As sustainability practitioners, we are tasked not only to create environmental solutions, but - in equal part - to enhance our social good. Key elements of this effort include building social justice, equity and inclusion. And, while I can hopefully assume that 100% of us are on board with this goal, putting it into practice can be tricky. We live in a world where the realities of others are unknown to us. Many of the barriers to equity and inclusion may be masked by the everyday structure of our world. The barriers may be  innocuous as a street address or the grocery store we shop in, but they are very real barriers nonetheless.

Our job, as curators of a better world, is to build awareness of these barriers -- to get to know ALL parts of our community, to see intersectionality at work, and to actively seek out solutions to break down the walls. Achieving these noble goals requires us to be humble enough to acknowledge that we need new tools in our toolbox; we need the right language, the skills, the perspective. Two Environmental Center students, Kaidee Akullo and Aolani Peiper, just schooled all of us on this mandate. Early last week, of their own accord, they signed on for the  Racial Equity Challenge, a 21-day email campaign intended to coach us on ways to build habits around racial equity in the food system. As always, our students have proven to be our teachers and inspiration. I am signing up in order to better build my toolbox to be an agent of change for the environment and social justice. I challenge you to take some time this next two weeks to do the same: engage in at least one thing to help you build your understanding and skills to address intersectionality, and then do at least one thing to fight against it.