About Us

When Hurricane Laura hit residents in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Gloria Horning, of Higher Ground Pensacola, FL, drove a truck of household goods to another grassroots leader, Beth Butler of A Community Voice who distributed them to evacuees in New Orleans. When Gloria’s home later flooded due to Hurricane Sally, A2 members, Kathy Sullivan (Elmhurst, IL) and Susan Liley (De Soto, MO) set up a GoFundMe campaign to help Gloria get back into her home. It is this camaraderie and love that makes A2’s work so durable and powerful. It also provides a strong basis for effective political and environmental justice work.

To support that work, Anthropocene Alliance organized Frontline 360°, a roster of pro bono experts ready to support justice communities when they need it. We think it is the first such multi-partner, service for environmental justice communities ever! “With a little help from our friends” — Environmental Protection Network, Thriving Earth Exchange, and Center for Applied Environmental Science — is our motto. Together, we have achieved a lot, both for communities and individuals. Here’s only a sampling:

• We helped more than 50 A2 members submit a total of 33 federal funding proposals — individual and collaborative. 15 were successful, another 17, worth $6.5 million are pending.
• In addition to helping A2 members prepare their own grants applications, we also acted as a sub-granter. In 2022, we awarded $1 million in sub grants to our members.
• Since our founding in 2017, 78% of our member-communities (140) have received pro bono technical support or funding, adding up to $27 million. The funds have come from 26 different sources, some small and some large.
• We have distributed dozens of $4000 community-organizing grants, and helped Rosewood Strong (Horry County, SC) access $13 million to buy-out 60 flooded homes.
• We’ve helped almost 30 A2 members join our free EveryAction account, letting them run petitions and send out email blasts.
• 13% of A2 members have received media coverage as a result of A2 referrals resulting in 51 stories. Recent stories about our members appeared in The Hill, The Guardian, Grist, ABC News, The New York Times, E&E News, The Washington Post, Earth Island Journal, Counterpunch,  Mississippi Free Press, CNN, and the popular podcast, America Adapts.
• Cynthia P. Robertson of Micah Six Eight Mission, Louisiana, was able to expand her post-disaster relief work thanks to the intervention of A2’s lawyer, Dr Barrett Ristroph, who helped remove some of the hurdles created by her city.
• Terri Straka and Melissa Krupa of Rosewood Strong in South Carolina, were able to relocate from their flood-prone homes, thanks to A2’s advocacy support.
• Treva Gear of Concerned Citizens of Cook County recently reached a settlement against a toxic wood pellet facility. They were represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, A2 made the introduction.

We believe that grassroots power is key to systemic change, and that the most effective and durable policy solutions will emerge from communities on the front line of the climate and environmental crisis. 67% of our frontline leaders are women and 83% represent Black, Latinx, Native American and low-income communities. They live in cities like Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, and New York City, but also in small and mid-sized towns including La Playa, Puerto Rico; Miami, Oklahoma; and Koyukuk, Alaska.

Our community leaders are diverse: LGBTQ, rural, urban, Indigenous and immigrant. We also have middle-class white leaders in Houston, Charleston and Copiague, Long Island. By maintaining solidarity among different classes, ethnicities, and gender identities, we have gained better support from politicians and regulators. A tight network of cooperation and commitment is essential to the work of curbing harmful development and reducing the use of climate-destroying fossil fuels.