This year, our convening looked a bit different. Due to the global pandemic restricting in-person events, GLT chose to gather in one to two-hour increments to build community and leverage our collective power.

At the beginning of 2020, we planned for the retreat to be held in Montgomery, Alabama, a cradle of the civil rights movement. Although we could not join local leaders of color in the Montgomery area, we were still able to foster a connection with them virtually. 

During our closing ceremony, David Lamfrom led a facilitated discussion with representatives from two Alabama organizations.

• Catherine Coleman Flowers from the Equal Justice Initiative discussed the history of the civil rights movement and the impacts of failing water and waste sanitation infrastructure

• La’Tanya Scott from the Cahaba River Society shared about her work familiarizing children from communities of color with the Cahaba River and the importance of fostering their confidence navigating outdoor spaces

By hearing directly from these leaders in the environmental justice movement, Green Leadership Trust continued to inform our equity work on a sector-wide level and strengthen relationships with the leaders of color that are key to the future sustainability of the environmental movement.

Sixty-eight Board members from 75 national environmental organizations joined the virtual convening. Wediscussed potential actions that GLT could take to advance our equity agenda and to frame our upcoming strategic planning process.