serving on U.S. environmental nonprofit boards. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum and National Cities executive working group, and serves as the chair of the Board of Directors of Women’s Voices for the Earth, based in Missoula, Montana. Women’s Voices disrupts industry standards by forcing ingredient disclosure and the elimination of toxic chemicals from personal care products.
Climate (In)Justice
Event Overview
Join us for a live panel discussion about climate change and its broader implications on justice and equality. Bringing a wealth of perspectives and experiences which all intersect with climate justice issues, the panelists will discuss environmental policy, social equity issues in urban planning, research applications, and why communities of color face greater dangers from climate change. They will also share their thoughts on how to achieve social justice in our climate policies.
What You'll Learn
- How climate change will impact poorer communities and communities of color
- What’s currently being done to address climate injustice and what additional steps can be taken
- How existing social inequities impact climate change mitigation and urban planning policies
- How we can ensure a more equitable approach to combating climate change
- What role Cornell and other institutions of higher education can and should play in climate justice
Speakers
Linda Shi is an assistant professor in Cornell University’s Department of City and Regional Planning. Her research and professional practice focus on urban environmental governance and advancing planning policies to manage the urban climate transition in ways that improve social equity. Dr. Shi studies barriers to coastal climate adaptation, how cities are adapting, and the impacts of their adaptation efforts on social and spatial inequality across the global north and south. Her research aims to reveal how current institutions contribute to unjust and unsustainable adaptation in order to enable policy reforms that redress underlying causes of societal vulnerability to climate change. An urban environmental planner by training, Dr. Shi received a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, a Master’s in Urban Planning from Harvard GSD, and a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Environmental Management from Yale University.
Tamara Toles O’Laughlin is a climate strategist and environmental advocate focused on people and planet. Her niche in environmental work is developing capacity-building programs and creating multimedia campaigns to dismantle privilege and increase opportunities for vulnerable populations to access healthy air, clean energy, and a toxic-free economy at the local, regional, and national levels. With over two decades of practice, Ms. O’Laughlin casts a wide net in service to community. Among her activities, she is a co-chair of the Green Leadership Trust, which builds a more powerful environmental movement by expanding the impact and leadership of people of color and Indigenous people serving on U.S. environmental nonprofit boards. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum and National Cities executive working group, and serves as the chair of the Board of Directors of Women’s Voices for the Earth, based in Missoula, Montana. Women’s Voices disrupts industry standards by forcing ingredient disclosure and the elimination of toxic chemicals from personal care products.
Linda Shi is an assistant professor in Cornell University’s Department of City and Regional Planning. Her research and professional practice focus on urban environmental governance and advancing planning policies to manage the urban climate transition in ways that improve social equity. Dr. Shi studies barriers to coastal climate adaptation, how cities are adapting, and the impacts of their adaptation efforts on social and spatial inequality across the global north and south. Her research aims to reveal how current institutions contribute to unjust and unsustainable adaptation in order to enable policy reforms that redress underlying causes of societal vulnerability to climate change. An urban environmental planner by training, Dr. Shi received a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, a Master’s in Urban Planning from Harvard GSD, and a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Environmental Management from Yale University.