Who We Are

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Born and raised in Birmingham, Marian Mwenja (they/them) has always had deep love for the natural world and deep rage for the blatant unfairness (systems of oppression) they saw. Environmental justice

spoke to both this love and this rage. Through their major in environmental and Black studies, they really began to understand the scope, severity, and danger of the interconnected crises of climate chaos

and anti-Black racism and the exciting role that environmental justice can play in moving through both of these crises with dignity and healing. They are grateful to be a part of an organization that through both visionary and tangible action embodies right relationship with ourselves, others, and this planet.

I am a person who engages in strategic techniques for community organizing, project

management, brokering of resources; a conduit for building healthy communities. 

I have two amazing sons, Christian and Justin, and am a resident in the Bush Hills community of Birmingham, Alabama. I work for Alabama Arise as the Hunger Advocacy Coordinator, and have participated in movements related to economic injustice, women’s rights, food sovereignty, public safety, and criminal justice reform 

I truly believe that we can use hard skills and soft skills to develop radical ways of thriving. I have often translated my long and diverse

work experience related to jobs from child and family welfare to mortgage lending to

growing up as Jersey girl speaking Spanish first, to contribute to the popular education

needed as we grow, connect, and build in Alabama in any language that speaks to

connectivity.

Originally from Wisconsin, I grew up moving all over the Midwest. In 2010 I relocated from Chicago to my husband's home state, and found my permanent home here in Alabama.
In 2018 I ran for Alabama's Public Service Commission on the platform of lower bills and cleaner energy. Alabama is one of the most poverty-stricken states in the US, but Alabamians pay the highest monthly energy bills. One of our coal-burning power plants (Alabama Power's Miller Steam Plant) has been ranked the #1 greenhouse gas emitter in the US. Our unjust energy regulation system perpetuates (and even creates) poverty in Alabama. I lost the race in 2018, but will continue to fight for energy justice in Alabama.I am honored to be a member of the board of SWEET Alabama, which is addressing the heart of the issue, beginning with those experiencing poverty, who are most impacted by high bills and the effects of climate change. I look forward to seeing how SWEET Alabama changes our state for the better.

 My Name is La’Tanya Scott; you can call me LT for short. I am from Temple a small city in Carroll county Georgia. However, I now live in Birmingham Alabama with my dog Max and bearded dragon Lola. I am a graduate of Miles College with a degree in Environmental Science and now work as the Environmental Science Educator for the Cahaba River society.

From childhood, between basketball and being a student-athlete to exploring the backyard or even fishing with my family, I knew that I wanted to work in nature and to inspire people to love the outdoors as much as I do. I have always had a passion for being outdoors and helping people, and I credit my family for strengthening my passion.

Through the years, I have become a skilled outdoor educator and role model who helps strengthen CRS’s outreach and service to urban schools and youth of color. I now deliver hands-on environmental science education programs to students in the classroom and in the field through the Shane Hulsey CLEAN Program. My intense interest in nature, skills, and knowledge, and especially my boundless enthusiasm will help many additional area students understand the importance, and the wonders, of one of our major waterways the Cahaba River, water equity, and the outdoors. 

As Co-Chair of our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee of Board and staff, I will always be open and honest in my experiences and lead us forward to support us to anti-racism and water- equity work. Right now we are in the midst of planning community conversations around barriers to nature access for people of color, such as the legacy of Jim Crow and racial terror as well as racism today, and how education/recreation organizations can better promote nature as a safe and welcoming space. I am also building educational and grassroots partnerships to increase opportunities for rural Black Belt residents and students to benefit from environmental education and better recreation access, to open career and advocacy paths to steward their own natural resources.

I have been working in homeless service case management in Birmingham since 2016 in various organizations. I moved here in 2016 with my family from Oakland, CA where I taught science to young adults trying to get their high school diploma. I am interested in housing and sustainability for working families and individuals. I live in Homewood with my spouse, son and 3 dogs and am excited to be a part of the SWEET mission, especially as it pertains to creating a

model for truly affordable and sustainable housing for all.

As a cystic fibrosis patient I became involved in community service from a young age, including canvassing and fundraising for the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation. After my father passed as a result of mental health issues while I was in high school, this expanded to other types of volunteer service. Around this time, growing up outside New York City, I slowly watched my friends' neighborhoods in Harlem become gentrified, and an entire neighborhood become displaced. I believe this moment in time is what led me to become passionate about community-based urban development as an adult. When I moved Birmingham and started attending UAB, I noticed a sharp decrease in my lung health. I soon came to find that Birmingham was ranked in the Top 15 for worst air particle pollution in the country. I became involved in environmental organizing while in college, and soon began to feel that to fix the issues affecting our communities we needed to address our issues systemically.
In 2013 I became the Executive Director of Magic City Agriculture Project (MCAP), anon-profit whose mission is to engage in value-based community organizing to reweave the threads of the community, develop sustainable urban agriculture as a solution to economic and food injustice, and to dismantle racism.
In 2017 I stepped down from MCAP and helped co-found SWEET Alabama. My first ever community organizing was around protecting clean drinking water, supporting clean energy, and supporting community based economies. I am proud to work for an organization that has made that their mission.

Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, I witnessed and experienced the impact of marginalization throughout most of my younger years. Living through constant scarcity fueled my desire to advocate for those who were in the position I was in as a child. I received a certificate and license in Emergency Medical Services to be able to assist people in ways I couldn’t when I was younger, but felt as though I needed to do more. I started protesting during the unrest in 2020, and have been striving to stand for everything I can since then. I believe that regardless of the marks left by a capitalistic and white supremacist system, all people are not only worthy, but entitled to fair access to food, water, and shelter. In my spare time, I enjoy making music and gardening. 

My passion for people and the planet began here in Alabama, where I grew up. As achild, I ran in the woods and enjoyed fresh food grown in my own back yard. I campedoutside, watching the stars and contemplating my own place in the universe. I learned to love the natural world with a wide-eyed wonder that compels me to action, to fight to preserve the goodness of our home. My own children were born in this state, and I want to leave a legacy that allows them to enjoy abundance and fulfillment without worry or harm. When I attended Alabama’s only public liberal arts’ college, the University of Montevallo, I was seeking a well-rounded understanding of the world that would give me the ability to continue to learn and grow throughout my life. By the time I graduated Cum Laude with degrees in English and History, I was beginning to integrate my own personalethics into a worldview that challenged the status quo. I envisioned a world of possibilities and interdependence rather than fear and exploitation. Today, I’m a freelance writer who works from my home in Irondale. I’m still in awe of the beauty of the world we share. I’m critically aware of the challenges and adaptation that are necessary to survive the damage we humans have inflicted on one another and on our beautiful planet. My passion has driven me to seek out the work required to be a part of that change. That’s why I’m proud to be a part of the inception of SWEET Alabama.

I am an Alabama based civil rights attorney, policy analyst, social worker, racial justice activist, community organizer, and relational strategist with nearly a decade of experience working at the intersection of racial equity, critical race & feminist theory, poverty, criminal justice reform, mental health, and reproductive justice. As a community organizer that wears many hats, I have a passion for finding ways that policy and legal mechanisms can support and enhance the work of people with ideas about how to transition to a more just world. All of our work intersects.

My name is Peninnah Morgan – Nina for short. I’m from Sipsey, AL, a small rural townin Walker County that emerged in the early 1920s as a mining community. Mybackground is broad and varied, but generally the work I do is related to strengthening and building communities that are just and sustainable. I am also engaged in lots of youth organizing work in Birmingham, the place where I currently live! I know what it’s like to live in an energy efficient home; I know what it’s like to live in a place where the utility bills are high and it’s super hot in the summer and/or cold in the winter. My lifeexperiences ground the work I do and inspire visions for a better Alabama, one whereeveryone has access to a good quality of life! Sustainable water, energy, and economicsystems are the goal! I am a part of SWEET Alabama because I am committed tobuilding a just and beautiful future alongside extraordinary folks throughout this state.