Zhanae Briggs

Senior Coordinator for Communications

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Zhanae Briggs

Senior Coordinator for Communications

Zhanae Briggs (she/her/hers) is the Communications Coordinator at The Greenlining Institute, where she supports the Communications and Policy teams in amplifying the work of the organization through publications and media. She is passionate about uplifting the voices and lived experiences of marginalized folx and bringing people together. Zhanae was born and raised in various cities across California where she has had the opportunity to live and work in a multitude of spaces. She earned a B.A. in Communication Studies at Sacramento State University, as well as an M.A. in Communication with an emphasis on intersectionality and organizational functions from San Diego State University. Prior to joining Greenlining, she worked in higher education where she taught and advocated for nontraditional students, and conducted research on the experiences of women of color in academia and the workplace.

Development & Communications Staff

As we round out Earth Month, we are reflecting on what it means to advance climate progress under another Trump Administration. 

Earth Day was created to spark collective awareness — and collective action — to protect our planet. It was a call to rise up together in the face of growing environmental harm and demand something better. In 2025, that call feels more urgent than ever. Climate disasters are intensifying. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections and rolling back hard-won climate progress. Low-income communities of color — those most impacted by climate impacts and environmental racism — are being pushed even further to the margins.

The truth is, our systems are not designed to prioritize environmental justice or economic equity for communities of color. Washington has never been the catalyst of environmental equity. That leadership has always come from the ground up.

Real power and transformative change comes from our communities, where local leaders and community based organizations have been working together against environmental racism for decades in solidarity with real allies — making connections, organizing, and building resilience on their terms. We know we cannot win this fight alone, and our partnerships bring power.

That’s where climate progress is happening, right now. And that’s what we’ve been lifting up this month, and every month. Community-driven climate action, rooted in equity and collaboration, works. These existing models need to be spotlighted.

The Threats We Face:

Today, we’re watching history repeat itself as the Trump administration doubles down on policies that set back climate progress and directly harm communities already overburdened by pollution, disinvestment, and systemic neglect.

Here are just a few examples:

• Rolling back Justice40: Trump rescinded the Executive Order that launched Justice40 and its tools, gutting federal commitments to direct climate investments toward disadvantaged communities.
• Attacking State Climate Leadership: A new Executive Order directs the DOJ to challenge state climate laws — including cap-and-trade and climate superfunds — threatening the rights of states to protect their residents.
• Removing Environmental Justice Tools: Federal sites and tools like EJScreen and FEMA’s risk index were removed, stripping communities of the data needed to advocate for themselves.

The Trump administration has made it clear it will put corporate profit over people and the planet — within his first 100 days in office. These tactics are especially harmful to communities of color who have historically been on the frontlines of climate change impacts.

The Power We Hold: 

Community-led Climate Resilience

At Greenlining, we’ve spent years working with communities of color on the ground that are advancing climate equity on their terms, to fit their community’s needs. This is what inspired Greenlining the Block.

Greenlining the Block is an initiative we launched to support BIPOC-led community-based organizations that are designing and leading climate resilience strategies in their neighborhoods. Greenlining the Block’s model doesn’t rely solely on federal funding. Instead, it aims to replicate and scale the work communities of color are already doing by:

• Forging powerful coalitions between community leaders, planners, and funders.
• Building capacity to navigate complex funding systems.
• Tapping into a diverse pool of resources — from philanthropy to private capital — so communities aren’t dependent on unstable federal programs.

Take Little Manila Rising in Stockton, CA — a Greenlining the Block partner working to address extreme heat and cultural displacement in a historic Filipino community. Their approach weaves together cultural preservation and climate resilience, making sure the solutions reflect the people they’re meant to serve. Or Casa Familiar in San Ysidro, another partner located just a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border. They’re transforming their neighborhood through green space, mobility improvements, and community-rooted design — creating infrastructure that protects against climate impacts while strengthening social bonds.

Our 24 partners have kicked off on a variety of shovel-ready projects across the country. And their successes are proof of what happens when we build power and capacity in communities and local organizations who know what they need to prepare for the impacts of climate change. This is what real climate leadership looks like: locally rooted, community-led, and designed to weather the shifting tides of the political landscape.

Transformative Policy at the State and Local Levels

Climate progress is not just happening through initiatives like Greenlining the Block. All across California, climate and equity organizations, community groups, and advocates are championing bold, equity-centered climate solutions in the state Legislature — and winning. This work has led to essential progress like:

• Community Resilience Hubs:
  • Partners are turning libraries, schools, and community centers into cooling centers and emergency response spaces — co-designed with the people they serve.
• Equitable, clean transportation:
  • Through programs like the Clean Cars 4 All and Equity EV Charging Initiative, low-income Californians receive grants to scrap polluting vehicles and access EVs, bikes, or transit passes.
  • Community-based organizations are involved in outreach and implementation — ensuring culturally competent, accessible programs.
• Transformative Climate Communities:
  • TCC is a game-changing grant program that funds neighborhood-scale climate solutions — from affordable housing and green infrastructure to solar and workforce development.
  • Cities like Stockton, Fresno, and Oakland have received multi-million dollar investments to build climate resilience from the ground up, led by coalitions of local partners.
• CalEnviroScreen:
  • California continues to use CalEnviroScreen to guide investments and ensure the most polluted and under-resourced communities are prioritized — even as federal tools are being dismantled.
  • State legislation like SB 535 and AB 1550 mandate that climate funds benefit these frontline areas.

How We Keep Building

Even when the federal government turns its back on climate justice, our communities rise. 

Communities know best what they need to thrive and combat funding, climate, and policy challenges. Building community power, investing in local leadership, and championing equitable policies at the state level lays the groundwork for long lasting community resilience.

The work happening every day at the local and state levels shows us what climate justice can look like regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. We see it in the partnerships being built. In the funding being secured. In the futures being imagined and made real by people who refuse to give up.

As we close out Earth Month, we’re sitting with this year’s theme of “Our People: Our Planet”, and know that the movement still advances and the vision remains clear. We will always work toward a just, equitable, and sustainable future where all communities can thrive.

Zhanae Briggs

Senior Coordinator for Communications

Read Bio