Uptown Chats
Join Jaron and Lonnie as they explore issues in their community through the eyes of everyday people, and discuss how environmental justice is showing up in the news. It’s not just for experts, it's for everyone! The podcast is officially 1 year old! Now that we're older and wiser, we're releasing episodes twice each month - on the second and last Monday of each month. Uptown Chats is the official podcast of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. WE ACT was founded in 1988 and has offices in New York City and Washington, D.C. You can find us online at weact.org.
Episodes
The holidays are here again, and this year, Lonnie and Jaron are joined by Leslie Fields, WE ACT’s Chief Federal Officer to share stories from the environmental justice movement, including Leslie’s role in creating our Federal Policy Office in Washington, D.C.
Learn more about the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum made up of organizations across the country!
It has been a difficult year for many of us, but that hasn’t stopped WE ACT from accomplishing some big wins in the name of environmental justice. Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn more about some of the wins for 2025 that we are excited to celebrate.
Want to take action? Check out the links below:
Want to hear some trash talk without all of the drama? Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about some emerging policies in New York State to reduce the impact of plastic and other waste materials on the environment and our health, with help from a member of WE ACT's Planning Committee, Danielle Dookie. Danielle also serves on the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board.
Children’s Environmental Health Month is almost over, but youth-led climate action is still going strong! In this episode, Lonnie and Jaron are joined by Shiv Soin, Founder and Co-Executive Director of TREEage to learn how young people have helped shape the climate justice movement and ways for more young people to get involved.
October is Children’s Environmental Health Month! Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about the Green Healthy Schools campaign with help from Faiza Azam, Climate & Labor Organizer at ALIGN.
Take Action!
Join the Climate Works for All coalition and sign the petition to tell our next mayor: we need Green, Healthy Schools t...
Need some fresh air? Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about air quality monitoring projects in Northern Manhattan and how you can help promote environmental justice in New York with help from Valentina Rojas, WE ACT’s Environmental Health Manager.
Extra Resources:
- Learn more about the
It’s raining, it’s pouring! Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn how different types of flooding impact communities across New York, and what is being done to reduce those impacts with help from Tyler Taba, Director of Resilience at Waterfront Alliance.
Guest Information: Tyler Taba, Director of Resilience - Waterfront Alliance
Extra Resources:
It is our fifty-first episode! Join Lonnie and Jaron as they reflect on highlights and lessons from their first fifty episodes of the podcast with the help of Karla Cordero, WE ACT’s Chief of Staff.
You can also listen to this episode on YouTube...
The story continues! Join Jaron and Lonnie for the second part of their first Uptown Chats Book Club featuring a discussion with Dr. Diana Hernandez about her new book, Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy. No reading required!
Check out this Uptown Chats Book Club read: Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energ...
Energy insecurity is real! Join Jaron and Lonnie for their first Uptown Chats Book Club featuring a discussion with Dr. Diana Hernandez about her new book, Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy. No reading required!
Note: This is a two-part episode. Stay tuned for the rest of the interview in our next episode!
Welcome to the future! Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about some emerging renewable energy technologies ranging from totally plausible to way out there with help from Jama Joseph, WE ACT's Communications Associate. Be warned - this one may get a little silly!
DISCLAIMER: This episode is for entertainment and educational...
That’s a wrap! Join Jaron and Lonnie as they reflect on lessons from their Right Direction mini-series and share some of their highlights.
You can also listen to this episode on YouTube.
Got questions? Email...
This episode is a TEN out of TEN! Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about geothermal energy and thermal energy networks, also known as TENs, with help from Jon Furlong, Clean Buildings Campaign Manager at New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV).
Extra Resources:
Are you a big fan of wind energy? Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn more about the growing offshore wind industry in New York and the workforce development that is needed to support it with help from the City University of New York’s Offshore Wind Advisory Network. Special guests include Robert Zandi (Kingsborough Community College) and Alexander Seki (LaGuard...
Pump it up! In this episode, Lonnie and Jaron are joined by Jordan Bonomo from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to talk about how they have been piloting heat pumps in their buildings to reduce their energy usage and improve the comfort of their residents.
Extra Resources:
Solar energy is everywhere! Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about how New York State is using the power of the sun to help meet its climate goals with help from Stephan Roundtree, Deputy Program Director for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic at Vote Solar.
Extra Resources:
- Learn more about ...
Lonnie and Jaron are kicking off their Right Direction mini-series by exploring what it means to promote a just energy transition with special guest Shalanda Baker, Vice Provost for Sustainability & Climate Action at the University of Michigan, and former Director of the Office of Energy Justice and Equity at the Department of Energy.
Resources...
Starting on April 14th, Jaron and Lonnie will be launching a new mini-series where they’ll be joined by some incredible guests to take a look at technologies, like solar, wind, geothermal, and heat pumps that can help support environmental justice. They will also talk about what’s going on with these technologies here in the United States and how the ever-c...
PFAS - only four letters, but it includes 15,000 chemicals that are found in products we use every day. Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn more about what New York and other states are doing to ban these chemicals with help from Kate Donovan, Director of Northeast Environmental Health at NRDC.
Extra Resources:
- Visit pfasfreeny.org to learn more about the PFAS-Free NY campaign.
- Check out...
Are your personal care products safe to use? Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about WE ACT’s Beauty Justice campaign, which aims to ban dangerous toxic chemicals from products we use every day. Featuring special guest Elizabeth Reyes, WE ACT’s Toxics Policy Campaign Coordinator.
Extra Resources:
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