Welcome to Center for Diversity & the Environment
We harness the power of racial & ethnic diversity to transform the U.S. environmental movement by developing leaders, catalyzing change within institutions, and building alliances.
Upcoming Courses
Center for Diversity & the Environment is honored and pleased to announce an Environment 2042 Leadership Program (E42) for up to 30 leaders from the environmental education field.
The purpose of this E42 Cohort is to grow a diverse and inclusive regional network of leaders in Washington, Oregon, and California who have the knowledge, support, and agency to bring about a more equitable and culturally expansive environmental education movement. Environmental education is broadly defined to include culturally specific educators; folks working on environmental justice; environmental educators; and others.
Channeling their collective power, participants will experience CDE’s most intensive training program, engaging in deep personal, interpersonal, organizational, and systems-wide change work to reimagine and redefine environmental education.
For more information view the E42 West Coast EE announcement. To apply, fill out the application survey.
Environmental Professionals of Color – Environmental Educators Gathering Series
The intention with the Environmental Professionals of Color (EPOC) EE Gathering series is to recharge, address emergent issues and energize people with the knowledge that they are not alone. CDE defines EE inclusive of traditional environmental education; Indigenous science; Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and other nontraditional and culturally relevant forms of environmental education.
The transformational and healing elements of this year-long work will be grounded in relationship building, focused on relevant and emergent topics, with actions taken toward healing and justice.
The series will include 9 topic-focused sessions and 8 coaching sessions. Participants are welcome to attend all, or any, of the sessions. For more information and to register for the series, visit the EPOC EE Gatherings announcement and register via the EPOC EE registration survey.
Join us, nourish your spirit, and build community at our upcoming Gratitude Gathering on October 20th at Leaven Community in Portland, Oregon! Our 2023 Gratitude Gathering will bring people together in kinship—to celebrate, share stories, and honor the beauty and hope that transpires through the power of community. RSVP here.
We believe that in order to transform the environmental movement on a deep, systemic level, we must address racialized trauma.
CDE’s inaugural Inner Work cohorts were deeply impactful, creating a supportive community and healing space for Indigenous people, Black people, and People of Color working in the environmental movement. We are committed to continuing the Inner Work course and are currently in the planning phase for additional cohorts in 2023-2024.
If you are interested in participating in these upcoming courses, we invite you to complete this short survey and application.
We want this to be the year in which all of our collective work tips the scales on diversity, equity & inclusion initiatives in the environmental movement.
Be part of the change.
Our Theory of Change
The Center for Diversity & the Environment grew out of the belief that everyone has a place in the environmental movement. Everything we do at CDE supports this vision of inclusivity. We build bridges between communities of color and the environmental community, fostering a fundamental revolution of the environmental movement–into an equitable, inclusive, and diverse coalition of people at work on a wide array of environmental issues. We believe that diversity strengthens and enriches our work and makes the environmental movement more relevant than ever. Alumni of our programs carry this work forward and out into their communities: they are the change agents and ambassadors of the changing face of environmentalism.
Our Vision
We envision a healthy, flourishing planet and society that sustainably and equitably meets the needs of all through an environmental movement that is diverse, inclusive, successful, vibrant, and relevant, taking into account the needs, perspectives, and voices of all. The Center for Diversity and the Environment harnesses the power of racial and ethnic diversity to transform the US environmental movement by developing leaders, catalyzing change within institutions, and building alliances.