Program evaluation methods have improved the design and effectiveness of a wide range of public policies. Yet despite the adoption of new types of EJ programs, there are relatively few applications of these evaluation methods to improve this first generation of EJ programs. This event will bring together leaders from across the country to 1) examine the current state of EJ programs, 2) assess the current state of EJ program evaluation, and 3) explore strategies to further develop the sub-field of EJ program evaluation. This event is co-sponsored by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development National Center for Environmental Research. The USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity also provided financial support and guidance. Other partners include scholars from the UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, and the Metropolitan Futures Initiative in the UC Irvine School of Social Ecology.PROGRAM:8:00 a.m. Check-In and Breakfast, Room 306
8:30 a.m. Introductory Remarks, Room 314Welcome: J.R. DESHAZO, Director, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation8:45 a.m. Panel 1: Background on EJ Policies and ProgramsFocus: This first panel will address the overall landscape of EJ programs and policies. Knowing the breadth and depth of EJ policies and programs is important to develop evaluation strategies, as different types of EJ programs and policies will require different types of evaluation strategies. The panel will discuss the following questions and then open up to group discussion:• What is the definition of an EJ policy/program? What are considered EJ policies and programs?• What policies and program are not explicitly EJ but have EJ consequences?• What is the landscape of EJ policies and programs at a national, state, and local level?• Where are the programs and policies concentrated and under what categories?• How are EJ areas defined in these programs and policies? What are examples of differences in definition?
Moderator & Framer: RACHEL MORELLO-FROSH, Associate Professor of Public Health and Environmental Science, Policy & Manage, UC BerkeleyPanelist: DEVON PAYNE-STURGES, Assistant Center Director for Human Health ORD/ National Center for Environmental Research of the US Environmental Protection AgencyPanelist: ROMEL PASCUAL, Deputy Mayor of Environment, Los Angeles Mayor’s OfficePanelist: VERNICE MILLER-TRAVIS, Member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Vice Chair of the Maryland State Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities, and Co-Founder of WE ACT for Environmental JusticePanelist: ROBERT VERCHICK, Chair in Environmental Law at Loyola University New Orleans
10:15 a.m. Comfort Break
10:30 a.m. Panel 2: Evaluation of EJ Policies and ProgramsFocus: This panel will explore the current state of EJ program and policy evaluation and firstgeneration tools, with specific examples of completed evaluation. Panelists will respond to the following questions and then open to group discussion:• What role can evaluation research play in making EJ policies and programs more effective?• What is the state of EJ program and policy evaluation?• What are examples of EJ program and policy evaluation?• Where are the gaps in effectiveness of evaluation and how might we prioritize filling these gaps?
Moderator: DOUG HOUSTON, Assistant Professor of Planning, Policy & Design, UC IrvinePanelist: KATHERINE DAWES, Director, Evaluation Support Division in the EPA Office of PolicyPanelist: PAUL ONG, Professor of Urban Planning and Asian Studies in the UCLA Luskin School of Public AffairsPanelist: SHALINI VAJIHALA, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the EPA Office of International and Tribal AffairsPanelist: PAUL MOHAI, Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan
12:00 p.m Lunch
12:45 p.m. Panel 3: Foundation and Government PerspectiveFocus: A panel of foundation and government agency representatives will reflect on how evaluation can strengthen program design and implementation. The panel will give an overview of what they are investing in and how these priorities are shaped.Moderator: MANUEL PASTOR, Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California and Director of the USC Program for Environmental and Regional EquityPanelist: CHARLES LEE, Deputy Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice at the U.S. EPAPanelist: RAMTIN ARABLOUEI, Program Manager for Environmental Health and Environmental Justice at the Health and Environmental Funders NetworkPanelist: ERIN ROGERS, Environment Program Officer for the William and Flora Hewlett FoundationPanelist: MICHELE PRICHARD, Director, Common Agenda at Liberty Hill
1:30 p.m. Panel 4: Best Practices for EJ Program DesignFocus: Given major categories of EJ programs discussed in Panel 1, panelists will discuss four example EJ programs representative of these categories. We will explore how to best evaluate the effectiveness of these programs, recognizing that EJ programs may take a wide range of institutional forms, and that these programs are often embedded in complex policy processes.Moderator: J.R. DESHAZO, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.Panelist: ADRIANO MARTINEZ, Environmental Justice Project Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, to discuss the Harbor Community Mitigation Fund at the Port of Los Angeles as an example of EJ programs that reduce pollution and/or mitigate disproportionate impacts.Panelist: MARVA KING, EPA CARE Program Co-Chair, to discuss the EPA’s CARE program, an example of a community capacity building program.Panelist: NURY MARTINEZ, Executive Director of Pacoima Beautiful, to give a community perspective on the CARE program.Panelist: ZOE HELLER, Environmental Protection Specialist with EPA Region 9, to describe the Los Angeles Area Environmental Enforcement Collaborative, an example enforcement program.Panelist: GEORGE ALEXEEFF, Acting Director of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Cal/EPA, to discuss OEHHA’s development of a screening methodology to assess cumulative impacts.3:00 p.m. Break-Out Groups: Development of a Research AgendaFocus: Building off the preceding panel, participates will organize into break-out groups, one per example program described in Panel 4. Participants will discuss considerations, challenges, and ideal approaches and methods to evaluate an example EJ program. The facilitator will give participants the opportunity to address the following types of questions:• Why it is important to evaluate this type of program?• What are the challenges in doing so?• What should be the key goals of the evaluation?• Is there an outcome or series of outcomes in a model of causuality that should be addressed in the evaluation?• What is an ideal framework and approach to evaluate this program?• What data is needed and who has it?• What key steps would be involved?
4:15 p.m. Report Out from Break-Out Groups
4:45 p.m. Closing RemarksKeynote: LISA GARCIA, Senior Advisor to the Administrator for Environmental Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySynthesis: MANUEL PASTOR, USC Program on Environment and Regional Equity
5:00 p.m. Reception
6:00 p.m. Adjourn