Bringing the Transition Home: Energy Justice in NC
Tuesday, November 7, 4:45-6:00 pm

Achieving justice for marginalized communities during the clean energy transition is simultaneously a challenge, a moral mandate, and an opportunity to be seized. Many communities are cost-burdened by their energy bills, face adverse health effects from traditional fossil fuel energy production, or are otherwise impacted by the energy system. While renewable energy offers the promise of sustainable power and cleaner air and communities, we must ensure that all communities benefit from the clean energy transition. Come learn from a group of experts, community organizers and practitioners on how energy injustice has manifested in North Carolina and how you can engage in achieving justice for our neighbors and local communities. 

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This event will be in-person only. Light refreshments will be available. 

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This event is part of the eighth annual Energy Week at Duke (Nov. 6-10), organized by dozens of students from degree programs across Duke.

 

Featured Speakers:

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Ajulo Otho is the founder and CEO of EnerWealth Solutions, member-manager of the Law Offices of Ajulo E. Othow, PLLC and a board member at the Center for Progressive Reform. EnerWealth Solutions is a solar and energy storage company that seeks to advance an ecologically sustainable world, where power is held locally and decisions are made democratically, where all electricity is generated by clean distributed renewables, and where economic prosperity is shared by all. 

 

Michelle (Meech) Carter is the Clean Energy Campaigns Director at the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters. Her work is focused on justice, from ensuring folks have access to clean and affordable power to holding mining companies accountable for critical mineral production. Before joining NCLCV, Meech worked on mining law and policy as a fellow at SELC and consulted for a grassroots advocacy group on the disproportionate impacts of heavy metals in agriculture. Meech completed her Masters of Environmental Management at Duke and was involved in environmental justice work and climate advocacy across campus. She also holds a Master of Science in Law from Northwestern and a dual BS in biology and geology from UCLA.

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Rania Masri is director of organizing and policy at the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. She has been an activist and organizer since 1993, and a professor and researcher since 2005. She has taught interdisciplinary environmental sciences, environmental justice, and communications at the University of Balamand, American University of Beirut, and the Lebanese American University. Prior to her move to Lebanon, she was the director of the Southern Peace Research and Education Center at the Institute for Southern Studies in North Carolina. 

 

Felicia Wang is a Duke University junior, community outreach assistant at NC WARN and politics lead at Sunrise Durham, where she works on energy justice issues, fights for inclusive utility practices, and promotes Green New Deal policies. She has previously worked at Change the Chamber, where she tracked and lobbied for stronger EPA regulations, as well as Conservation x Labs, where she worked on AI wildlife tracking technology.