🌱 Gathering the Grassroots in NYC🗽
On April 26, 2025, Beyond Plastics held our inaugural grassroots regional conference, “Think Globally, Act Locally” and were delighted to see many folks from our network, meeting many in person for the first time.
As an advocacy organization, a large part of our job is to empower and support grassroots advocates, which includes fostering morale during times when an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, and overwhelm threatens climate, health and environmental justice. Virtual organizing is an amazing tool, but there is nothing like gathering in person to share stories, see smiles, shake hands, and give hugs.
We had a full house at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, with over 70 attendees including advocates, expert presenters, and our keynote speaker, Reverend Mira Sawlani-Joyner of Riverside Church, who took us on a journey “From Cries to Communion”, sharing her personal story and calling out the acts of waste colonialism and racism that rob us of connection, to the land, our heritage, and to each other. She spoke of justice as the restoration of relationship, referencing the Buddhist metaphor of Indra’s Net of Interconnectedness, stressing that it is a choice to find connection which can then lead us to build community to take collective action for justice and renewal.
“Where have you seen renewal—signs of life and hope—even in the midst of environmental struggle? And where are you being called to in this movement?”
At the end of the day, attendees shared the following words to sum up our time together— motivating, hope, inspiring, enlightening, encouraging, elated, communion, informative, collaborating, supportive, generative, activating, kick-ass, action, promising, unstoppable, community, spirited, strengthening, uplifting, too short, energizing, data-driven and amplifying.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
A big THANK YOU to the volunteers, partners and allies pictured below who spent time preparing and offering motivating, engaging and informative presentations, making this first conference a success! 🙏 We’re already looking forward to the next one and can’t wait to announce where it will be. 🤔
From left to right: Rhonda Keyser, Co-Executive Director, Cafeteria Culture | Rachana Shah, Co-founder and Co-president, Beyond Plastics Queens | Kathy Raiz, Team Lead, Green Needham Plastic Waste Reduction Team + Beyond Plastics Speakers Bureau member | Eileen Ryan, Beyond Plastics Greater Boston founder | Brian Thompson, Beyond Plastics New Jersey + Beyond Plastics Advisory Board | Dr. Beizhan Yan, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs and Lamont Research Professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory | Courtney Williams, Cancer Researcher and Environmental Justice Advocate | Dr. Genoa Warner, Assistant Professor, NJIT | Marta Young, NJ Zero Waste Specialist, Clean Water Action/ Clean Water Fund | Jackie Nuñez, Founder of The Last Plastic Straw Advocacy & Engagement Manager, Plastic Pollution Coalition | Janette Spiezio, Beyond Plastics New Jersey, Owner, Sustainable Haus Mercantile | Lois Kraus, Beyond Plastics New Jersey
