Announcing the Co-Directors of a new fund to support climate, gender, & racial justice

Photo credit: Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)

Dear Friends,

As thousands of women marching in Brazil to protect the Amazon remind us, women are at the forefront of movements to protect our planet. “Indigenous women...are all warriors on the front lines of this struggle against today’s political situation, which is so adverse to our peoples. This is a global movement, a planetary movement,” said Sônia Guajajara, National Coordinator of the Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil.

In this moment of great possibility and momentum, increased support for women’s climate leadership is urgently needed. We are excited to announce that on September 3, Melanie Allen and Erin Rogers officially started work as Co-Directors of a new fund supporting women’s leadership for climate justice in the U.S. Melanie and Erin were selected after a robust search process that gave us a glimpse into the widespread enthusiasm for a fund like this. The fund--under development now and set to launch in the coming months-- will support leaders and organizations across the U.S., and particularly the southeastern U.S., focused on achieving climate, gender, and racial justice.

Melanie and Erin are thrilled to be working together and bring a range of skills and experience that’s both expansive and rooted in a deep passion for this work. 

Melanie is a native North Carolinian who began her career as a youth organizer. Melanie’s most recent work at the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation included launching an Energy Equity portfolio for the southeast region. “Frontline leaders know what they need,” said Allen. “I’m excited to co-create a funding mechanism that will resource them at the scale necessary to help them achieve transformational change.” 

Erin Rogers began her career as a grassroots activist and organizer in Texas and recently concluded an eight-year term as the Program Officer managing US grant-making in the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Climate Change Initiative. “The heartfelt encouragement we’ve received to create this fund, from both funders and activists all across the country, has been incredible. Together, we can imagine and realize good solutions to terrible problems.” 

Over the coming months, Melanie and Erin will lead a process for gathering input and feedback to turn our collective vision for the fund into an operational reality.  We envision a sustainable, thriving, and equitable world where the root causes of climate change have been eradicated. To achieve this, it is vital to support the leadership of Black women, Indigenous women, women of color, youth, and other women engaged on the frontlines.

We envision the fund as a creative and participatory grant-maker which ensures that unsung effective leaders and organizations are receiving funding to sustain their leadership, build movements and political power, and shift popular culture to avoid a climate catastrophe. The fund will also serve as a home-base, learning space, and support hub for interested funders. We hope to stay in touch with you as the fund grows and evolves. 

To learn more about the fund, please visit this page.

Warm regards,

Fund Advisory Board

Lydia Avila, Consultant

Jane Breyer, Energy Foundation

Sarah Haacke Byrd, Women Moving Millions

Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)

Aysha Pamukcu, Women Donors Network

Jacqueline Patterson, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program

Sarra Tekola, Women of Color Speak Out and Black Lives Matter Phoenix

Monique Verdin, Another Gulf is Possible and Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange

Additional advisors on Co-Director selection

Esther Calhoun

Savi Horne, Land Loss Prevention Project

Nakisa Glover, Sol Nation

Colette Pichon Battle, Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy

Seandra Pope, Rooted Consulting

Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, US Senate candidate and Jolt

Queen Quet, Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition