May 9, 2022
Can a nonprofit achieve transformative policy change in these politically volatile times? It may feel impossible but the answer, as demonstrated by the Greenlining Institute, is a resounding yes. It was founded in 1993 to tackle the wealth-stripping impacts of redlining, the deliberate practice of discrimination and disinvestment by banks, insurance companies and government agencies against communities of color. Sectors that mapped out which communities to exclude from the possibility of owning a home or starting a business, based on race and ethnicity, are now at the table with Greenlining, hearing directly from impacted community members. The Greenlining Institute is reimagining California, and our nation, as a place of shared opportunity and power. Its staff of data experts and advocates are laser focused on making the economic, energy, environmental and technology sectors more just. But their direction comes from a coalition of community-based groups, from faith leaders to housing and childcare providers and small business advisers who set the agenda and shape the solutions. Debra Gore-Mann, the incomparable president of Greenlining, brings unstoppable energy, expertise, and lived experience to changing institutions, systems and behavior.