About Colette Pichon Battle

The consequences of climate change are already shaping people’s lives. Is it possible to respond to climate impacts in ways that advance racial justice? Colette Pichon Battle is the founder of the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy where she has worked with local communities, national funders, and elected officials in the post-Katrina and post-Deepwater Horizon disaster recovery. She advocates for climate change mitigation and adaptation with racial justice and equity at its core. In her talk for the Forum, she will discuss how we can respond to climate disasters and ensuing migration in ways that can actually make positive change for communities of color.

She serves on the boards of the US Climate Action Network and the Highlander Research and Education Center, advises the Kataly Foundation’s Environmental Justice Resourcing Collective, and chairs the Equity Advisory Group of the Louisiana Governor’s Climate Initiative Task Force.