Nimotalai Azeez
Nimotalai Azeez (she/her) co-hosts the Four Degrees to the Streets podcast, a show designed to empower anyone curious about places and spaces, not just persons with professional degrees or backgrounds. She is an urban planning and policy expert based in Washington, DC. In her current role within the public sector, Nimotalai manages transportation grant programs and leads initiatives to address the needs of historically under-resourced and marginalized residents. She has extensive knowledge in state and local budgeting and performance management for transportation, environment, and regulatory agencies. In addition to her professional experience, Nimotalai holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers. She is also a Certified Public Manager®. Views are her own.
Dr. Jacqueline Echols
Dr. Jacqueline Echols is an environmental justice advocate and board president of the South River Watershed Alliance, an organization working to protect the South River and adjacent forest ecosystem in metropolitan Atlanta. She has worked for more than two decades of work to improve water quality in Atlanta’s waterways and protect the city’s tree canopy.
Rhea Goswami
Rhea is the founder and current Executive Director of the Environmental Justice Coalition. In her role at EJC, she leads a team of young individuals to create intersectional environmental justice based solutions for disadvantaged communities. She also does outreach on behalf of EJC, creates and nurtures their partnerships and oversees the educational initiatives. Rhea is currently studying at Cornell University, where she hopes to use computers, artificial intelligence, and computer vision for societal good. She also is an incoming First Responder and Drone intern at MTIRE.
[alert type=”info”] The Equity Summit gathers housing, transportation, and community development advocates and leaders to learn from one another and identify tools to advance racial equity through smart growth. The dynamic two-day program will be held in person for the first time on March 27-28, 2024, in Washington, DC, at the iconic Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
The Equity Summit will uplift strategies to advance racial equity in smart growth amidst growing political uncertainty in 2024 and beyond, as well as a shift away from explicit equity initiatives by elected officials, state agencies, and the private sector.
[button type=”primary” size=”lg” link=”https://smartgrowthamerica.org/equity-summit”] Learn more about the Equity Summit[/button]
[/alert]