Strengthening Communities ... One Green Job at a time!

Baltimore Green Justice Workers Cooperative (BGJWC) was founded in December 2022 by two African American women (Kimberly Armstrong and Lynn Pinder) who live in marginalized and underserved communities in Baltimore, MD.  Both Armstrong and Pinder have more than 30+ years experience working in Baltimore and across the region on adult literacy, community organizing, environmental conservation, clean energy, climate change, environmental justice, workforce development, and youth development issues.

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Armstrong and Pinder met in late October/early November to brainstorm the vision and mission for BGJWC.  In December 2022, they partnered with several other community-based organizations to host the inaugural Kwanzaa Community Talk Series. Additionally, they worked to secure financial backing and pro bono support to grow the capacity of BGJWC. Both Armstrong and Pinder identified local and national stakeholders to serve on BGJWC's Board of Directors and began building out BGJWC's organizational structure and programmatic focus.  In January 2023,  BGJWC launched its first blog talk radio series spotlighting people across the nation who work various green careers. During that same month, BGJWC hosted a community event to support the launch of its Tanzania Initiative. In February 2023, BGJWC hosted the inaugural Honoring the Legacy of Black Environmental & Climate Justice Activist webinar. Around this time, BGJWC started hosting a series of community conversations around climate change and solar power battery storage. From March 2023 - May 2023, a team of BGJWC staff and Board members completed the Black Coopnomics Academy to get a better understanding of co-ops as an African American tradition.  In May 2023, BGJWC filed its Articles of Incorporation in the State of Maryland.  Throughout the course of the year, BGJWC hosted several meetings of its Board of Directors and was able to secure several major grant awards in addition to pro bono support from two professors at Towson University and the Community Law Center.

 

2023 was also the official planning period for BGJWC to prepare for the launch of its Offshore Wind Workforce Development Training Pilot as part of its Baltimore Green Jobs Academy.  December 2023 marks BGJWC's one year anniversary!

 

If you would like to be part of BGJWC's story, please consider taking one of the following actions: 

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• Sow a donation to help BGJWC grow its capacity.  Click the Contact/Donate tab above to give.

• Complete the form to refer someone you know or to nominate yourself to apply for BGJWC's Offshore Wind Workforce Development Training Pilot, CLICK HERE.

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