Known as the father of environmental justice, Dr. Robert Bullard has authored 18 books that address sustainable development, environmental racism, urban land use, community reinvestment, climate justice and related issues. In particular, “Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality” has become a mainstay of environmental justice education.

Currently the dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, Dr. Bullard previously held the positions of Ware Professor of Sociology and director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University. His early findings that toxic waste dumps were disproportionately sited in minority neighborhoods prompted him to an academic and activist career against environmental racism. In 2014, the Sierra Club debuted an environmental justice award and named it after Dr. Bullard in honor of his decades of critical work in the field.

Previous Pioneer

Jennifer Pharr Davis

Next Pioneer

Morgan Sommerville