Join us for an engaging discussion on environmental justice featuring Professor Diana Hernandez and leaders from local NYC community organizations. This conversation will explore the challenges and opportunities in advocating for cleaner, healthier, and more equitable communities. Learn from experts on the front lines of environmental justice and discover how business and policy can drive meaningful change. Don't miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and be part of the solution!

A few lucky attendees will get a copy of Diana Hernandez’s new book: “Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy!”

This in-person-only event will be held at Columbia Business School in Kravis Hall, Rm. 1090 and is limited to Columbia University community members and invited guests. You must present a Columbia University or government-issued ID that matches the name used on your registration to enter. A grab and go lunch will be provided for registered guests following the talk, while supplies last.

Invitations are non-transferable. Registration links are emailed to school listservs and intended for the recipient only. Please do not share or forward them.

This event will be photographed and video recorded. Attendee images may appear on Columbia Business School (CBS) media channels. If this is a concern, please let us know. Note that large bags, luggage, placards, and signs are not permitted inside the venue. For further inquiries or assistance, contact us at thehub@gsb.columbia.edu.

About Peter Malinowski

Peter Malinowski is executive director of the Billion Oyster Project, which over the last 10 years has restored over 120 million oysters to the bottom of New York Harbor and engaged over 100,000 New Yorkers in hands-on ecosystem restoration work. Prior to this, his passion for the environment and education led him to the New York Harbor School, where he founded the school’s aquaculture and oyster-restoration programs and taught for five years. This work at Harbor School led to the development of Billion Oyster Project in 2014. He grew up farming oysters with his parents and siblings on the Fishers Island Oyster Farm. Pete spends as much of his free time as possible on the water or in the woods with his three children.

About Nando Rodriquez

Nando Rodriguez is an award-winning community gardener and organizer who serves as Senior Manager for Environmental Programming at The Brotherhood Sister Sol (BroSis). He is a first-generation Dominican-American, born and raised in New York City’s Lower East Side. In 1995, he joined BroSis as a founding member. As a teen, he also participated in Open Road of New York, which works with youth on outdoor environmental projects.

Since joining the BroSis staff in 2005, he has played a key role in overseeing and expanding its environmental programming. He leads and manages the 6,000-square-foot NYC Parks Department Green Thumb Garden and Environmental Education Center. Additionally, he has co-facilitated BroSis’ International Study Program, traveling to Ghana, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

He holds certifications in Green Living Technology (GLT), Participatory Design (PD), and Edible Walls and Green Roof design. From 2003 to 2008, Nando served as the Director of Open Road Park, one of the larger green spaces created in the East Village due to community organizing.

Rodriguez holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a minor in Environmental Science from the State University of New York at Purchase College, where he received the Highest Community Service Award for his work. He has also been awarded the Catalog for Giving’s Urban Star Award and the Urban Hero Award.

In collaboration with Open Road, Rodriguez is leading BroSis’s 1,000 Composting Initiative, which would establish dozens of local composting sites in community gardens, parks, and public spaces throughout the five boroughs, increase environmental education amongst community residents, and create green jobs.

About Diana Hernandez

Dr. Diana Hernandez conducts research at the intersection of energy, equity, housing and health. A sociologist by training, her work examines the social and environmental determinants of health and has studied the impacts of policy and place-based interventions on the health and well-being of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Her foundational research on energy insecurity- defined as the inability to adequately meet household energy needs- has explored the multiple dimensions of this phenomenon identifying sociodemographic disparities, adverse consequences and promising interventions toward energy equity and justice. Much of her community-oriented research has been done in collaboration with community groups and government agencies around the country, including in the South Bronx, where she has led small-scale housing redevelopment projects. Dr. Hernandez has published over 75 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in leading academic journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Urban Health and Energy Policy. Her work been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the JPB, Robert Wood Johnson, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundations, among others. Professor Hernandez teaches graduate level courses on qualitative research methods, design and analysis; public health leadership; and energy justice. She is a Mayoral Appointee to NYC's Environmental Justice Advisory Board. Dr. Hernandez has written for and been featured in various media outlets including the NY Times, USA Today, BBC, NY Daily News and CityLab. Her first book about energy insecurity in the US is due to be published in 2024.

Environmental Justice in Action: A Conversation with NYC Community Leaders