Waves of Change is an online interview series highlighting the diverse faces and perspectives shaping the environmental justice movement throughout the Great Lakes region.
This month, we spoke with Kim Wasserman, executive director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization.
Listen to the full interview
Wasserman played a major role in a years long campaign to close two Chicago coal plants that were negatively impacting residents’ health.
“We actually had numbers where we could go to the City of Chicago and say ‘hey, look, 41 people are prematurely dying every year because of the impacts of coal power plants,’” Wasserman said.
In 2013, Wasserman was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work.
Learn more about the featured organizations:
- Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
- Southeast Environmental Task Force
- People for Community Recovery
- We the People of Detroit
- Midwest Environmental Justice Network
- Chicago’s Cumulative Impact Assessment
Catch more news at Great Lakes Now:
Illinois environmental justice bill would help residents prevent pollution
Environmental justice, climate resilience are top priorities for new Great Lakes executive
Featured image: Photo courtesy of Kim Wasserman
