In our effort to achieve a Just Transition, GreenRoots is working to move our communities away from an extractive, fossil fuel economy while working to create greater access to renewable, resilient and affordable energy while developing our independence from the energy grid.

 

An equitable, clean energy transition includes frontline communities!

A mother and her young son wearing masks.

Who doesn't want greater protection from power outages? Who doesn't want the potential for energy savings?

Nohemi Lobato

  • An East Boston activist protesting plans for an electrical substation in the environmental justice community of East Boston.

    No Eversource Substation Campaign

    Fighting current plans for the construction of an electrical substation on Chelsea Creek, in a flood zone, next to 8M gallons of jet fuel, in an environmental justice neighborhood, and next to two public parks

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    Community-owned Microgrid

    Leading the implementation of a community-owned microgrid

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    Renewable Energy Solutions

    Collaborating with municipal partners on renewable energy solutions including community solar, battery storage and zero carbon emissions plans

  • Three East Boston activists protesting the construction of the Eversource substation in Eagle Hill, East Boston.

    Clean Energy Options

    Advancing clean energy options

Contact Us

  • a young women with fair skin and long brown hair. She's wearing a white blouse and is standing against a light green background. She is smiling.

    Kiera Alventosa

    Energy Democracy Organizer

    she, her, hers

    KieraA@greenrootsej.org

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    Kiera Alventosa (she, her, hers)

    Kiera Alventosa is passionate about environmental justice, and the fundamental right of every person to live, work, and play in healthy environments. She believes in recognizing and uplifting the leadership of community members in decision making spaces. She came to the work from her family’s history with environmental injustice and her parent’s immigration from Spain to the United States. 

    She graduated from the University of Oxford with a Master’s of Science in Environmental Governance, and from the University of Warwick with a Master’s of Arts in Writing, where she specialized in environmental justice storytelling. She attended Amherst College to study English and environmental studies and cares deeply about who is centered in conversations about environmental change.

    Prior to joining the team at GreenRoots, Kiera was an organizer for Clean Water Action, where she worked in Chelsea and other communities on the environmental health issue of lead in drinking water. In her free time, she loves to read, write, and spend time under trees.

  • A man with a navy blue sweater that has a zipper and short, dark brown hair taking a photo in front of the Chelsea Creek.

    Sari Kayyali

    Microgrids Manager

    he, him, his

    SariK@greenrootsej.org

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    Sari Kayyali (he, him, his)

    Sari was born and raised in the Greater Boston Area before attending Case Western Reserve University to pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He started his career working in New York City as part of the construction management team for the Q-Line Subway Expansion. After a national energy crisis left his family in Lebanon without reliable access to electricity for months, Sari returned to Boston to join the movement for energy justice in and around his home city.

    He is excited to be a part of the Microgrid initiative at GreenRoots and hopes its success can act as a proof of concept for communities around the world. In his free time, Sari enjoys reading, playing the trumpet, and losing at chess.

  • A man with salt and pepper hair with a tan shirt standing in front of the Chelsea Creek.

    John Walkey

    Director of Climate Justice & Waterfront Initiatives

    he, him, his

    JohnW@greenrootsej.org

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    John Walkey (he, him, his)

    John is an East Boston resident who has been a committed advocate for environmental justice and immigrant rights in his neighborhood for the past twenty years. Starting in 2017, John has led GreenRoots’ work in East Boston and along the waterfront of the Chelsea Creek. John worked for a decade in hazard risk assessment and mitigation, and natural resource management in Central America and the Caribbean for NGOs, the US government, and the United Nations. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Archaeological Sciences from Boston University and a Master of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Your support is crucial in ensuring our work continues.

For 30 years, GreenRoots has restored acres of urban salt marsh, created new parks, increased public access to the waterfront and improved the water quality of Chelsea Creek.

Our organizing model is rooted in base-building and community, and your help makes us a stronger force. A contribution to GreenRoots means an investment in the futures of Chelsea and East Boston!

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East Boston activists marching with a blue banner protesting plans for an electrical substation in the environmental justice community of East Boston.