Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area

PCJ in the Bay supports partnerships between Stanford students, faculty and staff and Bay Area community leaders to help build equitable climate change solutions.

Get Involved | Highlights | Partner Organizations | Advisory Board

Why climate change, and why now?

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to humanity worldwide, including here in the Bay Area. As the effects of sea level rise, extreme heat, and wildfire smoke exacerbate long-standing racial, economic and public health inequities, communities of color are facing the greatest impacts. Addressing these inequities and building community resilience are urgent priorities. At the same time, we need to make drastic changes to our current energy system in order to avoid even more catastrophic impacts in the future. This transition to clean energy must be an equitable one.

What is PCJ in the Bay?

Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area is a new, five-year initiative to engage undergraduate and graduate students in addressing these challenges in close collaboration with community partner organizations, as well as other departments, programs and centers at Stanford.

PCJ in the Bay seeks to:

Build climate resilience and a just transition to a green economy in the Bay Area through sustained community partnerships; and
Expand, deepen and coordinate opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to work toward climate justice in the Bay Area, across all elements of Cardinal Service.

See the current list of PCJ in the Bay partner organizations and 2022 Advisory Board members.

Get Involved

PCJ in the Bay Summer Fellowships

Interested in supporting climate justice efforts in the Bay Area? PCJ Fellowships are paid opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to help build equitable climate change solutions. Some of the previous projects with community partners included climate resilience, public health, Just Transition research, and sea level rise planning. Three opportunities are still open until April 11, 2023:

Research to support environmental and climate justice advocacy in the Belle Haven community of Menlo Park Open to advanced undergraduates, coterm, Masters and PhD students
Implementing a Climate Justice Program for Youth in East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and North Fair Oaks Open to undergraduates
Developing Environmental Justice and Water Curriculum for East Palo Alto Open to undergraduate, coterm, Masters and PhD

View all of the positions for Summer 2023 and read the 2022 and 2021 fellow bios here.

Join the PCJ in the Bay Advisory Board

Help guide PCJ in the Bay, and build leadership skills and connections with faculty and community partners in the process! Undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply. The 2022 student board members have been selected (listed in the Advisory Board member list below) but the opportunity to join the board will be open again in Autumn 2023! Learn more here.

Other ways to get involved

For students: The PCJ in the Bay initiative offers opportunities to get involved across all dimensions of Cardinal Service, as well as through community engaged research. See Highlights below for examples of how students have been involved so far, and stay tuned for a range of new opportunities in the 2022-23 academic year! These will be announced through the Cardinal Service Digest and on the Cardinal Service website.

For potential partner organizations: We are eager to expand our partnerships and find new ways for undergraduate and graduate students to advance equitable climate solutions in the Bay Area. If you are interested in partnering with an academic course, hosting student volunteers, and/or hosting a summer intern to support your work, please reach out to Esther Conrad.

For faculty and staff: There are many ways for faculty and staff to contribute, including:

Mentoring a student research or capstone project
Advising a student organization leading a project with a PCJ in the Bay partner
Teaching a Cardinal Course in collaboration with a PCJ in the Bay partner
Join the Advisory Board - we seek new members annually in late Fall/early Winter.

To learn more and get involved, contact Esther Conrad.

Highlights

Cardinal Quarter: In Summer 2022, eight undergraduate and graduate students served as the second cohort of PCJ in the Bay Summer Fellows. Each fellow worked with one of PCJ in the Bay’s partner organizations to advance climate resilience and energy justice. Read their bios.

Cardinal Courses: Since January 2021, students in twelve Cardinal Courses have collaborated with PCJ in the Bay partner organizations, including Climate Resilient Communities, North Fair Oaks Community Alliance, One Shoreline, Sustainable San Mateo County, and Valley Verde.

Cardinal Commitment: In partnership with Sustainable San Mateo County , student organizations researched and documented climate change policy ideas. These policies are now part of the Sustainable Ideas Bank, a resource for Bay Area cities to adopt solutions that have already been implemented elsewhere.

Stanford in Government led a team focused on sustainable energy policies in Autumn 2021
Students for a Sustainable Stanford is led a team focused on social equity policies in Autumn 2021 and Winter 2022.