YEO Policy Academies Clean Energy & Environmental Justice Pol. Academy | Page 7

From
Andrew Gillum
YEOs and Partners:
Welcome to our Clean Energy and Environmental Justice Policy Academy,
a collaborative project of the Young Elected Officials Network and
NextGen Climate. We’re thrilled that you’re joining us for this exciting
opportunity.
This is a critical time for this meeting. Recently we’ve seen promising
and historic developments such as the climate deal in Paris and the
Clean Power Plan, the defeat of Keystone XL—and yet we’ve also seen
environmental tragedy in communities across the country, from Flint,
Michigan to the foothills of Los Angeles. The impacts of climate change
and the benefits of a clean energy economy are wide-reaching, and
as elected leaders we must be actively engaged—and leading—this
charge. These issues are inherently about justice, about protecting our
families, our homes, our communities for the future. And we must lead
on pursuing justice—for the children of Flint, the residents of the Lower
Ninth Ward, for all of our working families and communities. As young
progressives, we must bring our values and our energies to help lead a
just and equitable transition.

Thank you to our stellar partners at NextGen Climate for supporting this
work, to People For President Michael Keegan for his commitment to this
project, and to all of you for your dedication and service.
Yours in solidarity,

Andrew D. Gillum
Executive Director, Young Elected Officials Network
People For the American Way Foundation
Mayor, Tallahassee, Florida

Clean Energy & Environmental Justice Policy Academy | 2016

We challenge you to bring this lens to your work here this weekend,
and your work in the year to follow. We challenge you to be bold,
unapologetically progressive, and to take this opportunity to show
national—and community—leadership in the shared fight for a
sustainable and just future.

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