Upcoming Meetings

No upcoming meetings.

Scope and Purpose

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Action Team leads the development of a plan to implement the recommendations of the Chesapeake Bay Program DEIJ Strategy and provides recommendations to further incorporate environmental justice leaders and underrepresented groups into partnership decision-making and implementation activities. The Chesapeake Executive Council signed a directive in August 2020 reaffirming their commitment to DEIJ in all partnership work. A complementary action statement was signed by the Principals’ Staff Committee and the DEIJ Action Team was formed as an initiative to oversee the implementation of the action statement. Members of the DEIJ Action Team were selected from across the partnership to reflect the diversity of the people living within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and include members knowledgeable about environmental justice matters. The DEIJ Action Team seeks input and feedback from underrepresented communities on all aspects of this work and will strive to use this foundation for meaningful and long-term engagement in all Chesapeake Bay Program endeavors.

Publications

DEIJ Backgrounder

This two-page backgrounder provides context for the CBP's DEIJ efforts and explains the high-level activities of the DEIJ Strategy Implementation Plan.

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CBP DEIJ Strategy Implementation Plan

This Chesapeake Bay Program Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Strategy Implementation Plan (Implementation Plan) presents a roadmap for advancing the recommendations found in Restoration from the Inside Out: A Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Strategy for the Chesapeake Bay Program (DEIJ Strategy). The Implementation Plan was developed by the CBP DEIJ Action Team with input from partnership entities and the public following the release of the Principals' Staff Committee Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Action Statement.

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Restoration from the Inside Out: A Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Strategy

This strategy was developed by an independent consultant (Skeo Solutions) for the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership. It contains recommendations that are grouped into four DEIJ framework focus areas. The consultant developed these recommendations based on interviews with CBP teams and leadership, a DEIJ readiness survey, two focus groups, a review of key partnership policy documents and input from the Diversity Workgroup. The recommendations provide a visionary framework to be used by the partnership as a guide to achieve the following:

  • Increase racial and ethnic diversity among partnership staff and leadership.
  • Help partners develop as DEIJ leaders who understand, respect and embrace cultural diversity.
  • Provide partners with the tools to continually assess progress towards diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice goals.

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Members

Meryem Karad (Chair), Virginia Office of Natural Resources
Address:
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Email:  meryem.karad@governor.virginia.gov
Jeffrey Seltzer (Chair), District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
Address:
1200 First Street NE
Washington, District of Columbia 20002

Email:  jeffrey.seltzer@dc.gov
Phone:  (202) 535-1603
Wendy O'Sullivan, National Park Service (NPS)
Address:
1750 Forest Drive Suite 130
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  wendy_o'sullivan@nps.gov
Phone:  (202) 374-9051
Clare Gooch, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
Address:
100 W. Water St.
Suite 10B
Dover, Delaware 19904

Email:  clare.gooch@delaware.gov
Phone:  (302) 672-1156
Kevin Newman, District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
Address:
1200 First St NE
Washington, District of Columbia 20002

Email:  kevin.newman@dc.gov
Dave Goshorn, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Address:
580 Taylor Avenue
C-4
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  david.goshorn@maryland.gov
Phone:  (410) 260-8110
Trystan Sill, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Address:
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  trystan.sill@maryland.gov
Phone:  (410) 260-8827
Emily Hendrickson, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR)
Address:
Rachel Carson State Office Building
400 Market Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105

Email:  emhendrick@pa.gov
Phone:  (717) 787-9293
Lauren Imgrund, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR)
Address:
400 Market St
7th Floor
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105

Email:  limgrund@pa.gov
Phone:  (717) 772-9085
Jill Whitcomb, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Address:
400 Market Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101

Email:  jiwhitcomb@pa.gov
Ann Jennings, Virginia Office of Natural Resources
Address:
Patrick Henry Building
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Email:  Ann.Jennings@governor.virginia.gov
Phone:  (804) 786-0044
Bill Jenkins, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 3
Address:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Email:  jenkins.bill@epa.gov
Phone:  (215) 814-2911
Genevieve LaRouche, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Address:
177 Admiral Cochrane Drive
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  Genevieve_LaRouche@fws.gov
Phone:  (410) 573-4573
Chris Guy, Habitat Goal Implementation Team Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Address:
1750 Forest Drive Suite 130
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  chris_guy@fws.gov
Sean Corson, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Address:
200 Harry S. Truman Parkway
Suite 460
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  sean.corson@noaa.gov
Katie Brownson, Watershed Specialist, U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
Address:
1750 Forest Drive Suite 130
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  Katherine.Brownson@usda.gov
Trena Ferrell, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Address:
Goddard Space Flight Center
8800 Greenbelt Rd.
Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

Email:  trena.m.ferrell@nasa.gov
Julie Lawson, Stakeholders' Advisory Committee
Address:
6548 Eastern Avenue NE
District of Columbia, District of Columbia 20012

Email:  lawson.julie@gmail.com
Phone:  (202) 347-0412
Jessica Blackburn, Stakeholders' Advisory Committee Coordinator, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
Address:
612 Hull St Suite 101C
Richmond, Virginia 23224

Email:  jblackburn@allianceforthebay.org
Phone:  (804) 775-0951
Daniel Chao, Local Government Advisory Committee
Address:
Ward 2
Washington, District of Columbia 20007

Email:  dschao@gmail.com
Phone:  (202) 689-9745
Liz Feinberg, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Address:
000
Paoli, Pennsylvania 19301

Email:  liz.feinberg63@gmail.com
Annabelle Harvey, Chesapeake Research Consortium
Address:
645 Contees Wharf Road
Edgewater, Maryland 21037

Email:  harveya@chesapeake.org
Phone:  (410) 798-1283
Tom Ihde, Morgan State University Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic Research Laboratory
Address:
10545 Mackall Road
Saint Leonard, Maryland 20685

Email:  thomas.ihde@morgan.edu
Carmera Thomas-Wilhite, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Address:
6 Herndon Ave
Annapolis, Maryland 21403

Email:  cthomas@conservationfund.org
Chantal M., Chesapeake Research Consortium
Address:
410 Severn Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21403

Email:  madray.chantal@epa.gov
Phone:  (410) 267-5721
Mark Defley, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Address:
Room 4512, 1400 Independence Avenue
Washington, District of Columbia 20250

Email:  mark.defley@usda.gov
Phone:  (202) 690-1414
Megan Sommers Bascone, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Address:
1111 East Main Street
Suite 100
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Email:  megan.bascone@deq.virginia.gov