Our vision and pledge for equity and justice in the Potomac River Watershed

Published June 2022

The well-being of our families and communities depends critically on the health of our lands, waters, wildlife, and our relationship with them. Potomac Conservancy envisions a watershed where clean water, outdoor experiences, and thriving ecosystems are safe and accessible for everyone and regarded as an essential part of public health. We also recognize the disproportionate barriers many in our community face to realizing this vision.  

The historic and present-day abuses endured by Black, Indigenous, and other Peoples of Color (BIPOC)—including enslavement, displacement, and discrimination—have profoundly harmed the quality of their lives and continue to do so today.

The impacts of such discriminatory treatment over many decades—including from the environmental movement of which Potomac Conservancy is a part—extend to the relationships BIPOC and other historically marginalized communities and identities have with their lands and waters. The destruction of the natural environment and barriers to access and safety outdoors disproportionately affect these communities. This unfairly impedes their ability to enjoy clean water, spend time outdoors, and live as a part of a thriving, healthy ecosystem. Examples from communities in the Potomac River watershed can be found in the People, Health, and Justice section of our Potomac River Climate Report. 

These inequities make Potomac Conservancy’s vision for our watershed impossible.

To address environmental injustices and more fully live our values as a leader in the community, Potomac Conservancy pledges to embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice into our core clean water work. We commit to working with community partners to make the outdoors a safe, inclusive space for people of any race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, religion, ability, socioeconomic status, or geography.

We invite you to read Potomac Conservancy’s commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice below.

With gratitude,

Hedrick Belin, President 
Rebecca Wodder, Board Chair 
Kamil Cook, DEIJ Board Committee Co-Chair 
Jeffery Franco, DEIJ Board Committee Co-Chair 
Katie Blackman, Vice President of Programs and Operations, DEIJ Staff Lead 

Our Commitments

We commit to a continual process of learning and reflection aimed at building the world we envision. We are working to make our organization and broader movement more inclusive and representative of our community, and to incorporate and center the perspectives, experiences, and history of a diverse range of people, organizations, and movements into our future work. 

Supported by funding from the Chesapeake Bay Trust in 2019-2021, Potomac Conservancy staff and Board have participated in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice training with an outside facilitator/expert. Staff commits dedicated time towards diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) efforts guided by annual goals and work plans and the Board works on DEIJ implementation guided by the leadership of a DEIJ Committee.  

Through informed, intentional work we developed organizational commitments that we are actively working towards. We recognize this as a valuable start to following through on our commitments and respect that this is a continual, ongoing process with no end date.  

Potomac Conservancy has identified specific, direct actions as part of our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) strategic plan that, over the next 18 months (June 2022 - December 2023), will: 

• Build the foundations to embody DEIJ commitments into organizational culture and practice.

• Pursue goals toward institutionalizing DEIJ commitments and critically examining Potomac Conservancy’s role and engagement in Environmental Justice and connecting with historically discriminated-against communities. 

• Make our staff and Board of Directors more inclusive and representative of the diverse and rich communities of the Potomac River watershed.

• Annually evaluate policies, practices, procedures, leadership, budgets, and actions related to organizational DEIJ work. 

• Collaborate directly with communities previously excluded from the environmental movement and seek multiple perspectives, especially from BIPOC-led movements and organizations. We will use our platform to elevate the awareness and visibility of DEIJ issues as identified and defined by BIPOC communities. 

• Strengthen internal organizational DEIJ work and turn outward to share our work and learn from partner organizations.

Potomac Conservancy will update the organization’s commitments over time to reflect our current and evolving DEIJ work.

Photograph of anglers fishing along the Anacostia River is courtesy of Will Parson, EPA Chesapeake Bay Program.