Justice, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI) at Yale School of the Environment

What Justice, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI) at Yale School of the Environment does

JEDSI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Initiative) is an academic research and education initiative housed at the Yale School of the Environment, led by Dr. Dorceta E. Taylor, the Wangari Maathai Professor of Environmental Sociology. The initiative investigates the relationship between social inequalities, lived experiences, and environmental outcomes across eight research domains — environmental grantmaking, environmental history, environmental justice, urban studies, food justice, institutional demographics, green infrastructure, and outdoor experiences — and produces landmark publications including The State of Diversity in Environmental Organizations, Toxic Communities, and the forthcoming SAGE Encyclopedia of Environmental Justice (July 2026). JEDSI also operates two paid pathway programs: the Environmental Fellows Program (12-week, $15,000 stipend graduate placements) and the Yale Conservation Scholars - Early Leadership Initiative (9-week, $8,000 stipend undergraduate placements), which place students at environmental foundations, nonprofits, and government organizations.

JEDSI's core "products" are programmatic rather than commercial: a People of Color Environmental Professionals Database with 200+ profiles, an annual New Horizons in Conservation conference (180 attendees in 2026), professional development resources, and the scholarly publications noted above. The initiative has no proprietary technology platform, no AI components, and no consumer-facing software; its underlying "stack" is a website, a separate directory portal (environmental-professionals-of-color.yale.edu), and an email subscription system. Revenue comes from foundation and philanthropic support rather than commercial sales: the 2026 New Horizons convening is funded by 14 named organizations including Re:wild, Maxwell | Hanrahan Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and 11th Hour Project. There is no equity ownership, no venture funding, and the initiative operates as a non-profit within Yale University (501(c)(3) parent).

JEDSI's go-to-market is event-driven and community-led: the annual three-day New Horizons conference is the primary distribution mechanism for research dissemination and pipeline building, supplemented by year-round digital channels (website, Instagram, X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, email newsletter) and direct relationship management with environmental organizations, foundations, and government agencies that host interns. The organization has 6 employees and is headquartered at Kroon Hall and Sage Hall on the Yale campus in New Haven, Connecticut.

Name

Justice, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI) at Yale School of the Environment

Legal name

Justice, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI)

Website

https://jedsi.yale.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

JEDSI is an academic research and education initiative at the Yale School of the Environment that studies social inequalities and environmental outcomes, runs paid graduate and undergraduate internship programs in environmental nonprofits, and convenes an annual New Horizons in Conservation conference for environmental professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Environmental Research and Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Environmental justice research
• Conservation internship programs
• Academic diversity scholarship
• Environmental professional development
• Nonprofit academic initiative

Headquarters

HQ city

New Haven

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Philanthropic Support: JEDSI operates as a Yale University initiative and receives financial support from a consortium of foundations and organizations including Re:wild, Maxwell | Hanrahan Foundation, Erol Foundation, Yale School of the Environment, Island Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Oceankind, National Philanthropic Trust, Walton Family Foundation, The Singing Field Foundation, Freedom Together Foundation, The Vervane Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and 11th Hour Project. These organizations fund JEDSI's programming, research, internship stipends, and the annual New Horizons in Conservation conference.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

JEDSI is an academic research and education initiative that conducts scholarship on environmental justice, diversity, and equity in the environmental sector, and runs paid internship pathway programs placing graduate and undergraduate students at environmental foundations, nonprofits, and government agencies. It maintains a People of Color Environmental Professionals Database of over 200 leaders and hosts an annual New Horizons in Conservation Conference convening practitioners, students, and funders.

Product overview

JEDSI is an academic research and education initiative at the Yale School of the Environment, not a commercial software company. Its offerings consist of research programs, internship pathway programs, a professional database, an annual conference, and educational publications. The core programs include the Research Lab conducting environmental justice scholarship, the Environmental Fellows Program (12-week graduate internship with $15,000 stipend), the Yale Conservation Scholars Early Leadership Initiative (9-week undergraduate internship with $8,000 stipend), the People of Color Environmental Professionals Database (200+ profiles), the annual New Horizons in Conservation Conference (180+ attendees in 2026), and professional development resources. The initiative also produces scholarly publications including the upcoming SAGE Encyclopedia of Environmental Justice (July 2026).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• New Horizons in Conservation: Annual conference series hosted by JEDSI to advance leadership in the environmental sector, featuring networking, professional development workshops, field trips, and opportunities to learn from sector leaders.
• Environmental Fellows Program
• Yale Conservation Scholars - Early Leadership Initiative
• People of Color Environmental Professionals Database

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 professionals of color profiled in the People of Color Environmental Professionals Database
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Yale School of the EnvironmentflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Yale School of the Environment is a co-host and supporter of the New Horizons in Conservation convening and the institutional home of JEDSI. The school provides facilities, administrative support, and academic credibility to JEDSI's research and programming.
• Environmental Fellows Program Alumni Host OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The Environmental Fellows Program places graduate student fellows at environmental foundations and nonprofits for 12-week paid internships. Host organizations provide mentorship and professional experience to fellows while benefiting from diverse talent pipeline. Partner organizations include Environmental Grantmakers Association office in New York (where Kiara Ott was placed in the inaugural cohort), Center for Community Progress, and various environmental foundations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Movement Generation: Movement Generation focuses on ecological justice, movement building, and base-building for climate action, sharing JEDSI's intersectional framing of environmental and social justice.
• National Black Environmental Justice Network: NBEJN is a network of Black environmental justice leaders and organizations focused on capacity building and policy advocacy — sharing JEDSI's mission of centering Black and marginalized voices in environmental work.

Broad incumbents

• Earthjustice: Earthjustice is a major environmental law organization that frequently engages on environmental justice issues. While broader in scope, it represents a career destination for JEDSI program alumni and a potential research partner.

Direct peers

• Green 2.0: Green 2.0 is a nonprofit working to increase racial and ethnic diversity within the environmental sector, publishing influential transparency reports on leadership demographics — directly paralleling JEDSI's institutional demographics research and advocacy.
• Deep South Center for Environmental Justice: Based at Dillard University, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice conducts research, training, and community engagement on environmental justice in the Gulf Coast — sharing JEDSI's academic-research-meets-community-action model in the EJ space.
• WE ACT for Environmental Justice: WE ACT is a Northern Manhattan-based environmental justice organization that combines community organizing, policy advocacy, and youth leadership programs — overlapping with JEDSI's environmental justice and pipeline-building focus.
• Robert D. Bullard Center for Justice and Sustainability: Texas Southern University's Bullard Center is a university-based research and policy center on environmental justice and climate equity, with a similar dual research-plus-community program model to JEDSI.
• University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS): SEAS is Dr. Taylor's prior academic home where she held the James E. Crowfoot Chair and led DEI initiatives for 27 years. SEAS's environmental sociology and DEI programs are the most direct academic peer to JEDSI's current Yale-based work.
• Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program (DDCSP): DDCSP is a multi-university undergraduate conservation pathway program for diverse scholars, explicitly referenced as an alumni pathway in JEDSI's pricing tiers. The two initiatives share a common mission of building diverse conservation leadership.

Others

• Environmental Grantmakers Association: EGA is the leading affinity group of environmental funders and a JEDSI partner/host organization for Environmental Fellows Program interns. EGA represents the funder side of the same ecosystem JEDSI operates within.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/JEDSIYale
• Facebookfacebook.com/JEDSIYale
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jedsi-yale
• Instagraminstagram.com/jedsiyale

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Justice, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI) at Yale School of the Environment