Environmental Justice Needs Assessment Report

In response to its internal dismantling racism work, ESC is embarking upon its 20th anniversary year in 2010 with a new mission and renewed commitment to the environmental justice movement. To ensure that its programs and services were meeting the capacity-building needs of this important constituency, ESC decided to undertake a needs assessment of the field. Early in 2009, ESC contracted with consultant Midge Taylor, former environmental program officer for the Public Welfare Foundation, to manage the project. Working with a preliminary group of respondents to develop seven basic questions, ESC staff and contractors interviewed and surveyed 57 groups assisted by ESC in the past. Their responses and eleven recommendations for the future are summarized in this report, released in October 2009.