The Labor Network for Sustainability is very pleased to announce that Michael Leon Guerrero will be joining the LNS team as Executive Director. Michael has been the National Coordinator of the Climate Justice Alliance for the past two years. Last month Michael announced that he is leaving CJA in the fall. He will begin work with LNS part-time starting in September and will transition to full-time after two months. Joe will of course continue full time as President, and Becky, who has been Acting Executive Director, will move to Managing Director.
Michael brings 30 years of community organizing and alliance building experience to LNS. He was a field organizer and Executive Director at SouthWest Organizing Project for 17 years, leading successful environmental and economic justice campaigns. He helped strengthen environmental policy and enforcement in low-income Chicano communities. Michael co-founded and served as the National Coordinator of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance from 2004-2012, playing a leadership role in organizing the World and US Social Forums. Most recently, Michael served as Executive Director of UNITY, an alliance of national alliances organizing in different sectors of working-class communities of color in the U.S. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Greenpeace, Inc., the SWOP Action Fund, and is a former Board member of Jobs with Justice.
Michael says, “I’m very excited to be joining the LNS team later this year. I’ve come to know and appreciate the work of LNS through their participation in CJA. LNS’s role in building bridges between labor, environmental, student, and community organizations is absolutely essential and few organizations can do this as effectively. They are also willing to be creative, strategic and bold, yet understanding of the concerns of workers and frontline communities. I feel these are qualities that are essential in addressing the scale and urgency of the climate crisis.”
“Michael Leon Guerrero brings to LNS a wealth of experience in organizing and working with the communities that are most affected by our twin crises of climate catastrophe and economic inequality,” says LNS President Joe Uehlein. “As we expand our programs to draw together workers, climate protection advocates, and economic justice communities — notably the groundbreaking Labor Convergence on Climate — Michael will play a leading role in building a movement that can create jobs and justice by protecting the climate.”
LNS co-founder Jeremy Brecher says, “Michael represents a combination of organizer and visionary. He will help LNS take its vision of a just transition to economic, social, and environmental sustainability and bring it to life on the ground in unions, communities, and institutions around the country.”
“Michael brings perspective, political savvy, and concrete experience that will be invaluable to LNS as we continue to build the strong organization we need to pursue our ambitious goals and have a significant impact on the future,”notes Acting Executive Director Becky Glass, who will become LNS Managing Director.
LNS welcomes your questions and comments.
Reach us here:
- Joe Uehlein, President: [email protected] or 202-256-7848
- Becky Glass, Acting Executive Director: [email protected] or 651-295-8284