The Massachusetts Green Jobs Coalition (MAGJC) is a statewide alliance that advocates for and actively creates a just and inclusive Green Economy that creates pathways out of poverty. We do this by convening, connecting, catalyzing and mobilizing for the creation of green industries, careers and entrepreneurial opportunities that heal the earth and our communities.

Our efforts are based on principles of community self-determination, equal opportunity, equal protection, and equal participation with a vision of creating deep and positive change in our society, our systems, our values and our thinking.

We have a network of over 500 members ranging from CEOs of Clean Tech businesses, to educational institutions, to community based organizations such as YouthBuild, to institutions of higher learning, and many others.  MAGJC was fundamental in creating and passing the “First in the Nation” Pathways out of Poverty Legislation that is part of the Ma. Green Jobs Act that became law in Aug. 2008. Currently, we are working on several initiatives to create equitable Green Jobs here in Massachusetts.

Click here for a list of MAGJC Milestones, from 2007~Present

A Brief History of the Mass. Green Jobs Coalition

MAGJC began forming on December 2, 2007 when co-founders Laurie Leyshon and Kalia Lydgate pulled together a meeting with Van Jones and 30 key stakeholders from the community, industry, education and labor. The December meeting built on the successful "First in the Commonwealth" Green Jobs Forum, conceived of and produced by Laurie and Kalia and held the previous July in Boston, which featured Van Jones. More than 300 people attended, ranging from Senator Kerry and Congressman Tierney to key state legislators and other dignitaries, to community-based organizations, businesses, community colleges, labor, and more. It was hosted by former State Representative Mike Festa and State Senator Downing. The Marion Institute and the City of Cambridge sponsored the event.

The interest and energy generated by these two events was overwhelming and pointed to the need for a cross-sector alliance that could pull together and mobilize all the different moving parts needed to build an inclusive Green Economy. MAGJC grew out of this energy and became an official alliance of individuals and organizations on January 29, 2008.

Since that time, upwards of 500 members, both organizations and individuals, working in the fields of environmental sustainability, employment, workforce training, economic development, and social justice have come together to form MAGJC.

In January and February of 2008, MAGJC members submitted a Legislative Proposal in response to a request by state legislators Chairman Smizik, Chairman Bosley, and Senator Downing, regarding green jobs needs and training. The proposal was co-written by 17 MAGJC members and signed by more than 40 MAGJC member organizations. By mobilizing our base, we turned out 100 people at the hearing for the Green Jobs Act on July 7th, 2008, the Monday after the 4th of July Weekend and with less than a week’s notice. Shortly afterwards, the legislation passed unanimously in both the House and Senate. Although clearly the time for Green Jobs Legislation had come, getting pathways out of poverty language included was a struggle. Officials have told us that if it were not for our efforts, Pathways legislation would not exist. The content of MAGJC’s proposal became the basis of Senator Downing's Green Jobs legislation, which was eventually merged with former Speaker of the House DiMasi’s Green Jobs legislation and adopted into the  MA Green Jobs Act (H4844). The MA Green Jobs Act was signed into law by the Governor in August of 2008. This legislation became the first legislation in the nation to designate funds to Pathways out of Poverty training programs for Green Jobs that would specifically target low-income individuals. The MA Green Jobs Act is now being held up as a model for other states.

The Pathways out of Poverty funding was distributed through an RFR process, which has just concluded with five of Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities receiving funding of $200k each to develop programs. MAGJC was available as a resource for all applicants during the process. At the request of the Regional Employment Board of Hamden County, co-founder Laurie Leyshon acted as a consultant to the successful proposal from Springfield/Holyoke. Many of the other recipients have been MAGJC supporters and participated in MAGJC events and campaigns. By supporting these applicants, we were able to help ensure that the winning grants would embody the principles inherent in our original proposal. Successful training programs should eliminate barriers to employment by providing "soft skills", Adult Basic Education, ESL, and wrap around services when necessary. Good relationships with employers that include a strong memorandum of understanding to ensure that every successful graduate from the training will have a job at the conclusion of the program. While we must create a green-collar workforce quickly in order to meet the demands of industry, it is also critical that we do not train people for jobs that do not—or will not—exist. We are very happy to say that these Pathway grants should result in jobs for more than 200 people.

Since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February, MAGJC has been focusing most of its energy towards these opportunities. We will continue to keep you posted on our next steps. Please feel free to contact us or join our list-serve to stay informed on our current efforts.

MAGJC Milestones: 2007~2009

What follows is an attempt at recording and sharing the unique and eventful history of the Mass Green Jobs Coalition.

Please let us know if there's anything we might have missed!

2.    Dec. 2, 2007: Held meeting with Van Jones and 30 Community Based Organizations and other Green Jobs stakeholders

3.    Jan. 29, 2008: Officially created Mass Green Jobs Coalition with 60 organizations and individuals

4.    Feb. 12, 2008: Submitted proposal for Pathways out of Poverty Legislation

5.    March 15, 2008: Held large meeting for MAGJC Steering Committee and members.  Began open and collaborative process of soliticing input to solidify our mission, vision, and value statement.  By this time, MAGJC had grown to 200 members statewide.

6.    April 4, 2008: MAGJC was invited to speak on National panel for Dream Reborn Conference in Memphis, TN, hosted by Van Jones with Green for All. Many of our members were given scholarships to attend.

7.    April 11-14, 2008: MAGJC Co-founder Kalia Lydgate delivered a keynote speech at Massachusetts Powershift conference, where hundreds of students and community members gathered to help pass the state's Global Warming Solutions Act.  Kalia also MC'ed Soul Purpose Live and delivered spoken word.  Laurie Leyshon also participated in a panel.

8.    May 15, 2008: MAGJC held its third meeting with a large coalition of members to continue the process of defining goals and structure.

9.    June 6, 2008: Arranged for Van Jones to be the Keynote Speaker at the Massachusetts Democratic Convention where he spoke on the importance of Green Job Legislation and also voiced his support for CORI reform.

10.    June 25, 2008: MAGJC’s fourth public meeting: Attended by Globe reporter Vanessa Jones, who featured MAGJC in her green jobs story. We continued the discussion on MAGJC’s goals and Green Jobs legislation.

11.   June 27, 2008: We were notified by Chairman Bosley's office that there would be a hearing on July 7th for the Green Jobs Act, Sponsored by Speaker DiMasi, and the Pathways out of Poverty Act, sponsored by Senator Downing. The hearing was intended to merge the two Bills by examining their merits. If the vital content of the Pathways Legislation was to survive this process, we needed to show support for the Green Jobs training programs and provide expert testimony. We had only 10 days, including the Fourth of July weekend, to contact all our members and ask them to come out and support this legislation. The support was overwhelming and History was made!

12.    July 7, 2008: Testified at Hearing for Green Jobs Act. Turned out 100 advocates on very short notice and had 20 experts testify on behalf of the Pathways out of Poverty legislation. Chairman Bosley, Chairman Smizik, and Sen. Downing expressed their appreciation for our efforts. As a result of these efforts and the support of many organizations, the Pathways Legislation was incorporated into the Green jobs Act.

13.    July 15, 2008 ~Oct. 2008: During the summer and fall of 2008, MAGJC’s Co-founder and Southcoast coordinator, Kalia Lydgate, helped lead a partnership – including the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Bristol Community College, UMass Dartmouth, and local employers – that developed a small pilot Weatherization Technician Training program. All participants were WIA eligible and the program was Section 30 approved. They partnered with employers throughout the process and placed the majority of in jobs.

14.    July 21, 2008: MAGJC was chosen as one of 30 organizations Nationwide to attend Green for All’s Community of Practice gathering in San Francisco.  Sharing similar goals and values, a wealth of information was exchanged at this meeting by community-based organizations and City funded projects from across the country. We learned a great deal from each other and have formed lasting relationships that we continue to draw from for information and inspiration.

15.    July 31, 2008: “First in the Nation” Pathways out of Poverty Legislation, the Massachusetts Green Jobs Act (H4844), was passed unanimously in the House and Senate and signed into Law by the Governor in August.

16.      Aug. 14. 2008: Gave a workshop with Department of Youth Service's participants in Grafton on the opportunities in green jobs. The young men attending this program were inspired, excited about the possibilities, and eager to learn more.

17.     Sept. 27, 2008: Supported six separate “Green Jobs Now” National Day of Action events statewide.  Collaborated with Service Nation to organize the Boston event, and with the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston for the Cambridge action. Pittsfield, Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Worcester, New Bedford, Gloucester all produced successful events.

19.     Nov. 19, 2008: Conducted a Green Jobs workshop for Envirothon students at UMass Amherst.

20.     Nov. 19, 2008: Presented on Green Jobs panel at Build Boston 2008.

21.     Dec. 2008: Began consulting with the five Gateway Cities who wished to respond to the Clean Energy Center’s RFP for $1 Million Pathways out of Poverty training grant.  We were hired to work closely with the Hampden County Regional Employment Board who took the lead on the Springfield and Holyoke proposal.

22.     Jan. 8, 2009: In Partnership with YouthBuild USA, Mass Coalition of YouthBuild, and UMass Boston, MAGJC produced Clean Tech and Beyond: A Roundtable to Discuss the Future of Green Jobs. This was a large conference that included Elected Officials, Dignitaries, Industry leaders, Community Leaders, other stakeholders, and MAGJC members.  The purpose was to look at all sectors of the Green Economy, beyond energy efficiency and renewable energy, and to create new legislation to support these sectors. Unfortunately, the crash of the economy put all new legislation on hold, and with the announcement of Obama's stimulus plan, we shifted our efforts to  the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants. 

23.     January 2009: We continued to work at creating the best possible Pathways (out of poverty) Proposals. The criteria included making sure our participants had the needed ‘soft skills’ - such as adult literacy, ESL, and GED training, as well as ‘wrap around’ services such as child care or transportation - to make sure that trainees would have a successful transition to employment.  In addition, we worked to create strong relationships with employers so that those who successfully completed a training program could be guaranteed employment. All Grant proposals were submitted on January 29th (which also happens to be the one year anniversary of MAGJC).  Our members were happy to learn that Springfield/Holyoke proposal was one of the five winners. As of December 2009, nearly 200 men and women are being trained in these programs statewide.

24.    Feb. 6, 2009: We participated in the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference in Washington D.C. where we compared and shared best practices with organizations from all over the country.

25.    March 8, 2009: Invited by Congressman Tierney to attend his forum with Federal Department Directors on understanding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

26.    March 12, 2009: MAGJC was represented on a panel titled "Green Jobs, Green Justice" at the NESEA Conference.

27.    March 14, 2009: Massachusetts Powershift held a rally with hundreds of supporters to publically kick-off their campaign to get 10 Congressional Representatives from Massachusetts to publicly declare their support for Al Gore's call to RePower America with 100% Clean Electricity in 10 Years.  MAGJC was proud to be a co-sponsor, with many members attending. Wadi Muhamed and Laurie Leyshon spoke in support of the campaign. (Click here for the press release and some great photos)

28.   March 15-18, 2009: We were invited to join YouthBuild USA for their 30th Anniversary celebration and Young Leadership Conference on the Mall in D.C with the First Lady, Michelle Obama, Martin Luther King III, and Senator Kerry.  YouthBuild participants, along with Michelle Obama, constructed a prefab house that will be reconstructed in Brownsville, Texas, along with 80 other affordable homes.  (press release, article)

29.    March 20, 2009: MAGJC brought 9 youth from Brick by Brick - a New Bedford non-profit focused on giving youth skills in creative careers - to perform sustainability-focused Spoken Word and Hip Hop (listen) at the Solidarity Economy Forum at UMass Amherst. MAGJC co-founder, Kalia Lydgate, taught these youth about environmental justice issues and Green Jobs using spoken word and hip hop as a vehicle to learn. During the seven week teaching program, the youth gained a profound awareness of these issues and were able to write and perform so well that they got a standing ovation and were asked to perform on the UMass Amherst radio and to join the keynote panel. MAGJC also gave a Green Jobs workshop that weekend.

30.    March 23, 2009: MAGJC co-founder, Kalia Lydgate, had the honor of being invited to attend the first White House press conference on Clean Energy with President Obama and the Council on Environmental Quality's newly-appointed Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Van Jones.

31.     April 4, 2009: Delivered a workshop at the down:2:earth conference at the Hynes convention center, titled "How Do We Build an Inclusive and Equitable Green Economy?"

32.     April-May 2009: MAGJC worked with 15 community colleges on a proposal for the Clean Energy Center’s Energy Efficiency Skills Training Initiative grant to create at least three regional training centers for energy efficiency. With consideration for the greater good, MAGJC was instrumental in negotiating a consensus among the colleges to submit one unified proposal rather than three competing ones.  This concerted effort resulted in the winning proposal, that will now create six regional training centers, rather than the three required by the grant.

33.     April 21, 2009: Presented at Green Solutions for Community Problems, a roundtable presented by the H.I.P. H.O.P. Initiative at UMASS Boston.  

34.     April 30 - May 2: We attended the Poverty, Justice, and Jobs three day conference at Harvard Law School’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute.  We spoke about the justice issues and barriers to access and inclusion, relevant to Green Jobs, and the need to find solutions to these barriers to employment.  This discussion has led to garnishing support from community leaders for a new Energy Efficiency Apprenticeship Program and a green trade association.

35.     May 2009: Presented at the Worcester Roots Project annual dinner, consulted with other MAGJC members and the Worcester Green Jobs Coalition.

36.     May 2009: MAGJC was invited by Congressman Tierney to attend a forum on Green Chemistry and the potential for Green jobs, with John Wagner and Amy Cannon at Beyond Benign in Wilmington, MA.  We look forward to collaborating with Beyond Benign on future projects that will promote the knowledge and use of green chemistry.

37.    June 2009: Healthy Environmental Leadership Program invited MAGJC to give a presentation at their forum in Grove Hall. We are thrilled that we have been asked to continue this work with the churches and their congregations in Dorchester and Roxbury.

38.    June 2009: YouthBuild USA asked that we give a presentation at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Peer to Peer Conference for YouthBuild Grant recipients. In attendance were all the YouthBuild directors from New Jersey to Maine. MAGJC's presentation was called: The Future of Green Jobs and the Influence of ARRA: A Regional and National Perspective. As a result of that conference, we began discussions with the US Department of Labor (DOL) on how best to ensure an inclusive process in the effort to create green jobs.  With the support of the DOL, MAGJC began to create a community-based Energy Efficiency Apprenticeship program and a green trade association, which will be launched early in 2010.   

39.    July 2009: The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center announced that our proposal for the Regional Training Centers was selected to receive the grant. Now, partnered with the 15 community colleges and a diversity of important stakeholders, MAGJC will be on the Advisory Board and will begin the task of creating curriculum, examining best practices, and forming strong relationships with employers.

40.    July 2009: MAGJC, after further discussions on equity w/ the Department of Labor, solidified a partnership with the Asian American Civic Association , Jonah DeCola, owner of Clean and Smart LLC, and other energy efficiency employers to create an Energy Efficiency Expert Apprenticeship Program as well as a green trade association.

41.     Aug. 20-22, 2009: MAGJC was asked to host the Green Jobs section of the Boston Green Fest, which was attended by Mayor Menino and other dignitaries.  We presented the “Summer of Solutions” with speakers and exhibitors relevant to Green jobs. We also examined Climate Change solutions that are drivers for green jobs, and green jobs that are the solutions for Climate Change

43.  October 23, 2009: Organized and presented as part of a panel at Bioneers By the Bay: Connecting for Change

44.  November 10, 2009: Presented at Clean Energy Connections in Springfield.

45.  December 10, 2009: Director Laurie Leyshon and Project Coordinator Marty Driggs visited the Springfield/Holyoke green jobs training site, where local youth are being trained in the construction of solar water boilers as well as the weatherization and insulation of homes.  This program is funded by the Pathways out of Poverty legislation.

46.  December 11, 2009: In solidarity with victims of climate injustice worldwide, MAGJC co-sponsored and participated in the Boston "Vigil for the Climate"

47.  December 12, 2009: Several MAGJC members were selected as delegates to the Cambridge Climate Crisis Congress, charged with the task of submitting recommendations to Cambridge City Council for city-based climate action.

48.  January 23rd, 2010: At the second meeting of the Cambridge Climate Crisis Congress, MAGJC members submitted a formal statement to the Congress which was the result of a Cambridge MAGJC discussion meeting on the 21st.  The statement was well-received by fellow delegates. 

49.   February 20, 2010: MAGJC organizers attended and supported a community weatherization barn-raising in New Bedford, hosted by the Marion Institute's Green Jobs, Green Economy Initiative, PACE YouthBuild, Old Bedford Village and the ESHU Collective.

50. March 4, 2010: MAGJC joined 19 other partnered organizations and businesses to launch the Commonwealth Challenge at a press conference held at the State House. By April 22, the campaign seeks “to replace the electricity demand for Beacon Hill (100,000 kWh), home of the State Legislature, for a full day while creating good jobs and reducing pollution.”

51.   March 4th, 2010: With pro bono legal services graciously provided by Nixon Peabody, MAGJC organizers incorporated a 501(c)6  (status pending) non-profit organization in the State of Delaware, the Green Trade Association. This new association will convene a nation-wide network and support system of contractors, employers, innovators and entrepreneurs committed to helping each other build a just and inclusive Green Economy.

52.   March 5, 2010: MAGJC Director Laurie Leyshon was honored to be part of a panel at the 13th Annual International Women's Day Breakfast at Simmons College. The theme for this event was “Women's Role in the Green Economy.” Laurie was joined by other women leaders in the movement for a Green Economy, including Dr. Catherine Craig, Jhana Senxian, with Allison Staton moderating.

53.   March 6, 2010: MAGJC members attended the third session of the Cambridge Climate Crisis Congress.

54.   March 9-11, 2010: Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) BuildingEnergy10 Conference at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston; Conference organizers gave MAGJC an exhibitors' booth at this major industry event and trade show, providing the perfect opportunity to present the Green Trade Association.

The journey continues... thank you for being part of it!