Dr. Garry Harris
Garry A. Harris is the co-founder of the National Environmental Justice Institute and the President of the Center for Sustainable Communities, a non profit dedicated to making communities cleaner, greener, healthier, safer and more climate resilient through research, project and program development, technical assistance, policy and advocacy. He is also the President of Sustainability Solutions Group (SSG), a consulting firm that provides diverse sustainability, energy engineering and power generation technical services. Mr Harris has more than three decades of experience in the energy, environmental and sustainability fields, including energy efficiency and has performed extensive project management, design, construction, quality assurance, field engineering, plant operations, training, research and regulatory activities at more than eighty power generation and faciliities nationally and internationally. He has previously held senior positions at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Institute for Nuclear Power Operations and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mr. Harris was a Senior Reactor Operator (SRO), certified instructor by both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Mr. Harris has worked to form, sustain and actively participate in state wide energy and environmental advocacy, equity, sustainability coalitions including Georgia Energy and Industrial Construction Consortium, Emerald Cities Collaborative Atlanta (green jobs), Better Building Challenge Atlanta (green buildings),Just Energy Circle (energy equity Energy Services Coalition, Georgia Environmental Justice Alliance, Advancing Equity and Opportunities and Clean Power Plan Working Group and the Demand Side Management Working Group. His policy development and advocacy activities include the Clean Power Plan, Demand Side Energy Efficiency, Environmental Justice (Atlanta Beltline Project), State Energy Service Performance Contracting Legislation, City of Atlanta Clean Energy, Climate Action and Resiliency Plan.
Mr Harris has received numerous awards and holds positions on several boards and civic associations including 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light and Emory University School of Theology (CREATE program (Culture, Religion, Ethics, and the Environment)
He is a recognized leader in STEM Education in the State of Georgia by the Technology Association of Georgia.
Mr. Harris is a graduate of the 2009 Class of Leadership Atlanta; 2013 Class of Regional Leadership Institute; 2013 Class of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership; Community Leadership Institute (NeighborWorks) and National Environmental Justice Leadership Academy (May 2016)
Mr. Harris is the Creation Care Ministry Leader: Environmental at the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church; an Green Faith Fellowship (Creation Care/Environmental) and selected to Green the Church National Leadership Council (Green for All).
Mr. Harris holds a BS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Virginia, a MS in Technology Management and a MS in Quality Engineering and is seeking a PHD in Energy and Environmental Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Jennie Baker
Ansel Ahabue-Itua
Ansel Ahabue-Itua is a 2024 JUST Science scholar and NEJI representative, with a scholarly focus on sustainability and the built environment (buildings and materials). He is the creator, main author and administrator of the National Environmental Justice Institute website. He also delivered a seven-minute “Lightning Talk” in the place of Mr. Garry Harris for Georgia Tech’s 2024 Sustainability Showcase, detailing the strategy and results of the Virginia-based environmental education and refrigerator-swapping program “Energy 4 All”. Outside of his work for NEJI, he co-authored a paper about the potential impacts of an expansion of weatherization programs in the state of Georgia available at the Climate and Energy Policy Laboratory website, contributed to research for the Drawdown Georgia Solutions Tracker, and co-runs the energy monitoring and auditing company GEMTech Energy. He has a BS in Psychology from Georgia State University and is an MSEEM candidate from the Georgia Institute of Technology, with a capstone involving the comparison of the effectiveness of eco-certifications of green buildings.
Eva Noertoft
Harry Akoh
Reginald Little
Kristina Chatfield
Ruth C. Yow
William Gordner
FreAsia Young
Henry Saxon
Donna Gant Odan
Richard Asiamah
Thailer Ragland
Ridoine Idrissou
Shivani Upadhya
Kimberly Tucker
Allison L. Bridges
Lyric Patterson
Erica Noreika
Our Researchers
Dr. Rajni Shankar Brown
Rajni Shankar-Brown is among the most prominent educational scholars in social justice in the United States and internationally. She is an associate professor, Endowed Chair of Social Justice Education, and a recipient of the Hand Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievement at Stetson University.
Dr. Gyuheui Choi
Dr. Noel Whelcher
Dr. Dujune Brown
Dr. Veronica Womack
Dr. Harry Ahok
Dr. Robert Wilkes
National Environmental Justice Institute 