Dorceta Taylor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dorceta E. Taylor
Born	Dorceta E. Taylor 1957 (age 67–68) Jamaica
Alma mater	Yale University, Northeastern Illinois University
Occupation	Environmental sociologist and historian
Notable work	People and the Environment in American Cities, 1600s-1900s, Toxic Communities, "The Rise of the American Conservation Movement"
Scientific career
Institutions	Yale School of the Environment, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

Dorceta E. Taylor is an American environmental sociologist. She is famous for her work on environmental justice and how racism affects the environmental movement. Currently, she is a senior associate dean at the Yale School of the Environment. She also teaches about environmental justice there.

Before Yale, she worked at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). There, she led efforts for diversity and fairness. Dr. Taylor studies many topics. These include environmental history, environmental fairness, and how different groups of people interact with nature. She also looks at green jobs and how to make sure everyone has enough food.

Dr. Taylor's research has won many awards. Her 2009 book, The Environment and the People in American Cities, was the first to tell the history of environmental unfairness in America. Her 2014 book, Toxic Communities, is a very important book for understanding environmental justice. Her book, The Rise of the American Conservation Movement, makes readers think differently about environmental history.

Early Life and Education

Dorceta Taylor was born and grew up in rural Jamaica. She earned her first degree in Environmental Studies and Biology. This was from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago in 1983.

She then went to Yale University. She earned a master's degree in forest science in 1985. She continued her studies and received two more master's degrees by 1988. In 1991, she earned her doctorate from Yale. She was the first African American woman to get a doctoral degree from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Academic Achievements

After her studies, Dr. Taylor received a special fellowship in 1991. This allowed her to study how minority groups in Britain worked for environmental causes. She worked with the University College of London. In 1992, she received another fellowship at the University of Michigan.

In 2010, she won an award for her book, Environment and the People in American Cities. From 2012 to 2013, she led the Environment and Technology Section of the American Sociological Association.

In 2012, Dr. Taylor started a big project. It was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The project studied why some groups in Michigan had trouble getting healthy food.

In 2014, San Francisco honored her. She was one of 29 black environmentalists celebrated for making "real and lasting change."

In 2015, she became a special professor at the University of Michigan. She also became the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at SEAS.

In 2018, many important environmental groups honored her. She received awards from the National Audubon Society and the National Science Foundation. She also won awards from the University of Michigan and the Detroit Audubon Society. These awards recognized her great work and leadership.

In 2021, Dr. Taylor made history again. She became the first Senior Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Yale School of the Environment.

Working for Diversity in Environmental Groups

Dr. Taylor started studying racial fairness in the environmental movement in 1989. She wrote many articles about it in the early 1990s.

In 2014, she wrote a very important report. It showed that environmental groups did not have enough diverse people in leadership roles. This report caused a lot of discussion. The report was for the Green 2.0 group. This group still tracks how diverse large environmental organizations are.

In 2018, Dr. Taylor updated her report. She looked at over 2,000 environmental non-profits in America. She checked how they reported their diversity information. In 2019, she published new research. It showed that many environmental groups still did not report their diversity data.

Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development Initiative (MELDI)

In 2003, Dr. Taylor started the Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development Initiative (MELDI). This project aimed to improve diversity in the environmental field. She organized national and international conferences. These meetings helped people discuss and plan for more diversity. Papers from the 2007 conference were published in a book.

Dr. Taylor also led four studies on diversity. These studies were published in important science journals.

Environmental Fellows Program (EFP)

In 2015, Dr. Taylor started the Environmental Fellows Program (EFP). This program helps make the environmental and conservation world more diverse. It offers 12-week paid summer internships. These internships are for graduate students at partner organizations.

The program helps students from different backgrounds get jobs. It connects them with mentors. It also gives them real-world experience in the environmental field.

Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program (DDCSP YSE)

Also in 2015, Dr. Taylor began the Yale School of the Environment branch of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program (DDCSP). This program helps make the conservation field more diverse. It gives opportunities to students from different backgrounds.

This program is a two-summer internship. About 20 undergraduate students gain experience each summer. One summer is for lab research. The other summer is an internship with environmental groups.

Conferences on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In 2018, the New Horizons in Conservation Conference took place. Dr. Taylor led this event in Washington, D.C. Over 200 students, teachers, and environmental professionals attended. Most of them were people of color. They gathered to celebrate and discuss diversity in the environmental field.

Dr. Taylor said, "The students and young professionals who attended this conference represent the future of conservation." She added that "Diversity benefits us all, and there is strength in it." The conference included talks, community building, and career help.

The New Horizons in Conservation Conference is now an annual event. It brings together people from different backgrounds in conservation. It helps students and professionals connect. They can network, attend workshops, and learn from leaders. The 2020 conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, it was held online with over 800 people from many countries. The 2022 conference will be in New Haven, Connecticut.

Justice, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI)

In 2021, Dr. Taylor started the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI). This program at Yale studies how social unfairness, daily experiences, and environmental results are connected.

JEDSI focuses on several key areas. These include environmental history, outdoor experiences, and environmental unfairness. It also looks at food access, diversity in organizations, and mentoring environmental professionals of color.

Work on Environmental Justice

Dr. Taylor's award-winning book, The Environment and the People in American Cities (2009), looked at environmental problems in American cities. It covered the 17th through 20th centuries. She showed how race, class, and gender played a role. The book also explained how environmental unfairness started early in American cities.

Her second book in this series is The Rise of the American Conservation Movement (2016). In this book, she explores how the American conservation movement began. She shows how race, class, and gender influenced everything. This included creating parks and protecting forests. This book makes readers rethink what they know about environmental history.

Dr. Taylor's third book, Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility (2014), tells the story of pollution in minority and low-income areas in the U.S. It looks at why these communities often live near polluting factories. The book explains how unfair housing rules in the past forced minorities to live near these industries. It shows that people in these communities often cannot easily move away. This book is considered a very important work in environmental justice studies.

Work on Food Insecurity

From 2012 to 2018, Dr. Taylor worked on a project about food insecurity in Michigan. She worked with researchers from several universities. They created a website called Food Access in Michigan (FAIM). It launched in August 2018.

The study looks at how people's backgrounds relate to where food stores are located. It covers 18 cities in Michigan. It also studies ways to help people get healthy food. The project examines how to improve access to food and local food programs. These issues are studied in cities with large populations of different racial and ethnic groups.

Awards and Recognition

• Recognition for Distinguished Service to the university and to Higher Education, Northeastern Illinois University, 1993
• Recognition for Outstanding Environmental Achievement, Northeastern Illinois University, 1993
• Profiled in the National Research Council's Excellence Through Diversity: Profiles of Forty-Two Ford Foundation Fellows, Washington, D.C., 1996
• Recognition of Leadership in the Yale Forest Forum and the Seventh Forest Congress, Forest Congress Board,1996
• Biography included in the Directory of American Scholars, 11th ed., Gale Group, MI: Farmington Hills, 2001
• Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Environmental Scholars Program fellowship, Yale University, 2005
• Telluride Honors Program Summer Teaching Fellow. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2010
• Allan Schnaiberg Outstanding Publication Award for book, Environment and the People in American Cities, 1600s-1900s: Disorder, Inequality and Social Change, The Environment and Technology Section of the American Sociological Association, 2010
• Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award, University of Michigan, 2012
• Black Environmentalists During Black History Month, San Francisco, 2014
• Fred Buttel Distinguished Contribution Award, American Sociological Association, 2015
• Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Outstanding Alumni Award, 2015
• Charles Horton Cooley Award, Michigan Sociological Association, 2015
• Burton V. Barnes Award for Academic Excellence, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, 2017
• University of Michigan Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, 2018
• President's Award from the Detroit Audubon Society, 2018
• Women in Conservation Rachel Carson Award, the National Audubon Society, 2018
• Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award, Association of Environmental Science and Studies, 2018
• National Science Foundation Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics & Engineering Mentoring, 2018
• Featured in Women in Leadership Exhibit, Smithsonian Institution - Anacostia Museum, 2019
• EcoWorks Sustainable Communities Champion Award, EcoWorks Detroit, 2020
• Wilbur Cross Medal, Yale Graduate School Alumni Association, 2020,
• Recognized by AARP as one of 8 Leaders Who Carry On Martin Luther King Jr.'s Legacy, 2020
• Recognized by Green America as one of the 8 Black Leaders Who've Revolutionized the Climate Movement, 2020
• Celebrated as a Black Environmental Leader, Environmental Defense Fund,2020
• Seal of Michigan, Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, 2020
• Women in Sustainability Award, Envision Charlotte and Wells Fargo, 2020
• Recognized by LiveKindly as one of 7 Black Environmentalists Shaping the Future, 2021
• Inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers, 2021

Selected Publications

Books

• Taylor, D.E. (2009). The Environment and the People in American Cities, 1600s-1900s: Disorder, Inequality and Social Change. Durham Duke University.
• Taylor, D.E. (2010). Environment and Social Justice: An International Perspective Vol: 18. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
• Taylor, D.E. (2014). Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility. New York University Press.
• Taylor, D.E. (2016). The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection. Duke University Press.

Articles

• Taylor D.E. and Winter P. (1995). Environmental Values, Ethics, and Depreciative Behavior in Wildland Settings. U.S.D.A. Pacific Southwest Research Station. General Technical Report PSW-156.
• Taylor D.E. ed (2000). Advances in Environmental Justice: Research, Theory and Methodology, American Behavioral Scientist 43.
• Taylor D.E. (2002). Race, Class, Gender and Environmentalism. U.S.D.A., Forest Service, PNW-GTR 534, Washington: Seattle.
• Taylor D.E. (2008). Diversity and the Environment: Myth-Making and the Status of Minorities in the Field. Research in Social Problems and Public Policy 15, pp. 89–148.

See also

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Environmental history of the United States