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Boston, Massachusetts

Alternatives for Community and Environment

Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE) has been building the power of low-income and communities of color to eradicate environmental racism and classism, create healthy, sustainable communities, and achieve environmental justice (EJ) since 1994. Based in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, a predominantly Black neighborhood with asthma rates six times the rest of the state, ACE enables those who have been excluded from decision-making to confront power directly and demand fundamental changes for a healthy environment. One of the main avenues through which ACE supports local communities is the Environmental Justice Assistance Network (EJAN), a pro bono capacity-building and referral network that matches legal, scientific, public health, and technical experts with communities that are addressing EJ challenges. EJAN is a collaboration between ACE, Boston University School of Public Health, Slingshot, and Conservation Law Foundation.

ACE and partners celebrating executive order on zero carbon emissions

With a skilled staff and extensive volunteer network, MA’s first EJ nonprofit works locally, statewide, and nationally to address systemic injustice. By building the capacity of historically underrepresented groups, residents are able to hold decision-makers accountable and meaningfully participate in decisions affecting their health, safety, environment, culture and quality of life. Assisted by ACE, communities have advocated for projects such as converting the public bus fleet from diesel to cleaner alternative fuels, cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields, and promoting a resident-centered vision of sustainable communities. In 2024, ACE partnered with the New England Grassroots Environment Fund and Health Resources in Action to distribute $50 million in federal funds, empowering grassroots organizations to tackle local environmental and climate challenges. Their commitment and partnerships drive transformative, sustainable solutions for a fairer future.

ACE Executive Director Dwaign Tyndal attends the first-ever White House Summit on Environmental Justice in Action, in July 2024. Photo Source: ace-ej.org

“We’re working toward a just transition away from our extractive, profit-driven economy. That will require more than federal agencies can do on their own. Even so, what the White House is doing really matters. Let’s use this momentum to grow our movement, to lift up our communities, and celebrate what we’ve accomplished,” Tyndal said.

Contact
Denise January, Environmental Justice Assistance Network Coordinator
Climate impacts
Heat, Other
Strategies
Legal/permit challenges to development / contamination / pollution etc, Community farms/gardens, Political activism including protests / petitions / and lobbying, Community organizing and education, Risk mapping and/or monitoring e.g. flooding/contaminants etc, Legislation/policy reform
Environmental Justice Concerns
Superfund sites, Incinerator/dumping/landfill, Hazardous/toxic sites, Fracking/oil and gas development/pipelines, Coal/coke plants and emissions, PFAS/PFOS, Noise/light pollution, Port/transit/highway contamination/noise, Groundwater contamination, Air pollution, Fighting development/destruction of wildlife/extinction of species
501c3 Tax Deductible
Yes
Accepting Donation
Yes