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Solving the World's Challenges Panel Presentation

Virtual Exhibit for the Solving the World's Challenges Funk ACES Library panel presentation

Environmental Justice

Three experts from across campus will each discuss their work related to environmental justice and respond to questions from attendees during the #FunkPanel2025. Their work includes research on the intersection of environmental justice and energy policy in the U.S, research on how community-based movements and marginalized communities address environmental inequalities particularly related to water systems in Puerto Rico, and research on public health and water quality issues facing underserved, rural communities and those on private wells around the U.S.  This hybrid panel presentation on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Central) will be an opportunity for people to come together with the Funk ACES Library to learn about and discuss environmental justice research and initiatives led by members of our campus community.

We also are providing a Zoom option for people to attend the panel virtually.

Free Registration

Live-streaming for virtual attendees is made possible by the R.J. "Rusty" Laible Endowment Fund.

Meet Our Panelists

McKenzie Johnson is Assistant Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As an environmental social scientist, she engages in research at the intersection of environmental politics, human security, and environmental justice. She has conducted interdisciplinary research projects in the United States, Central and South Asia, West Africa, and South America, with her most recent work focused on energy justice in the United States and environmental peacebuilding in Latin America.

 

Poster for the environmental justice panel, contains images of the panelist, a blurb about the panel and a title header.

Omar Pérez Figueroa is an Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is dedicated to supporting underrepresented and disenfranchised communities in addressing environmental inequalities, particularly those impacted from extreme weather events and water injustice issues. At UIUC he is also an affiliated faculty member with the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies and the Illinois Water Research Center. He graduated cum laude in 2010 with a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. In 2011, he was awarded the Truman Foundation Scholarship, which he used to complete a master’s degree in water, Interdisciplinary Analysis, and Sustainable Management from the University of Barcelona. He later completed a PhD in Environmental and Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine, supported by the Ford Foundation. His current research is set at the intersection between climate justice and housing, public policy participation and urban design.

Steve Wilson is a Groundwater Hydrologist and Head for the Environmental Public Health, Information and Data Services Section at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois. He authored and manages The Private Well Class, an online self-paced curriculum for private well owners that uses education through online and in-person webinars/conferences to increase the knowledge and competency of well owners and the dedicated environmental health professionals who work closely with private water well owners. Steve has a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Poster for the environmental justice panel, contains images of the panelist, a blurb about the panel and a title header.

Library Guides Related to Environmental Justice

Screenshot of Endangered and Threatened Species in Illinois, the U.S. and Worldwide LibGuide

Endangered and Threatened Species in Illinois, the U.S. and Worldwide LibGuide

Research guide to assist users on how to find information about endangered & threatened species in Illinois, the U.S. and worldwide. 

Screenshot of American Environmental History LibGuide

American Environmental History LibGuide

Research guide on how to find resources and materials about American Environmental History.

Energy-Water Nexus Research Guide

Energy-Water Nexus Research Guide

Find information on the connection between water and energy using this research guide. 

Screenshot of Rain Gardens LibGuide

Rain Gardens

This guide contains various resources about rain gardens. A rain garden is a planted depression that allows rain water runoff to slowly soak into the ground instead of storm drains and surface waters.