Tamara Toles

Tamara Toles O'Laughlin is an environmental activist and the former North American Director of 350.org.

Tamara Toles
Toles O'Laughlin in 2020
Born
Brooklyn
Alma materVermont Law School
City University of New York
Employer
  • 350.org
  • Maryland Environmental Health Network

Early life and education

Toles O'Laughlin is from Brooklyn.[1] She was an undergraduate student at the City University of New York, where she majored in political science. She attended the Vermont Law School for her graduate studies, where she graduated with a Juris Doctor[2] and a Masters Degree in Environmental law and policy.

Career

Toles O'Laughlin developed her early aptitude for environment and justice issues through internships with the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation, The Environmental Protection Agency, the Center on Race, Poverty and Environment, Natural Resources Defense Council, and employment with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Toles O'Laughlin has nearly two decades of cross-sector environmental experience. After graduating she worked as an intern at environmental organisations.[3] Prior to moving to non-profit work she held several positions in state and local government including the Maryland Energy Administration and District Department of Energy and Environment in Washington, DC, among others. Tamara had the honor of serving as the Senior Law Clerk to the Honorable Douglas A. Brady, and the Senior Sitting Judge Julio A. Brady (deceased) at the Superior Court of the US Virgin Islands on St. Croix.

She casts a wide net in service to the environmental community.  In 2014, Toles was appointed to the Executive Board of EcoWomen.[4][5] She closed a six year term at the DC chapter of EcoWomen in late 2019. DC EcoWomen is a community of approximately 6,000 professional women who inspire each other to create a healthy and equitable society. During her tenure she held several positions including vice president of professional development where she produced the organization's signature salon and monthly educational forum – EcoHour. She closed her term as the Board Chair during the final two years.

She also serves on the board of the Maryland Climate Coalition.[6]

Toles O'Laughlin is the sitting Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments: Air and Climate Public Advisory Committee, where she advocates for meaningful engagement and responsive public resources. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Women's Voices for the Earth, an organization based in Missoula, Montana, where she supports science based advocacy that gives voice to women fighting  to protect their health from toxic chemicals. She is also co-chair of the Green Leadership Trust.

A a state policy leader in Maryland, she oversaw the cultivation of groundswell support for legislation to include health impact assessments as standard practice at the Public Service Commission, and co-founded the Healthy Green Maryland Amendment Initiative to define healthy communities and provide multi-generational protections to defend against disproportionate climate impacts in the Maryland constitution. She was also the chief architect of the Baltimore City Climate Resolution, which passed in the City Council unanimously in response to the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords.

Toles O'Laughlin was made Executive Director of the Maryland Environmental Health Network in February 2017,[7] where she worked to eliminate environmental threats to human health.[8] She created the Baltimore City Climate Resolution, which upholds the Paris Agreement and calls for 100% renewable energy use in Baltimore by 2050.[9][10] It encourages for the development of wind technology, which would create clean, green jobs, as well as disincentivising incineration.[9] The resolution was passed in June 2017.[9] In 2018 she was awarded the Vermont Law School Social Justice Scholars Alumni Award.[8]

As its executive director she promoted the elimination of environmental threats to human health, and facilitated the development of coalitions led by impacted community members, and supported by health practitioners and environmental advocates.

Highlights of her time with MdEHN include conception and development of an annual environmental justice digest to provide statewide policy analysis through the lens of equity, access, and justice. The digest was a valued resource for education of state legislators and decision makers. She launched a ground breaking educational webinar series on human health and environmental impacts on issues ranging from community solar, to transportation and natural gas infrastructure, featuring the input and experience of impacted community members.

In 2019 Toles O'Laughlin joined 350.org as the North America Director making her the first African American female to hold this position in an environment or climate organization.[11] 350.org seeks to end fossil fuel usage and accelerate transition to renewable energy.[12] Toles O'Laughlin’s Leadership has strengthened 350.org as well as the climate and environmental movement’s engagement with Black, Indigenous and communities of color,[13] and is first of its kind, strategic leadership by a woman of color in environmentally focused non profit work.[14] A signature of her work is the identification of systemic challenges and development of resources to rebuild with vulnerable populations.[11][12]

Toles O'Laughlin has written for Rolling Stone,[15] The Nation,[16] Yes! magazine[17] and Grist.[18] She is a contributor to Politico‘s Long Game Forum and is widely sought out for thought leadership[19] on issues[20] of environment, equity, energy access and climate justice.[21]

References
  1. "Bio". Tamara Toles O'Laughlin. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  2. "How to Celebrate Earth Day Every Day | Vermont Law School". www.vermontlaw.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  3. "Loquitur—the Alumni Magazine for Vermont Law School. Winter 2020 Issue". Issuu. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  4. "Don't miss paddle-boarding with DC EcoWomen August 1!". Mad Mimi. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  5. "Tamara Toles O'Laughlin's schedule for PGM ONE 2019 Summit". pgmonesummit2019.sched.com. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  6. "Steering Committee | Maryland Climate Coalition". marylandclimatecoalition.org. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  7. "Baltimore Fishbowl | Greenlaurel: Why Baltimore City Council's Unanimous Climate Resolution is Important -". Baltimore Fishbowl. 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  8. "Tamara Toles O'Laughlin receives Social Justice Scholars Alumni Award from Vermont Law". Maryland Philanthropy Network. 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  9. "Baltimore City Climate Resolution Passes Unanimously!". Sierra Club. 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  10. "Tamara Toles O'Laughlin". She Saves The Planet. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  11. "350.org Announces Tamara Toles O'Laughlin as North America Director". 350.org. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  12. "Here are the environmental justice stories to watch in 2020". Grist. 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  13. "The Climate Pod: 350.org's Tamara Toles O'Laughlin on Fighting Racial Injustice in the Climate Movement | Plus, Director Josh Wakely Talks About Making Pearl Jam's "Retrograde" Video". theclimatepod.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  14. Pilot, Otto (2020-10-16). "Climate Ambition with Gina McCarthy, Annie Leonard and Tamara Toles O'Laughlin". Climate One. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  15. O'Laughlin, Elana Sulakshana,Tamara Toles; Sulakshana, Elana; O'Laughlin, Tamara Toles (2020-04-20). "Op-Ed: Big Insurance Is Climate's Quiet Killer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  16. "Tamara Toles O'Laughlin". The Nation. 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  17. "Tamara Toles O'Laughlin". Yes! Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  18. "What does the fossil fuel industry have to do with police brutality?". Grist. 2020-09-09. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  19. "Breathing While Black: Structural Racism, Coronavirus and Pollution Are Part of the Same Story". www.greentechmedia.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  20. "If you care about the planet, you must dismantle white supremacy". Grist. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  21. "A Matter of Degrees: Trump's Fossil Fuel Bailout on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
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