Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development CEO Receives Environmental Impact Award and Grant from the Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation
Environmental Impact Award and Grant from the Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation
NEW ORLEANS (June 23, 2021) – The Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the neighborhood a safer, more resilient place to live and work while celebrating the community’s unique history and voice within New Orleans culture, is pleased to announce that the Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation has awarded Chief Executive Officer Arthur J. Johnson the 2021 Environmental Impact Award and a $10,000 grant. The funds will enable CSED to continue its mission and organizational priorities, including community science workshops and service-learning opportunities focused on identifying sustainable solutions to regional climate challenges.
“On behalf of the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, I am honored to be this year’s recipient of the Brown Foundation’s Environmental Impact Award,” said Johnson. “CSED’s origins are tied to a strong sense of community within the Lower 9th Ward through homeownership, families, schools, churches and gathering together. Sixteen years later, our city continues to recover from the devastating losses caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and faces new environmental challenges. We greatly appreciate the foundation’s support of our organization as we work to address these challenges and remain steadfast in our fight for environmental justice.”
The Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation’s Environmental Impact Award recognizes organizations and individuals who have not only made an impact on the valuable environment of Southeast Louisiana but have also educated youth in the region about this topic. The inaugural award was presented to Pontchartrain Conservancy Executive Director Kristi Trail in 2020.
“Mr. Johnson is an accomplished nonprofit leader who has contributed to the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development’s long history of success which has been vital to the ongoing recovery, rebuilding and reformation of one of New Orleans’ most culturally significant neighborhoods,” said E.F. Hunter, the Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation’s President. “The Foundation is proud to recognize Mr. Johnson’s achievements and CSED’s commitment to advocating for a healthier, more sustainable neighborhood by presenting him with this year’s Environmental Impact Award.”
Founded in 2006, the Lower 9th Ward CSED focuses on coastal rehabilitation, greening the built environment and increasing food security by lifting up and strategically reinforcing community-driven goals to create an economically, culturally and environmentally sustainable Lower 9th Ward. The organization’s work includes, but is not limited to, aiding homeowners with energy-saving improvements, providing access to low-cost materials, helping residents clean, restore and paint their houses, reducing blight in the neighborhood, building rain gardens to manage stormwater runoff and providing information on creating a safe, independent and more resilient community for the future.
The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation, based in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, supports charitable initiatives in fields such as environmental science, basic science, medical research, STEM, service learning and shelter and food security. The primary focus for these programs is the alleviation of suffering and the Foundation historically focuses much of its efforts along the Louisiana gulf coast. The Foundation develops programming with organizations with years of positive operating history that demonstrate leveraged community resources with a broad and measurable impact on the community.
For more information about the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, visit sustainthenine.org.