The University of Washington Center for Environmental Health Equity
Serving the environmental and energy justice needs of Northwest communities
Mission
The mission of the UW Center for Environmental Health Equity is to provide technical assistance to tribal and community organizations in EPA Region 10 states (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington) to strengthen their capacity and effectiveness in applying to and successfully managing environmental and energy justice grants and programs.
Get in on the ground floor
Nominate Experts for the Native Scholars Steering Committee
Seeking nominations to fill four steering committee seats.
Needs assessment for technical assistance
Help us learn about the types of technical assistance you are interested in receiving.
Tribal Advisory Panel Nominations
The Tribal Advisory Panel will plan, guide, inform and recommend a process that acknowledges the government-to-government consultative obligations of the US to federally recognized Tribes.
About Us
The mission of the UW Center for Environmental Health Equity is to provide technical assistance to tribal and community organizations in EPA Region 10 states (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) to strengthen their capacity and effectiveness in applying to and successfully managing environmental and energy justice (EEJ) grants and programs.
UW CEHE is one of 17 centers in the EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (TCTAC) Program and is one of two TCTACs that serves EPA Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington). The focus of UW CEHE is on providing technical assistance to community-based organizations and tribal nations, communities and organizations who are interested, or need support, in developing proposals for environmental justice and energy justice (EEJ) grants.
More specifically, the UW CEHE provides the following types of technical assistance to these groups by:
- Conducting environmental justice analyses and needs assessments
- Identifying, preparing to apply, applying for, and managing EEJ grants and programs
- Facilitating meaningful engagement with other EEJ stakeholders and decision-makers
- Building capacity to strengthen and focus their work on EEJ issues
- Fostering community leadership in developing EEJ solutions
- Engaging UW graduate students in technical assistance opportunities
Our leadership
Edmund Seto, MS, PhD,
Associate Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
Center Director
Clarita Lefthand-Begay, MS, PhD
Assistant Professor, Information School
Center Deputy Director and Director of Relations with Tribal nations, communities and organizations
Esther Min, MPH, PhD,
Assistant Clinical Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
Center Associate Director and Director of Engagement with EEJ grassroots organizations and frontline communities
Elena Austin, ScD,
Assistant Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
Director of Environmental Equity Data
Nicole Errett, MSPH, PhD,
Assistant Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
Director for Outreach and Engagement with Public Health Practitioners
Stephanie Farquhar, MA, PhD,
Professor of Health Systems and Population Health
Co-Investigator and Lead Evaluator
Get Involved
Join our email list
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Needs assessment for technical assistance
The new UW Center for Environmental Health Equity (CEHE) will provide technical assistance for environmental and energy justice grants and programs to US EPA’s Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington), with the overarching goal to strengthen participants’ capacity and effectiveness in applying to and successfully managing EEJ grants and programs. Though the types of technical assistance we provide will change and grow with time, we want to understand the types of assistance you are interested in receiving. To help us understand your needs, please provide us with feedback by filling in and submitting this form.
To participate, follow the link below.
Call for Environmental Justice and Energy Justice Experts for the Tribal Advisory Panel
Submit online nominations by Friday June 30, 2023
The Tribal Advisory Panel is designed to plan, guide, inform and recommend a process within a university-based center that acknowledges the government-to-government consultative obligations of the US to federally recognized Tribes. UW CEHE is committed to advancing Indigenous environmental justice and energy justice across Tribal nations, communities and organizations across EPA’s Region 10, which includes Tribal nations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Call for Environmental Justice and Energy Justice Experts for the Native Scholars Steering Committee (NSSC)
Submit online nominations by Friday June 30, 2023
UW CEHE is committed to advancing Indigenous environmental justice and energy justice across Tribal nations, communities and organizations in EPA Region 10, which includes Tribal nations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. We recognize the deep knowledge held by American Indian and Alaska Native students, staff, faculty and leaders at the University of Washington. We hope to draw on our campus communities' experiences, expertise and relationships to help steer the direction of UW CEHE’s initiatives and relations with Tribal nations, communities and organizations. As we launch the center, we aim to fill up to four steering committee seats.
Expertise and experiences we seek include:
- Applied Indigenous environmental justice.
- Tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, governance and law.
- Indigenous data justice: Tribal institutional review boards, Tribal research ethics, information management, secure database development, and similar areas.
- Exposure science, environmental health science, toxicology, risk assessment, risk communication, and epidemiology.
- Research in Indigenous health equity including cancer and genetic research.
- Indigenous research methodologies and Indigenous statistics.
- Experience and expertise working with remote and rural communities.
Who can nominate a person for the TAP and NSSC: Anyone
Who is eligible to be nominated for the NSSC: American Indian and Alaska Native students, staff, faculty and leaders on UW campus, as well as other campuses, that center and position their work in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Please consider nominating individuals and/or yourself.
Who is eligible to be nominated for the TAP: We are seeking nominations for Tribal leaders, community members/citizens and individuals who have expertise outside of universities and colleges who are interested in serving two year committee roles to guide the CEHE.
