Governing for environmental justice

Whether efficient public transit, climate change, or air and water pollution, marginalized communities are regularly denied access to healthy environments. Differences in power and political voice create differential impacts of our changing environment—natural and built—on these communities, compromising access to basic necessities like clean water and breathable air. Legislation to redress these differential impacts requires policymakers to work hand in glove with the communities they represent.

Join Dr. Abdul El-Sayed - physician, epidemiologist, and newly appointed Director of the Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services Department, and a former Ford School Towsley Policymaker in Residence - for a conversation with policymakers at the intersection of social justice and environmental concerns. Dr. El-Sayed will be joined by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Michigan Senator Stephanie Chang (MPP/MSW '14) to reflect on their work to address environmental injustice in Michigan and beyond, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.

At this event, the Ford School will also recognize Senator Chang with the prestigious Neil Staebler Distinguished Service Award for her dedication to excellence in public service. Read the announcement here. 

Representative Rashida Tlaib is currently the Congresswoman for Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, which includes the city of Detroit and many surrounding communities. She made history in 2008 by becoming the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the Michigan Legislature. 

Senator Stephanie Chang is a Ford School alumna and the first Asian American woman to be elected to the Michigan Legislature. Chang worked as a community organizer in Detroit for nearly a decade before serving two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Co-sponsored by the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, and the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program. 

Faculty Expert

Abdul El-Sayed

Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence

Dr. El-Sayed is a public servant, Michigan politician, former public health professor, and a medical doctor. He served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department and Health Officer for the city from 2015 to 2017, before running for governor of Michigan.

Faculty Expert

Shobita Parthasarathy

Professor of Public Policy; Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy program

Parthasarathy studies the governance of emerging science and technology and the politics of evidence and expertise in policy in comparative and international perspective. Her current research focuses on equity in innovation and innovation policy. She co-hosts The Received Wisdom podcast.

Staff Expert

Molly Kleinman

Managing Director, STPP

• Wayne County
• policy making
• Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence
• environmental justice
• climate
• environment
• social justice
• Rashida Tlaib
• Stephanie Chang
• staebler award
• Abdul El-Sayed
• Shobita Parthasarathy
• STPP
• Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program