Just Transition Fund

Leadership development is a cornerstone of our work, and I would allocate the Elevate Prize funding accordingly. I would use a portion of the funding to support my own leadership development, with a focus on building my communications skills in order to grow the Fund and elevate our local leaders.

As an organization, the Just Transition Fund would use Prize funding to build the capacity of our community-based partners across the country to help them show the impact of their work. We strongly believe those most impacted by the problem must be at the center of the dialogue around solutions, but community-based organizations often lack the communications and technical capacity to engage in this dialogue effectively. To address this barrier, we would create an “Elevate” cohort of local leaders who would receive communications support and assistance with measuring the impacts of their work. This program would build on our own experience using rigorous, evidence-based methods to scale transition solutions. Funding would help us build the communications and analytical skills necessary for local leaders to inform policy makers, scale their solutions, and advance a just transition within their communities and at the national level.

As our country moves to a low-carbon future, I believe that we can't leave the people and the places that powered our country for generations behind. I grew up in a small town in Western New York where my aunt worked at the local coal plant for 40 years. I also have family members who were coal miners in West Virginia. I've spent 20 years working in philanthropy on climate and energy, and to me, the climate problem is about the people who are most impacted. I created the Just Transition Fund to help those who are economically hit hardest by the energy transition.

We've built a track record of success, helping to create 2,000 family-sustaining jobs, train 6,500 low-income workers, start 380 businesses, leverage over $120M in public funds, and save $22M in energy costs for low-income families.

Our work is now in the national spotlight, and with federal efforts to address economic recovery, infrastructure, and climate change, the opportunity for a just transition for coal communities has never been more timely. I’m growing our $5M Fund to a $25M Fund that can fully realize our vision for resilient communities that thrive in the new energy economy.

We are solving an economic problem faced by U.S. coal communities hit hardest by the transition away from coal. Rapid closures of coal plants and mines—often local economic engines—are eliminating jobs and eroding local tax bases. In the last decade, more than 300 coal plants have closed, cutting the number of mine-related jobs in half and reducing local tax revenue by up to 80 percent. For every job lost to a plant closure, up to four more are impacted.

Though locally felt, this is a global problem, experienced in virtually every country where coal-fired power plays a vital role. In the U.S., the energy transition is not only wreaking economic havoc, but in many places, the reliance on the coal industry has prevented political and public support for climate solutions. 

That is why we build economically-resilient communities in the places most impacted by the transition. We act as a grantmaker, scaling up the most effective economic development and workforce solutions, and as a technical assistance provider, offering direct planning support to communities. We also serve as a convener, bringing local leaders together to learn from each other and to shape the national dialogue on transition.

The Just Transition Fund is the only national organization focused on ensuring coal communities have what they need to envision and realize a vibrant economic future. As the coal industry rapidly declined, we were years ahead of the climate and energy field in identifying the critical need to address the economic pain caused by the transition away from fossil fuels--and in taking action.

We strongly believe in the power of local communities and in the durability of bottom-up solutions, and we have intimate knowledge of coal communities based on years of work on the ground. At the same time, with experience across regions, we see the big picture. As a national entity, we’re uniquely positioned to find replicable and scalable strategies developed by local leaders across the country. And, as a trusted partner, we are able to bring these leaders together to advocate for change with a unified, powerful voice. As the Biden Administration links economic recovery to tackling climate change, the successful transition of coal communities is critical. We will only build broad public support for climate solutions if we can ensure that the benefits of a green economy are equitably shared.

Our programs meet the immediate needs of transitioning coal communities while helping build long-term economic resilience. And, in the process of solving an economic problem, we are building broad-based public support for climate solutions. Our strategies to achieve this impact are:

1. Finding and scaling effective local economic models: We invest in local partners who are successfully pioneering innovative economic solutions in their communities that can be scaled and replicated elsewhere. We support local leaders to create place-based strategies that leverage local assets and identify new revenue streams to build community wealth. 
2. Driving community-driven solutions at the state and federal level: As a trusted partner, we convene community stakeholders to create a unified, more powerful voice. Our landmark National Economic Transition (NET) platform, developed with locally based partners nationwide, is now having a major impact on the national transition dialogue. 
3. Helping communities plan for a more resilient future: Our direct planning assistance engages affected stakeholders, especially those who have been historically marginalized, in developing solutions for inclusive, equitable economic growth. We also help local leaders advocate for state transition funds to supplement local property tax revenues, pay for worker retraining programs, and fund cleanup and reclamation of coal facility sites.

The Just Transition Fund supports economically distressed coal communities by helping them develop diversified, inclusive, and equitable  local economies. For context, there are approximately 250 coal plants and mines still operating in the U.S. In 2019, we used a data-driven process to identify the 20% of these places that are the most economically distressed and have the highest concentrations of at-risk and marginalized populations. We prioritized these communities for JTF support through our grantmaking, transition planning assistance, convenings, and policy platform development.

In 2020, our programs directly served 526,587 people through grants and technical assistance. Furthermore, our policy work served an additional 10.1M people who would benefit from state and federal legislative action to help coal communities.

In the next year, we aim to increase these numbers by 20% by expanding our efforts to other coal communities.

In places most impacted by the energy transition, we build resilient communities by advancing economic solutions that are equitable, inclusive, and low-carbon. Our goals are to: 1) diversify local economies by promoting inclusive, equitable economic growth; 2) build the resilience of low-income workers; 3) accelerate the development of low-carbon solutions; and 4) strengthen the coal community transition movement.

To achieve these goals, we:

1. Find and scale effective economic models. We invest in community partners who are pioneering innovative, scaleable, and replicable solutions. We support place-based strategies that leverage local assets and build community wealth. 

2. Drive community-driven solutions at the state and federal level. We convene local leaders to create a unified policy voice through our landmark National Economic Transition (NET) initiative.

3. Help communities plan for a resilient future. Our direct planning assistance engages affected stakeholders, especially marginalized groups, in developing inclusive, equitable solutions.

We believe in evidence-based philanthropy and evaluate our strategies through a rigorous framework. Our metrics include:

• Jobs created and workers trained

• Key policymakers influenced by NET recommendations

• Federal transition funding increased

Showing affected workers and communities there is a bright economic future beyond fossil fuels is a critical step toward building durable support for climate policy.

The primary barriers affecting our work include:

1. Limited community capacity. We've found that local transition solutions are most effective, but many communities lack the financial, technical (e.g., broadband access), and communications capacity needed to plan for transition, access public funding, and advocate for policies.

2. Limited support for community-informed transition policy. Effective policies must be informed by local people from communities directly affected by the problem. Yet federal policy discussions often exclude local leaders and stakeholders.

3. Limited investment in transition needs. As coal closures accelerate, communities require significant private, public, and philanthropic investment. But these sectors substantially underinvest, especially compared to other social and economic issues. The private sector, for example, is only starting to engage.

Our strategies are designed to address each of these barriers. We have a singular perspective on the range of proven economic solutions developed by our network of community leaders, and we strongly believe these leaders must be at the center of the federal transition dialogue. The Elevate Prize would help us build our capacity, and that of our community partners across the country, to scale place-based solutions, ensure local voices are engaged in federal policy discussions, and launch a campaign to boost private-sector investment.

Today, far too few decision-makers in government, philanthropy, and beyond understand the economic pain created by the energy transition and why addressing this distress is necessary to build support for climate solutions.  Moreover, national decision-makers often fail to include local community experts when developing economic policy. Access to a larger platform and audience would help us bring more attention to 1) the urgent economic distress experienced by the growing number of coal-impacted places, 2) the most effective community-based solutions, and 3) JTF’s critical role in scaling solutions and uniting community leaders to develop a shared policy agenda. 

Greater JTF brand recognition would not only increase our organizational visibility but would also allow us to significantly raise the profile of our community-based partners. Currently, decision makers are considering new policies and investments to support coal-impacted places. We’re deeply committed to centering community perspectives in the national dialogue, and we're uniquely positioned to do so. As the only national organization focused on coal community transition, we have six years of experience strengthening the transition movement. The increased visibility would allow us to expand our programs at a critical moment of opportunity and bring more public and private investment into the transition field.

A commitment to equity is core to our values and goals. We apply and adapt Race Forward’s definition of equity as both an outcome (when group identity does not determine one’s socioeconomic outcomes) and a process (when those most impacted by inequity are meaningfully involved in creating the policies and practices that impact their lives). We strive to achieve equity in both our external programs and our internal processes, including how we build our leadership team. 

Our leadership team includes our executive staff, board, and Strategy Working Group. This team is made up of a diverse range of transition stakeholders, including labor, tribal, economic, and climate justice leaders. It plays a key role in guiding our strategic and programmatic direction, ensuring that our work is informed by and accountable to those who are most impacted by coal transition. We are currently expanding this team to ensure greater representation from across stakeholder groups and communities. 

We are also committed to fostering an inclusive organizational culture and increasing the racial diversity of our staff leadership. To support these efforts, we are participating in an intensive peer learning cohort through the Appalachian Funders Network focused on embedding racial equity into organizational work.

My direct life experiences enabled me to understand the economic challenges faced by transitioning communities. On a personal level, I grew up in a small town in Western New York where my aunt worked at the local coal plant for 40 years, and I have family who were coal miners in West Virginia. Professionally, I’ve spent more than 17 years working with coal communities across the U.S. and Australia, and more than 20 years in philanthropy working at the nexus of climate, coal, and energy. These experiences taught me that we must put people and their economic prosperity at the center of climate solutions. 

Our JTF team brings a diverse set of skills and expertise that matches the complexity of coal transition. Their backgrounds cover community planning, economic development, climate and energy, racial justice, data analysis and impact evaluation, communications, and more. And our staff are located across the country, including in coal-impacted states such as West Virginia, Illinois, and Virginia. Our expanded leadership team includes a Strategy Working Group that helps guide key strategic and programmatic decisions. This group includes labor, tribal, economic, and climate justice leaders who are directly from the communities we serve.

Since launching JTF, we've experienced two notable setbacks: one when President Trump took office with a promise to bring coal jobs back; and the second when COVID exacerbated the economic distress in the communities we serve and quickened the pace of coal closures.

When the Trump Administration took office, funding for transitioning energy communities dwindled and the only federal program for these communities disappeared, giving false hope to communities that needed to start planning. I responded by convening local leaders from across the country to unite behind the creation of an ambitious federal energy transition program. My work spearheading our NET initiative enabled us to turn an obstacle into opportunity and positioned our movement to leverage the current administration's desire to support coal communities. 

COVID caused widespread disruptions within JTF and our network of community partners. Internally, our staff was reduced as several key female team members left the workforce. Externally, our partners faced a range of challenges, including revenue loss, lack of connectivity, and disrupted workforce programs. To respond, I surveyed the field to identify needs, redoubled fundraising efforts, and launched our Economic Resilience & Recovery Fund and new broadband program. Both programs have been well-received by our partners.

I am regularly interviewed by the media and frequently participate in panel discussions. Select content is linked to below:

Media interviews:

BBC World Service, “What is the cost of climate reform?”

New York Times, “People in Coal Country Worry About the Climate Too”

CNBC, “Biden’s Climate Change Plan and the Battle for America’s Most Threatened Workers”

Vox, “What Should Coal Communities Do When Power Plants Shut Down? Ask Germany.”

Panel discussions:

Resource for the Future and Environmental Defense Fund, “An Equitable Energy Transition for Coal Communities”

Fresh Energy, “Reckoning in Coal Country: Facing the Future in Wyoming and Appalachia”

Third Way, “How Clean Energy Jobs Can Kickstart Economic Recovery”

Podcasts:

Stories for Action, “A Just Transition: Calls to action from coal communities”

Do Your Good, “Walk the Talk and Support the Transition from Coal to Renewable Energy”

Elevate Prize funding would help us advance one of our primary goals: strengthening the coal community transition movement. A portion of the funding would support my own leadership development, with a focus on building my communications skills in order to grow the organization and elevate our local partners. At the JTF, funding would help build our partners’ capacity to show the impact of their work. We strongly believe those most impacted by the problem should be at the center of the dialogue around solutions, but community-based organizations often lack the communications and technical capacity to engage in this dialogue most effectively. 

To address this barrier, we would create an “Elevate” cohort of local leaders who would receive communications support and/or assistance with measuring their impact. This program would build on our own experience using rigorous, evidence-based methods to scale transition solutions. Funding would help us support our network of local leaders to inform policy and scale their solutions. Strengthening the coal transition movement in this way is fundamental to achieving our other goals, which are to diversify local economies by promoting inclusive, equitable economic growth; build the resilience of low-income workers; and accelerate the development of low-carbon solutions.

Addressing economic transition requires strong coordination between public, private, and philanthropic partners, and one of our critical functions is building and maintaining an expansive network across these sectors. We leverage these relationships to help communities strengthen their local economies and create a unified voice that informs state and federal policies. 

Many partners are grantees—community-based groups in coal communities across the country. We help support and scale their economic, workforce, policy, and planning efforts, including innovative social enterprises. A subset of those groups form the planning team for our landmark National Economic Transition initiative. 

We also maintain close relationships with local and state governments, tribes, economic development leaders, labor unions, and workforce experts. We help these stakeholders lead community transition planning efforts, access federal funds, and develop policies. We also inform the work of key federal entities such as the Appalachian Regional Commission and President Biden’s new Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities, including regular communication with the White House. Finally, we coordinate with local funders in the communities where we work, as well as and a range of place- and issue-based philanthropic affinity groups, including the Appalachian Funders Network and the Climate and Energy Funders Group.