More and more, social justice and environmental justice are one and the same. “A growing body of research proves that race and income are determining factors in the placement of toxic facilities,” said Michelle Martinez, a Detroit-based environmental justice activist, speaker, writer, and mother. “On the broad scale of climate change, those impacted at a disproportionate rate will be the poor and disenfranchised people.”

Martinez’s mission is to create spaces for alternative visions and direct action within and in support of communities to dismantle such structural inequity. As executive director of Third Horizon Consulting, she works to shift the narrative in order to shift reality. A Detroit-based project that seeks to achieve social and environmental justice, the organization offers public speaking on climate, environment, and race; media planning and community storytelling guided toward actionable social justice; and facilitation of consensus building, equity strengthening, and creative thinking for groups of all sizes.

“Using media, policy analysis, and equity frameworks strategically, we challenge ourselves, institutions, and systems of oppression to achieve a common goal of whole communities for all our relations,” Martinez said. “Whether small EJ groups or big multimillion-dollar greens, it’s beyond time to move the needle.” In addition to her consulting work, Martinez is part of Swimming in the Detroit River, an intergenerational storytelling collaborative; is coordinator of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition; and is a third-year cohort member in the Detroit Equity Action Lab (DEAL) at the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School.

All of her efforts lead to a sense of positive community uprising.

“I ask: How can we be our best selves in the era of climate change, and what can be done to transform our society and save lives before it’s too late? Amplifying the message that another future is possible helps to inspire those already committed, and motivates people looking to get involved in the greater good.”