Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) honored Maria Powell of Madison at an Oct. 26 awards celebration for her work to identify and reduce sources of toxic contamination in Madison and the surrounding area, according to a recent press release. She is one of three recipients of the 2023 Bill Iwen Environmental Justice Award. The award was established in 2019 by MEA, a nonprofit environmental law center, to recognize and honor those who are working to advance environmental justice in Wisconsin.
Powell is a co-founder of Madison Environmental Justice Organization (MEJO), which is dedicated to working with low-income communities and communities of color throughout the Midwest to identify and reduce sources of toxic contamination. Through MEJO, she has worked to inform and protect communities across Madison from exposure to toxic substances by breaking down cultural and language barriers that persist between those communities and decision-makers at the local and state level.
The other two recipients of this year’s award are Deanna Branch of Milwaukee and Lisa Doerr of Cushing in Polk County.
