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MELDI's Mission and Accomplishments

OUR MISSION

A dramatic demographic transition is underway in the American population. One of the most visible manifestations of this is the increasing numbers of ethnic minorities in the population. Though MELDI's research has shown that the percentage of minorities employed in the environmental workforce is increasing slowly, those increases have not kept pace with the demographic changes taking place in the country. This is most apparent when one examines the percent of minority environmental professionals employed in leadership positions in federal environmental agencies, conservation organizations and corporate environmental entities. A number of factors may account for this. However, the Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development Initiative (MELDI) believes that career and leadership development are important factors that can enhance the status of minority and low-income workers in the environmental field. Consequently, the project is designed to undertake a series of research and career development activities aimed at increasing diversity in the environmental field. It will also provide a vast array of informational resources to accomplish this goal. 

 
Minority Environmental Leadership Group, 2003Minority Environmental Leadership Group, 2003

 



MELDI'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Research Activities

MELDI has undertaken several research projects to help promote understanding of the status of diversity in the environmental field. The six projects listed below are national in scope. The first five have been completed while the last one listed is underway. The research projects are:

  • Identifying, profiling and publicizing senior as well as up-and-coming minority environmental professionals who have had stellar environmental careers.
  • Conducting research on non-academic environmental institutions to find out about recruitment, hiring and retention; pay equity; institutional diversity initiatives; networking; professional development; attitudes towards equity issues; promotions and evaluations; staff training; and leadership roles.
  • Conduct research to find out about the work experiences of white and minority environmental professionals. This research duplicated most of the factors examined in the institutional study.
  • Examine the status of diversity in the environmental pipeline by looking at university-level environmental programs. White and minority students are studied to find out about their diversity in their departments, majors, salary expectations, desire to work in environmental organizations, perceptions of equity, recruitment, career and leadership development, and access to mentors.
  • Study faculty diversity in university-level environmental programs. This research examined tenure status, leadership positions, promotion and evaluation, recruitment and hiring, departmental specializations, level of departmental diversity, mentoring, professional development, workload, and barriers to leadership development among white and minority faculty.
  • Conduct a study of the green-collar sector to find out about kinds and distribution of jobs in this area.


    • For abstracts of the research projects listed above and for publication information, please visit the Research Notes page.

    Developing Directories and Resource Guides

    MELDI has developed several searchable electronic directories and career resource guides that are posted on this website. They are:

  • Environmental Justice Researchers: International Directory. This directory lists thousands of people from around the world who conduct research on environmental justice issues. It contains their contact information, research interests, projects currently involved in, and publication interests.
  • Directory of Environmental Justice Organizations. This directory lists the names and contact information for hundreds of environmental justice groups around the country.
  • Environmental Justice Resource Providers. This directory lists the names and contact information for organizations that have worked closely with environmental justice organizations to provide resources (such as legal and technical help) for them.
  • Green Jobs Directory of Employers. This directory contains the names of thousands of non-profit, government and corporations hiring workers in the green jobs sector for both white-collar and green-collar positions. These are professional, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled jobs.
  • Green Jobs Training Programs. This directory lists the contact informtion for green job training programs around the country.
  • Job Descriptions: Salary Range, Desired Skills, Experience. This resource guide contains a listing of hundreds of environmental jobs, the skills and experience levels employers seek, salary range, and minimum educational requirements. The guide also contains information such as resume writing, negotiating salaries, networking, and finding mentor.
  • Links to Conservation Directories. This directory contains the names and links to listings of mainstream environmental organizations as well as federal, state, and local government agencies.
  • Links to Directories of Academic Environmental Programs. This directory contains the names and links to college environmental programs.


    • Green Jobs Center

    MELDI has developed an online Green Jobs Center that contains information for job seekers and recruiters, or those seeking to enhance their career. The center lists job openings in a wide range of agencies, organizations, corporations and industries. The databases also contain the contact information of the human resources or hiring departments for various organizations. It provides web links to electronic environmental jobs boards and data banks. The databases also contain information on internship opportunities. The following databases are available for use on this website:

  • Jobs in Nonprofit Organizations
  • Jobs in Government Environmental Agencies
  • Corporate Environmental Jobs
  • Industrial Green Jobs
  • Jobs in Academia or Education
  • Environmental Design, Management and Consulting
  • Environmental Services
  • Environmental Employment Services and Electronic Jobs Boards
  • International Environmental Jobs
  • Domestic Internship Opportunities
  • International Internship Opportunities


    • The Green Jobs Center contains additional databases such as:

  • A green employers database
  • A directory of green jobs training programs
  • A directory of job skills, salary range and desired experience
  • A career resource guide containing information about resume writing, interviewing, salary negotiations, networking and mentoring.


    • Volunteering Database

    The website lists several volunteering opportunities in the United States and internationally.

  • Domestic Volunteering Opportunities
  • International Volunteering Opportunities.


    • If you wish to post job announcements, internship information or volunteering opportunities to our database, please do so from the Submit page.

    Profiles of Minority Environmental Professionals Database

    We have conducted more than 200 interviews with minority environmental professionals who have had outstanding careers in the environmental field and developed profiles of them. The profiles are in a searchable database. They run the gamut from distinguished retirees such as Robert Stanton, the former Director of the National Park Service and Clarice Gaylord former Director of Research Grants in the Environmental Protection Agency to young professionals who are rising stars. The profiles are of academics, wildlife photographers, policymakers, founders of environmental organizations, administrators, foundation program officers, program directors, fundraisers, to name a few. These profiles provide striking examples of how minorities have managed to build successful careers in the environmental field, found mentors and mentored others. They are excellent role models for young people considering careers in the environmental field.

    We will continue to add to this database. If you wish to submit a profile for our consideration of an outstanding minority environmental professional, please do so on our Submit page.

    Professional Associations Databases

    These database contains the names and contact information of several types professional associations. Many of the data bases contain professional associations catering to specific thematic areas or ethnic audiences. They are:

  • African American Professional Associations
  • Native American Professional Associations
  • Asian American Professional Associations
  • Hispanic Professional Associations
  • Other Environmental Professional Associations


    • Conferences and Workshops

    MELDI has hosted university-wide, national and international conferences in the last few years. Our major conference activities include:

  • The 2007 Faculty Diversity and Environmental Justice Research Symposium. This was an international conference held at the University of Michigan. The conference drew 175 participants. There were panel presentations from academics, students, policy makers, activists, representatives of government agencies. Go to the Conferences page to view a copy of the Conference Program, Research Abstracts and Conference Proceedings.
  • The 2006 First Annual Environmental Justice Research Symposium. This was a university-wide conference that brought together faculty and students conducting environmental justice research to present and discuss their research findings. More than 40 faculty and students participated in the event. Go to the Conferences page to view a copy of the Research Abstracts from this conference.
  • The 2005 National Summit on Diversity in the Environmental Field. This was a national conference attended by 250 people. It was held at the University of Michigan. Participants included representatives from government agencies, mainstream and environmental justice organizations, diversity consultants, academics, students, policy makers, environmental grantmakers, representatives from corporations. Go to the Conferences page to view the Conference Program and Conference Proceedings.


    • MELDI has also organized workshops attended by more than 250 students and young professionals from around the country on the following topics:

  • Resume Writing
  • Salary Negotiations
  • Job Search
  • Mentoring
  • Networking


    • Funding Databases

    MELDI has developed and placed online two environmental funding databases that contain contact information for hundreds of environmental grantmaking foundations as well as environmental fellowship and scholarship opportunities. The site contains deadlines for some of the fellowships and scholarships. The funding databases are:

  • Environmental Grantmaking Foundations
  • Environmental Fellowship and Scholarship Opportunities.


    • To view these databases, go to the Fellowships and Funding page.

    Diversity Initiatives

    MELDI has created an online database of diversity initiatives nationwide. These are programs that are designed to help recruit and retain minority students in the environmental field and the sciences in general. They are also programs provide mentoring, networking opportunities, career and leadership development. Some of the initiatives are focused on minority environmental professionals. To find out more about these initiatives, please see the Diversity Initiatives page.

    Diversity Consultants

    We have compiled a list of diversity consultants who have experience working with environmental organizations wanting to diversify their institutions. These consultants are experts in race relations and issues related to social inequality. To view the contact information for these consultants, please see the Diversity Initiatives page.

    Environmental Media Database

    MELDI has an online database of environmental media sources. This includes a listing of journals, magazines, e-publications, newspapers, and other environmental periodicals. MELDI also posts news events that are related to environment and diversity, environmental justice, and career and leadership development in the environmental field that are happening around the country here also. Information on these media sources and activities can be found on the Environmental Media page.

    Current Events

    The Current Events page keeps users up-to-date with current and upcoming activities at MELDI.  For more on these activities see the Current Events box on the front page or click on Current Events on the main menu. 

     

    HELP MELDI BUILD ITS CONTENT AND PROVIDE RESOURCES TO OTHERS

    Since its inception in 2002 MELDI has provided a vast array of resources to thousands of users that visit this website.  We have migrated to a new content management system that will allow users to contribute to the resources we provide to the world.  This is an opportunity for you to share information with others who are interested in the issues this website focuses on.  Please use the Submit pages to provide us with information to enhance the databases housed on the site and enrich the content on the site.  Thank you for helping to build this site.

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