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The Chesapeake Bay watershed is 64,000 square miles, includes parts of six states and the District of Columbia, and is home to a diverse population. Ensuring that the restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are inclusive means considering the needs and perspectives of all members of the diverse communities. We know that creating accessible and intentional engagement results in sustainable solutions and lasting support in our communities.
We prioritize this commitment within the organization’s programs and internal structure, making equity and inclusion integral in our policies, board of directors, staff, strategic goals, and program delivery.
The Alliance welcomes people of all backgrounds regardless of race, religion, political affiliation, age, disability, veteran-status, socio-economic status, gender variance, or sexual identity. We recognize that diversity is an asset and we welcome people of all backgrounds; seeking a culture of respect, openness, learning, integrity, and honesty.
The Alliance is on a DEIJ journey, actively integrating the values of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) into all aspects of our work.
The journey is a continual process that involves ongoing self-reflection and improvement, as well as a commitment to continuously learning and evolving to better serve and support our stakeholders at every level.
We recognize that environmental burdens and benefits are not distributed equitably across the Chesapeake Watershed. The collaboration and inclusion of diverse community voices across the watershed is core to the Alliance’s programmatic delivery. Prioritizing equitable impacts helps address environmental injustices, as under-resourced or marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and often have limited access to sustainable solutions. By incorporating DEIJ values into our collective restoration efforts we will see more effective, creative, and expansive environmental impacts that benefit all members of the broad Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Bringing about greater diversity and equitable practices within our organization’s efforts not only requires action in our programmatic delivery, but also starts with a critical look at how we operate internally in the ways we govern, manage, and work in the watershed. The Alliance continues to embrace a process of DEIJ change with dedicated staff, funding, and programming.
View Our DEIJ Timeline
Environmental resilience refers to the ability of a community or ecosystem to withstand and recover from environmental stressors such as natural disasters, pollution, or climate change. Social justice, on the other hand, refers to the fair and just treatment of all members of a society, particularly those who have historically been marginalized or disadvantaged. The Alliance sees a strong connection between environmental resilience and social justice, as overburdened communities are often disproportionately affected by environmental stressors and may have fewer resources to cope with and recover from them. A significant social justice barrier to environmental resilience also comes in the form of accessibility, be it green spaces, green solutions, and the green economy.
While the Alliance’s programming inherently focuses around restoration, conservation, and environmental resilience, it is with social justice efforts that we see the sustained impacts of this work, and in turn communities that are better able to address environmental challenges.
The Alliance believes that clean water and access to nature should be available to each individual that lives in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. We strive to collaborate with partners in the Chesapeake Bay community who demonstrate integrity and amplify diverse voices for equitable and inclusive impact. As an organization, our mission is to bring together communities, companies, and conservationists to improve the lands and waters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
We are committed to creating a more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just environmental movement because it is the only way to ensure all communities are resilient in the face of our changing climate. We know that an inclusive approach and diversity of mindsets lead to more creative and permanent solutions!
The Alliance staff, as spearheaded by organizational leadership and its internal DEIJ team will continue to be instrumental in:
Providing education and training to staff related to internal expectations, policies, and culture, programs, and partnerships that promote equitable, diverse, and inclusive outcomes and actions.
Working across programs to effectively integrate DEIJ values into project concepts, tactics, and partnerships.
Advancing critical internal infrastructure documents that govern the Alliance’s employees and programs.
Ensuring DEIJ values are present throughout the Alliance’s next Strategic Plan (anticipated in 2023) and supporting the implementation of relevant implementation activities.
Communicate DEI programmatic work at the Alliance and across the watershed.
Convey the internal DEIJ work of the Alliance as it advances the organization’s structure and systems in order to hold ourselves accountable and encourage partners and supporters to do the same.
Leverage the Alliance’s voice to highlight EJ issues and DEIJ news in the watershed and uplift the voices and stories of our partners and communities – specifically Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
Regularly engage Board and staff (at all levels) in DEIJ accountability as we work towards the inclusive multicultural organization that the Alliance aspires to be.
If you are interested in learning more about the Alliance’s DEI resources, best practices, or programmatic impacts, please reach out to the DEIJ Team at dei@allianceforthebay.org.
Pronouns are how people refer to one another and how we talk about each other- they are an extension of our names and therefore an extension of our identity.
“Mistaking or assuming peoples’ pronouns…mistakes their gender and sends a harmful message. Using someone’s correct gender pronouns is one of the most basic ways to show your respect for their identity” (UCSF).
Examples of pronouns include she/her/hers/herself, he/him/his/himself, they/them/theirs/themself or themselves, and ze/hir/hirs/hirself.
You may see Alliance staff with pronouns noted in their emails, on virtual calls, or at their events. This intentional and encouraged practice is a critical piece of our mission to create an inclusive environment for all.
The purpose of this guide is to provide communication guidance on commonly used DEIJ terminology for organizations operating in the environmental field. To learn more about the Alliance’s DEIJ Terminology Communications Guide check out our blog.
Download the Guide
Gregory (Greg) Wims is a local businessman and community activist who has been on the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s Board of Directors for the past three years. Greg has occupied his time quarantining during COVID-19 by keeping himself busy with his day job in construction, as well as with his volunteer activism work. In …
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Carmera Thomas-Wilhite is this month’s Year of the Woman feature! Carmera works at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as the Baltimore Program Manager. I asked Carmera how she became interested in the environmental field and to tell me a little bit more about how she got to where she is today. She told me that a …
The mission of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay is to bring together communities, companies, and conservationists to improve our lands and waters. As an organization, we know we must do a better job of addressing social injustices through our work to restore our Watershed. The Alliance has taken purposeful steps to raise awareness around and address diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice issues and opportunities internally for several years. These are the Alliance’s commitments to our staff, partners, and constituents to continue to advance these efforts in the immediate future.
What is Juneteenth? According to History of Juneteenth ©JUNETEENTH.com, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19th 1865, Union army general Gordon Granger’s read the federal orders in the city of Galveston, Texas proclaiming that all enslaved persons in the U.S. state of Texas were …
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement during this turbulent and important time of national discourse on historic pain and trauma due to a legacy of systemic racism in our country. The Alliance believes that clean water and equal access to nature are civil rights that impact …
As she happily enters into her second term as chair of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC), Ann Simonetti, former councilmember to Marysville Borough in Pennsylvania, reflects on her past years in LGAC and hopes for the future. “I found it to be less stressful than I thought it would be,” she joked, adding …
Taking Nature Black (TNB)! It’s a direct, bold expression that has become the name for an annual conference held by the Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS). February 27th, 2020 saw the third conference held by ANS, and was an excellent way of celebrating Black History Month.
When sitting down to think about who to write about for February’s Year of the Woman blog post, I could think of no better person than Harriet Tubman, a strong, influential African American female leader in the Chesapeake Bay region. While it doesn’t seem fair that women are only celebrated during the year of 2020, …
To fight for change tomorrow, we need to build resilience today. — Sheryl Sandberg Happy 2020! As we leave the 2010s behind, I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s in store for the Chesapeake Bay movement in the next 10 years, especially as our movement evolves and becomes more representative of the 18 million people …
During September, the Alliance hosted two green infrastructure trainings taught entirely in Spanish. Through key partnerships with DC’s Department of Energy and the Environment and the non-profit EcoLatinos, participants at both the rain barrel and rain garden trainings were able to leave with increased stormwater knowledge, technical know-how for the successful installation of stormwater best …
