PPC Webinar | Plastic-Free President: The Future of U.S. Policy on Plastics

The next U.S. President will take office in January 2025, and the policies they implement over the next four years could help stop plastic pollution—or allow this urgent global crisis to worsen. So, what role should the U.S. President and the federal government play in eliminating plastic pollution? What Presidential Executive Orders could be implemented on Day 1? How can we make sure the next President prioritizes support for those who historically have been harmed most by the petrochemical plastics industry and the waste it creates: Black, Brown, Indigenous, and rural and low-income communities.

Join us on October 23, 2024, for a discussion with key allies and policy experts about recommendations and priorities for the next U.S. Administration, to protect people and the planet. These actions will be critical not only for the U.S. but for the world—since the U.S. is the world’s top plastic polluting country.

We will be joined by: Judith Enck, President, Beyond Plastics; Jenny Hernandez, Climate Justice Framework Program Manager, Green Latinos; and Alexa White PhD, Climate and Environmental Justice Policy Director, Hip Hop Caucus. This webinar will be moderated by Amy Westervelt, Executive Editor, Drilled.

Date: Wed., October 23
Time: 2-3 pm PT | 5-6 pm ET
Click here to convert to your timezone.

Panelists

Judith Enck, President, Beyond Plastics

Judith Enck (she/her) has spent her entire career working to protect public health and the environment. She was a Policy Advisor to the New York Attorney General, Deputy Secretary for the Environment in the New York Governor’s Office, and was appointed by President Obama to serve as EPA Regional Administrator. After her work with the Obama Administration, she founded Beyond Plastics, a nationwide group that relies on education and advocacy to adopt policies that reduce the production and use of plastics. Judith is also on the faculty at Bennington College and appears weekly on her local NPR station, WAMC, on a public affairs show.

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Jenny Hernandez, Green Latinos Climate Justice Framework Program Manager

Jenny Hernandez (she/her/ella) is the Latino Climate Justice Framework Program Manager at Green Latinos. Her upbringing near the U.S.-Mexico border instilled values of resourcefulness and conservation, sparking her passion for environmental conservation. With nearly a decade in local government, Jenny has focused on climate solutions and community-based mitigation efforts. She previously worked on creating equitable pathways for electrification and innovative retrofit programs for marginalized communities. Jenny is committed to ensuring fair and just climate solutions for nuestra comunidad and future generations.

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Alexa White, Climate and Environmental Justice Policy Director, Hip Hop Caucus

Alexa White (she/her), Ph.D., is the Climate and Environmental Justice Policy Director at the Hip Hop Caucus and co-founder of the Aya Research Institute. An award-winning agroecologist, her research focuses on sustainable agriculture and global food systems. As a United Nations delegate, she enhances biophysical indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals. She has spearheaded the development of environmental justice screening tools for the Mid-Atlantic U.S. governments during her tenure as a Senior Harvard Climate Justice Design Fellow. Her collaborations with the White House Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) and FAS resulted in the creation of the first Justice40 tracker and report.

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Moderator

Amy Westervelt, Executive Editor, Drilled

Amy Westervelt (she/her) is an award-winning investigative reporter who has spent the past 20 years reporting on climate for a wide range of outlets, including The Guardian, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal. Today she runs Drilled, an independent multimedia newsroom focused on climate accountability. Their flagship podcast, also called “Drilled,” is the most-listened to climate podcast in the world, and Amy’s book Brought To You By, about the fossil fuel industry’s role in creating today’s disinformation problem, is forthcoming from Bloomsbury Publishing.

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Resources

• Plastic-free President
• Beyond Plastics
• Drilled
• Green Latinos
• Hip Hop Caucus 
• The Latino Climate Justice Framework
• Online Press Conference to Launch Presidential Plastics Action Plan on Dec. 8 – Center for Biological Diversity
• Proposed Priorities for the Next U.S. President to Reduce Plastic Pollution
• Environmental Sustainability: DOD Should Take Actions to Reduce Single-Use Plastics
• Aya Research Institute 
• First 100 Days: A Plan For Latino/A/E Climate Justice Action