Dr. Diana K. Williams, Executive Director of Environmental Leaders of Color and Marvin V Church, Associate Executive Director of ELOC
By: Marvin V. Church
On this coming Saturday morning at the Westchester Community College Annex in Mount Vernon, something extraordinary will take place — not because graduations are rare, but because of who is walking across the stage and what they now know how to do.
Students from some of Westchester County’s most underserved communities — young people from Mount Vernon— will receive their certificates of completion from Environmental Leaders of Color (ELOC), marking the end of an intensive program that taught them not just about climate change, but about the cutting-edge technology being used to fight it: Artificial Intelligence.
A Program Built for the Overlooked
ELOC, the Mount Vernon-based nonprofit that has spent five years developing the next generation of environmental advocates in communities of color, launched its AI and Environment program with a simple but urgent conviction: that the students least likely to be handed opportunities in tech are the very students most impacted by environmental injustice — and that closing that gap starts with education.
“We believe people can achieve amazing things when given the opportunity and knowledge,” said Dr. Diana K. Williams, Executive Director of ELOC. “Managing climate change will take the participation of all communities.”
In neighborhoods like Mount Vernon, where aging infrastructure, flooding risks, and air quality challenges disproportionately burden Black and Brown families, the stakes of environmental literacy are not abstract. They are personal. ELOC’s program meets students exactly where those stakes are highest — in their own communities — and equips them with tools that were, until recently, reserved for college students and corporate researchers.
Learning AI to Solve Real Problems
Through ELOC’s program, students did not simply learn what Artificial Intelligence is. They learned how to use it — applying AI tools to real-world environmental challenges facing Westchester County. From analyzing water quality data to exploring how machine learning is used in clean energy grid management, the curriculum bridged the gap between emerging technology and the environmental justice issues these students live with every day.
The experience was transformative. Students who began the program with little or no exposure to data science left with practical skills, sharper critical thinking, and — perhaps most importantly — a sense that careers in climate tech, environmental policy, and STEM are within their reach.
ELOC’s approach also reflects a growing national recognition that the environmental workforce of tomorrow cannot be built without intentional investment in communities of color today. With AI reshaping industries from agriculture to urban planning to disaster response, the students graduating on June 6 are entering a world where their new skills are in high demand.
A Graduation That Means More Than a Certificate
On June 6, 2026, the graduation ceremony at the Westchester Community College Annex in Mount Vernon is more than a milestone for individual students. It is a statement about who belongs in conversations about the future of our planet.
For many of these young graduates, ELOC was their first introduction to a professional environment that reflected them, affirmed their intelligence, and told them that their communities’ stories mattered in the climate conversation. That combination — technical training wrapped in cultural affirmation — is what sets ELOC apart from virtually every other environmental organization in Westchester County.
The Westchester Community College Annex, located in the heart of Mount Vernon, provides a fitting venue: a higher education institution in the same community many of these students call home, signaling that the path from their neighborhoods to college campuses and careers is real and accessible.
Recognition That Reflects Impact
ELOC’s work has not gone unnoticed. The organization has earned recognition from the Westchester County Board of Legislators, the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities’ Eco Award, a proclamation from U.S. Congressman George Latimer, recognition from NYS Senator Shelly B. Mayer, a City Proclamation from the Mount Vernon City Council, and coverage by the Westchester County Press and the February 14th issue of the Westchester Magazine — an impressive roster of acknowledgment for an organization operating with just a small full-time staff.
ELOC students have also presented their initiatives directly to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Albany, at the invitation of Assemblyman Gary Pretlow — a testament to the quality and seriousness of their work.
What Comes Next
For the graduates of the Class of 2026, the certificate they receive on June 6 is a beginning, not an end. ELOC’s vision is to build a pipeline — from high school programs through college pathways and into green careers — so that the young people who grew up bearing the heaviest burden of climate change become the leaders who help solve it.
In a county as diverse as Westchester, and in a moment as urgent as this one, that vision is not idealistic. It is essential.
Environmental Leaders of Color (ELOC) is a Mount Vernon, NY-based nonprofit providing environmental and clean energy education, AI training, and career pathways for students in underserved communities across Westchester County. For more information, visit www.eloc.earth. or call 914 260 4649- Marvin Church.
