We empower communities
EJAN is a pro bono network that matches community groups facing environmental justice and public health challenges with experts in law, science, policy, public health, community organizing, and other relevant fields. We empower low-income communities and communities of color to build long-term advocacy capacity and get justice.
Through EJAN, we find a volunteer expert to help with the following
Understand technical documents and processes
Decipher legal, scientific, and technical documents and processes relating to the environment, zoning, public health, and more!
- A legal volunteer can help identify who owns a vacant parcel of land and negotiate to create a community garden.
- A licensed site professional or public health volunteer can interpret soil sample results to understand contaminant concentrations and their health risks.
- A health scientist can translate results of a risk assessment, an air quality study or health data in your community.
Legal representation and research services
Hold developers accountable by providing legal representation and conducting legal research.
- An EJAN volunteer attorney can provide representation to resident groups appealing local and state environmental permits (i.e.: air permits, wetlands, etc).
Connect with advocates
Access the expertise you need to address environmental and public health issues in your community.
- A volunteer can provide expert testimony in legal proceedings or public hearings, help you strategize, sign a letter, or collect more information.
- A volunteer scientist can test for contaminants affecting your community’s wellbeing and help you understand risks of exposure.
Basic legal help for your organization or small business
Receive guidance on everyday legal needs to operate with confidence and ensure compliance.
- A volunteer expert can help guide you through the legal process to incorporate, review a business lease, get tax guidance, and understand your rights and obligations as an employer.
Develop and carry out a powerful community organizing strategy, with support from EJAN partner Slingshot
Slingshot organizers will help with research, planning, relationship-building, on-the-ground organizing support, and leadership coaching. They also offer community trainings.
Who is eligible for support?
EJAN works with residents who:
- Are from a low-income community and/or community of color or are from a community that includes low-income residents
- Have found a community issue that is a significant environmental problem affecting their environment, health, safety, culture, or quality of life
- Are otherwise unable to have appropriate legal and technical services
- Are willing to work in a group (ex: one or two individuals organizing and coordinating with their neighbors)
Request Assistance
Volunteer
Partners
EJAN is a collaborative effort between Alternatives for Community and Environment, Slingshot, Conservation Law Foundation, and Boston University School of Public Health.
Denise January
EJAN Coordinator
ejan@ace-ej.org
Steve O’Neill
Organizing Director steve@slingshot.org
Simran Patel
Environmental Justice Paralegal & Operations Assistant
spatel@clf.org
Madeleine Scammell
Professor of Environmental Health mls@bu.edu
Successes
We have supported groups that have addressed persistent problems such as trash transfer stations, vacant lots, and dirty diesel exhaust, and also prevented additional environmental insults such as asphalt plants and freeway offramps. Even with these powerful community wins, solving immediate environmental threats in a reactionary approach is not enough. Many of our initiatives have grown out of individual neighborhoods seeking relief from specific hazards to pursue proactive, system-wide solutions, such as converting the public bus fleet from diesel to cleaner alternative fuels, cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields, and promoting a resident vision of sustainable communities.
History
EJAN was born in 1994 as MEJAN, the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Assistance Network, as a partnership between the Boston Bar Association Environmental Law Section and ACE. Since then, we have partnered with more than 50 neighborhood groups representing over 3,900 people throughout Greater Boston, Brockton, Lowell, Lawrence, and New Bedford.
We believe that low-income communities and those of color historically deal with environmental and public health hazards, and these communities often lack access to expertise to combat these injustices. The goal of the program is to develop strong alliances between overly burdened communities and legal, scientific, environmental, and public health professionals in order to improve the environmental conditions and wellbeing of those communities, and to promote local leadership. The program was paused in 2015, and EJAN launched in May 2024.
Currently, we serve resident groups based in Massachusetts, and we are already working to expand to other New England states as our network of volunteer experts grows. As of Spring 2026: We are now looking to expand our volunteer pool to Connecticut and Rhode Island!
Get help from other legal resources
If we can’t help you, you may be able to receive support from other organizations.
Learn more with our recorded trainings
Browse our library of past events for helpful information.
Stay connected with EJAN
Want to receive our email newsletter and updates about upcoming events and opportunities?
Have Questions?
Email us ejan@ace-ej.org
