Newark Activist Named To White House Environmental Council

NEWARK, NJ — An environmental activist from Newark will be joining the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, officials recently announced.

Maria Lopez-Nuñez, the deputy director of the Ironbound Community Corporation, is one of two New Jersey members named to the council, along with Nicky Sheats.

Established by an executive order from President Joe Biden, the council will provide advice and recommendations to the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council on how to address current and historic environmental injustices.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will fund and provide administrative support for the council.

The Ironbound Community Corporation offered Lopez-Nuñez a hearty congratulations on social media, calling her a “tireless, fierce and effective advocate for our community and for environmental justice.”

“We know that we cannot achieve health justice, economic justice, racial justice, or educational justice without environmental justice,” Vice President Kamala Harris said. “That is why President Biden and I are committed to addressing environmental injustice.”

“This historic White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council will ensure that our administration’s work is informed by the insights, expertise, and lived experience of environmental justice leaders from across the nation,” Harris said.

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