Climate Justice for All

Jenille Scott ’17 earned her master’s degree in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School before holding a series of positions focused on clean energy and climate justice. Today, she is the climate director for ALIGN: Alliance for a Greater New York. Scott recently connected with Tapestry to reflect on her Bryn Mawr College journey—and how her coursework, centered around climate, helped to inform her current career in environmental justice.

I am originally from Jamaica and studied at United World College Costa Rica. From an early age, environmental justice was a passion. I witnessed firsthand how climate change was impacting small island nations like mine in ways that other larger countries weren’t experiencing. At that time, most conversations around climate change centered around melting ice caps and polar bears. Often, communities and people—especially people of color—weren’t included in those conversations.

With my curiosity already charged, I was ready to fuel my passion with a diverse set of course offerings when I arrived at Bryn Mawr College. Ultimately, I graduated with a biology degree; however, looking back, most of my coursework was centered around political science, anthropology, ecology, and the environment. Perhaps I was ahead of my time at the College: The Environmental Studies program had not yet been launched at Bryn Mawr and Haverford. Professors like Carol Hager helped me to build the coursework that spoke to my passion.

All of my areas of study came together during my junior year, when I went on a 360 program trip to Germany called Climate Change: Science and Politics. During this trip, I observed additional shifts in the conversation centered around climate. Coalitions of less industrialized nations were forming and demanding greater space, as well as recognition, in places like the United Nations. This course helped bring the human impact of climate change into greater focus for me. If people must move and leave their ancestral lands and artifacts, that is a form of cultural genocide. Climate change is not just environmental—it’s tied to other social issues like racism, housing, and economic justice.

After graduating from the College, I took this more people-centered framework of climate change to graduate school and, eventually, my work. With an environmental law and policy degree, I was able to translate data and governmental regulations into action-based initiatives. I worked for WeSolar Inc., the first Black woman-owned community solar company, to advance their mission of expanding solar access to low- and moderate-income communities. I was the New York field organizer with Our Climate, supporting young leaders in advocating for science-based climate policies. I also served as an education manager with The Chisholm Legacy Project, a resource hub for Black frontline climate justice leadership.

Currently, as the climate director for ALIGN, I am leading the green team and overseeing climate justice coalitions, renewable energy initiatives, and policy campaigns. I credit Bryn Mawr with providing me the tools to evaluate the data from environmental research and figure out how best to present it to larger audiences and to my community.