We invite you to join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking dialogue featuring internationally recognized environmental justice leader, activist, and author Catherine Coleman Flowers.
During this special event, AWWEE Board Member Phyllis Currie will engage Ms. Flowers in a discussion exploring her journey into environmental advocacy and the experiences that have shaped her significant contributions to environmental justice. Together, they will discuss the importance of diverse voices and lived experiences as we confront complex challenges, such as the expanding influence of data centers and infrastructure development.
The conversation will also address strategies for maintaining hope and resilience in the face of adversity, while providing practical guidance for individuals seeking to make a meaningful impact within their communities and careers. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of environmental justice and leave with renewed inspiration to drive positive change.
About Our Moderater & Speaker:
AWWEE is proud to have Phyllis Currie on its Board of Directors. A member of AWWEE since its inception, she was General Manager of the Pasadena, CA Water and Power for 14 years. She was on the board of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, a regional transmission operator for 15 states and Manitoba from 2016 to 2024 and served as chair from 2019 through 2021.
Prior to Pasadena, she was Chief Financial Officer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Assistant City Administrative Officer during her 30-year career with the city of Los Angeles. She is currently on the national board of Grid Alternatives and provides advisory services to public power agencies and energy firms. Her past board service includes President of the California Municipal Utilities Association and the Southern California Public Power Authority, Board Chair of the American Public Power and Director on the boards of the Municipal Rulemaking board, the Electric Power Research Institute, a California renewable fuels company and a privately held engineering firm in Idaho.
Catherine Coleman Flowers is an internationally recognized environmental activist, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient and author. She has dedicated her life’s work to advocating for environmental justice, primarily equal access to clean water and functional sanitation for communities across the United States.
Founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), Flowers has spent her career promoting equal access to clean water, air, sanitation and soil to reduce health and economic disparities in marginalized, rural communities.
In 2021, her leadership and fervor in fighting for solutions to these issues led her to one of her most notable appointments yet — Vice Chair of the Biden Administration’s inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. In 2023, she was recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the world and was featured on Forbes’ 50 Over 50 list. In 2025, she was awarded the prestigious TIME Earth Award.
Flowers is the author of the newly-released Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope and Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret. Holy Ground is an inspiring collection of unflinching essays, personal and political, that frames the challenges we face as a society and — with grace, generosity, and hope — charts the way toward equity, respect, and a brighter future. In Waste, Flowers shares her inspiring story of advocacy, from childhood to environmental justice champion, and discusses sanitation and its correlation with systemic class, racial, and geographic prejudice that affects people across the United States.
Flowers and her work have been profiled by CBS’s 60 Minutes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, PBS Newshour and more.
Learn more at www.catherinecolemanflowers.com.
Registration
Registration is not open for this event yet. We will announce when registration opens closer to the event date, so please be sure to check back soon for updates.