Profile
Ana isan Associate Professor in thegraduateprogram and also serves as the Director of the (TEDC)at 鶹ýɫƬ.
Ana's research and professional practice focuses on environmental justice (EJ) and climate justice. She works collaboratively with movement organizations to support the advancement of environmental justice. Ana works on a range of related issues including environmental justice and cumulative impacts policies, climate justice and renewable energy, land use and zoning tools for environmental justice, zero waste systems, and critical approaches to carbon management and climate mitigation strategies. Ana's professional practice is based primarily in community engaged scholarship and critical participatory action research.
Ana’s current research and practice focuses on innovations happening on state-level cumulative impacts policies.She helped to pass a landmark EJ and ,with EJ leaders in the state and recently co-authored papers on these efforts in the (2025). She recently co-authored two articles on the development of aand thein the Environmental Justice Journal.
Ana also served as a co-editor on a special issue of the focused on critical perspectives and environmental justice implications of industrial carbon management approaches. She co-authored a paper for this issue highlighting the environmental justice implications of federal investments in industrial carbon management projects.
Ana is currently leading the at the Tishman Center which seeks to align the work of academic centers committed to environmental and climate justice, philanthropy, and movement partners to advance environmental justice goals. This initiative includes hosting an annual Centering Justice Symposium and a Community of Practice across Higher Education to advance environmental and climate justice. She served as a co-editor and co-author on a special issue of the Environmental Justice Journal focused on coming out of the inaugral Centering Justice Symposium hosted January 2024 at 鶹ýɫƬ.
Ana co-founded the national , , housed at the Tishman Center and led by Angela Mahecha. Ana serves as the principal investigator for the fellowship which builds the capacity of movement leaders to scale and innovate just climate solutions Ana is also an inaugural member of the where she supports EJ organizations in centering climate justice in federal policymaking.
Ana has also contributed several book chapters on issues related to the EJ movement including a chapter about the significance of EJ tours in movement building called, Environmental Justice Tours: Transformative Narratives of Struggle, Solidarity and Activism, in an edited volume onsites. She also contributed a chapter on Urban and Regional Planning in an edited volume calledon community-engaged research for environmental justice.
In 2025, Ana was appointed to the NYC Environmental Justice Advisory Board serving on the Research & Policy workgroup and was previously appointed to the by Mayor DeBlasio where she co-chaired the Equity Workgroup and co-authored the chapter, "" The chapter explores the intersecting issues of climate displacement, community-led climate adaptation strategies and best practices for acheiving climate justice. Ana serves on the Executive Advisory Council of the and as an external member of the . She co-authored two reports for the focused on recommendations for federal agencies to incorporate environmental justice considerations on all aspects of national carbon management deployment. She helped to co-author the "" (2023). The Tishman Center, under Ana's leadership, is currently providing technical support to the, which is led by former members of the WHEJAC.
Ana also serves in a variety of supporting roles in the community including asthe Co-Chair of the , a member of the and the national .She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Victoria Foundation, , and the. She previously served as the co-chair on the Board of Trustees forthe (GAIA). Prior to joining 鶹ýɫƬ Ana served as the Environmental Justice Director for the(ICC) in Newark, where she worked for close to a decade in and now serves on the Board of Trustees. Her ongoing work with environmental justice issues in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey was featured in the documentary film, .
Degrees Held
Ph.D., Urban Planning and Public Policy,
New Brunwsick, NJ
MA, Environmental Studies,
Providence, RI
BA, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Environmental Studies
Hanover, NH
Professional Affiliation
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NYC EJ Advisory Board, appointed 2025
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, appointed, 2020-2024
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Executive Advisory Council of the (MACH)
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, Inaugural member
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Advisory Board, , 2020- 2025
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Advisory Council, New Jersey Chapter American Planning Association, April 2025-present
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White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Carbon Management Work Group, External Member
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Associate Editor,
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Associate Editor, Journal of Climate Resilience and Climate Justice (CRCJ)
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, Secretary, Board of Trustees
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, Secretary, Board of Trustees
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Victoria Foundation, Board of Trustees
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, Co-Chair
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, Mayor Appointed Steering Committee
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, member
Recent Publications
Book Chapters
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Baptista, Ana I. (2025) "Finding Hope at the Margins: A Journey of Environmental Justice."Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women's Voices.2nd Ed. Jeanine M. Canty. New York: Routledge
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Baptista, A. (2025) Solidarity: How Can Solidarity Catalyze Energy Democracy. in Power Shift: Keywords for a New Politics of Energy. Eds. Szeman, I., & Wenzel, J., West Virginia University Press
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Baptista, A. (2023), Chapter 16: Environmental Justice Tours: Transformative Narratives of Struggle, Solidarity and Activism. In Toxic Heritage: Legacies, Futures, and Environmental Injustice. Ed. May, S. & Kryder-Reid, E. New York, NY: Routledge.
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Baptista, A., Matsuoka, M., & Raphael, C. (2023), Urban and Regional Planning. In C. Raphael & M. Matsuoka, Community-Engaged Research for Environmental Justice. Berkeley, CA: University of California - Luminos Press
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Baptista, Ana I. (2022) "Global Goods, Local Impact", In , Ed. J. Ruth and A. Mears, Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd,
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Baptista, Ana I. (2021) “Introduction: Radical Resistance and Future Imaginaries for Environmental Justice” in The World We Need ,Ed. Audrea Lim, New York: The New Press
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Baptista, Ana I. (2019) "The Evolution of the Environmental Justice Movement: Trans-Local Voices for Systemic Transformations"inGlobalism and Localization in the Context of the Ecological and Social Crisis. Ed.Jeanine M. Canty. New York: Routledge
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Ramirez, I., Baptista, A., Lee, J., Traverso-Krejcarek, A. Santos, A. (2019) Fighting for Urban Environmental Health Justice in Southside (Los Sures) Williamsburg, Brooklyn: A Community Engaged Pilot Study. In Handbook of Global Urban Health, New York: Routledge
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Baptista, Ana I. (2018) "Innovations for Sustainability via New York City's Residential Curbside Organic Waste Collection Program: Pathways to Zero Waste" in . Ed. André Corrêa d'Almeida. New York: Columbia University Press
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Baptista, A. (2018), . , 4th Edition. New Jersey Chapter, American Planning Association.
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Baptista, Ana I. (2017) "Finding Hope at the Margins: A Journey of Environmental Justice." . Ed. Jeanine M. Canty. New York: Routledge
Articles
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Baptista, A. I., Lam, Y., Yulsman, A., Killough, M., & Bez, C. S. (2025). . Environmental Justice.
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Baptista, A., Lam, Y., Ventrella, J., et al. (2025). . Journal of Climate Resilience and Justice 2: 1–17.
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Sheats, N., Baptista, A. I., Lopez-Nunez, M., & Miles, M. (2025). They Said It Couldn’t Be Done: A Case Study of New Jersey’s Landmark Environmental Justice Law (S. 232). Environmental Justice.
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Raphael, C., Matsuoka, M., & Baptista, A. I. (2025). Community-Engaged Research for Environmental Justice.
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Lam, Y., Ventrella, J., Baptista, A., and Rodriguez, J. (2025). . PLOS One 20, no. 5: e0323817.
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Baptista, A., Lam, Y., Santos Ramirez, J., Ventrella, J., and Austin, S. (2025). . Environmental Justice.
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Foster, S., Baptista, A., Nguyen, K., Tchen, J., Tedesco, M, and Leichenko, R. (2024). . Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 10.1111/nyas.15148.
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Ji, N., Baptista, A., Yu, C.H., et al. (2024). . Science of The Total Environment 912: 168984.
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Tedesco, M., Foster, S., Baptista, A., & Zuzak, C. (2023). A multi-hazard climate, displacement and socio-vulnerability score for New York City. Sustainability, 16(1), 42.
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Baptista, A., Jesudason, S., Greenberg, M., and Perovich, A. (2023). Landscape Assessment of the US Environmental Justice Movement: Transformative Strategies for Climate Justice. Environmental Justice.
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Santos-Ramirez, J., Baptista, A., Perovich, A., Greenberg, M, Lopez, A., and Rosenberg, A. (2022). Environmental Justice and Philanthropy: Challenges and Opportunities for Alignment. Foundation Review, 14(1), 7.
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Baptista, A. (March 2021). Zoning, Land Use, and Local Policies for Environmental Justice, Zoning Practice, American Planning Association.
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Ji, N., Fang, M., Baptista, A., Cepeda, C., Greenberg, M., Mincey, I. C., & Laumbach, R. J. (2021). Exposure To Traffic-related Air Pollution and Changes In Exhaled Nitric Oxide and DNA Methylation in Arginase and Nitric Oxide Synthase in Children With Asthma. Environmental Health, 20(1), 1-11.
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Baptista, A.I. and Amarnath, K., (2016). Garbage, Power, and Environmental Justice: The Clean Power Plan Rule, Wm. & Mary Envtl. L. & Pol’y Rev, 41, 403
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Ho Yu, C., Zhi-Hua (Tina) Fan, Lioy, P., Baptista, A., Greenberg, M., Laumbach, R. (September 2016). A Mobile Monitoring Approach to Characterize Spatial and Temporal Variation in Traffic-Related Air Pollutants in an Urban Community. Atmospheric Environment.
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Laumbach, R., Baptista, A., Fiedler, N., Cepeda, C., Fan, Z., Pavilonis, B., Ohman-Strickland, P., and Kipen, H., (2013). Cumulative Impacts Of Traffic Pollutants And Psychosocial Stress On Childhood Asthma Exacerbation In An Urban Community. In C105. Pollution Effects, pp. A5098-A5098. American Thoracic Society.
Reports & White Papers
Lam, Y., Ventrella, J., Baptista, A., and Rodriguez Castellanos, J.D., Tishman Environment & Design Center. (2024)
. Sheats, N., Perovich, A., Yulsman, A., Ventrella, J., Lam, Y., and Baptista, A.Tishman Environment & Design Center. (2023)
Baptista, A. and Ventrella, J. Tishman Environment & Design Center. (2022)
.. Baptista, A., Perovich, A., Pulido-Velosa, M., Valencia, E., Valdez, M. Tishman Environment and Design Center (August 2022)
Defining Environmental Justice Communities: Implications for State and Federal Environmental Justice Policies. Baptista, A., Sheats, N., Perovich, A. and Valdez, M., Tishman Environment and Design Center (January 2022)
EJ and Philanthropy: Challenges and Opportunities for Alignment. Midwest and Gulf South Case Studies. March 2020, Tishman Environment and Design Center
. May 2019, Tishman Environment and Design Center
, May 21, 2019,Tishman Environment & Design Center
, February 2019, Tishman Environment & Design Center
Public Articles/Commentary
. Ana Baptista and Leslie Fields, Common Deams, Opinion, February 11, 2026
, Ana Baptista and Dana Johnson, Common Dreams, Opinion, November 14, 2023
Reflections on President Biden's signing of, April 28, 2023
Coronavirus Crisis Demands Environmental Justice Response. Op Ed, May 19, 2020, New Jersey Spotlight.
Is Burning Trash a Good Way to Handle It? Waste Incineration in 5 Charts.The Conversation, June 20, 2019
Performances and Appearances
, Uptown Chats podcast, July 8, 2024
, Colorado Renewable Energy Society, June 20, 2024
, Environmental Health News, May 27, 2024
, E&E News, March 8, 2024
. Resources Radio, Resources for the Future, October 4, 2023
Upstream podcast, Episode 91, June 16, 2023
with Ana Baptista, Resources for our Future, February 14, 2023
, Nature, June 2, 2022
Indisposable Podcast, by Upstream, May 2022
Trash or Recycling? Why Plastic Keeps Us Guessing, The New York Times, By Winston Choi-Schagrin and Hiroko Tabuchi, April 21, 2022
, Associated Press, By Alex Danield, November 11, 2021
. Energy News Network, By David Thill, July 13, 2021
Cumulative Impact Ordinances Address Environmental Justice. EHS Daily Advisor, by Lisa Whitley Coleman, June 3, 2021
. Urban Matters, The Center for New York City Affairs. February 17, 2021
Urban Matters, The Center for New York City Affairs. February 10, 2021
. September 18, 2020,Reuters, by, Maria Caspani
. July 2, 2020,NJ Spotlight Roundtable
. Derrick Jackson, Environmental Health News, April 3, 2020.
. NBC News, by Erik Ortiz,October 1, 2020,
. Derrick Z. Jackson, The American Prospect, December 5, 2019
American Planning Association, Adina Solomon, October 2019
,CityLab, Nicole Javorsky, May 7, 2019
Research Interests
Environmental justice, climate justice, cumulative impacts, land use, zoning and planning approaches to environmental justice, waste justice, critical climate adaptation and mitigation, air pollution monitoring and permitting, goods movement, critical participatory action research, community based deliberative planning practices, superfund and brownfields policies
Awards And Honors
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Outstanding Achievements in Social Justice Teaching, 鶹ýɫƬ, 2024
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New Jersey Governor’s , 2020
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US EPA,, New York, May 2017.
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Ironbound Community Corporation, October 2016
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US EPA, , Passaic River Superfund Community Advisory Group, May 2015