Chief Federal Officer
Leslie G. Fields, Esq. is WE ACT for Environmental Justice’s Chief Federal Officer. She is also a Board member at the Center for Progressive Reform.
Based in Washington, D.C., Leslie Fields has worked for 30 years at the intersection of federal, state, local, and international environmental justice and environmental and civil rights law and policy.
Fields most recently led Regional Energy Democracy Initiative (REDI) at the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Justice and Equity. Prior to that project, Leslie spent 16 years with the Sierra Club, departing as the National Director, Policy Advocacy and Legal. She spearheaded and supported national policy, advocacy, and legal strategy at one of the nation’s most progressive civic organizations, cultivating collaborative relationships with dozens of local chapters and community groups. Fields designed and implemented strategies operating at the intersection of environment and environmental justice and democracy, addressing urgent challenges related to climate, voting rights/civic participation and cultural protection.
In addition to the Center’s board, Fields serves on the boards of the Children’s Environmental Health Network and Empower DC. She also serves on the board of Adeso African Solutions and has been an adjunct law professor at Howard University School of Law. Fields was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Directors of the Mickey Leland Urban Air Toxics Research Center.
Some of her awards include: Washingtonian Magazine: DC’s 500 Most Influential People, 2022/2023; LawDragon: The Green 500 Leaders in Environmental Law, 2023; National Bar Association, Gertrude E. Rush Distinguished Service Award, 2021; American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources-Dedication to Diversity and Justice Award, 2018; Sierra Club, Mike McCloskey Award (for distinguished record of achievement), 2018.
Fields is a graduate of Cornell University and the Georgetown University Law Center, and she is licensed in Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court.