Majora Carter

Adding a unique urban flavor to wilderness conservation, Wilderness Society governing council member Majora Carter is one of New York City's best-known advocates for environmental justice, according to The New York Times. Founder of the Sustainable South Bronx non-profit corporation, Carter gained funding for the South Bronx Greenway, an 11-mile waterfront park. The main tenet of her organization is that people shouldn't have to move out of their neighborhoods to live in a better one. In 2003, Sustainable South Bronx started a “green-collar” training program that assisted people receiving public assistance. The program has helped 85 percent of its participants find jobs in areas such as urban forestry, brownfield cleanup and green roof installation. Carter is now the president of the private green economic consulting firm the Majora Carter Group.