Catherine Flowers (she/her) is the founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, which seeks to address the root causes of poverty by seeking sustainable solutions. She is the Rural Development Manager for the Equal Justice Initiative which serves the citizens of Lowndes County, one of the ten poorest counties in Alabama’s Black Belt; Catherine brings significant resources to address its many environmental and social injustices. Her work there addresses the lack of sewage disposal infrastructure and the legacy of racism and neglect stretching back to the time of slavery.
Catherine is an internationally recognized advocate for the human right to water and sanitation, and she works to make the UN Sustainable Development Agenda accountable to frontline communities. She is a Professor of Practice at Duke University.