You deserve to be CEEN
A Just Energy Future Starts with Us
The Community Energy Engagement Network (CEEN) was established to empower frontline community organizations and advocates in the Midwest to influence state utility decision-making to better serve them. We support communities to advocate for their priorities—whether that’s preventing utility shutoffs, ensuring fair energy rates, or building community-owned solar projects. CEEN provides the tools, resources, and support needed to make real change happen.
Our approach includes challenging systems of power that erect barriers to energy benefits and perpetuate oppression. We aim to tackle economic, environmental, health, and opportunity disparities and injustices experienced by frontline communities through systems change.
CEEN focuses on three strategic channels of change:
Regional Networking and Collaboration
Resource Access
Conference Presence and Participation
Through these channels, CEEN is equipping communities with the tools, knowledge, and platforms necessary to actively shape energy policies that meet their needs and foster equitable outcomes. We also aim to serve as a valuable resource for decision-makers and industry participants seeking to engage meaningfully with community experts.
CEEN endeavors to empower communities toward a future where energy justice and fairness are central to policy-making and implementation across the Midwest. CEEN seeks to foster a just energy transition that prioritizes self-determination and addresses historical harm, aiming to transform people’s experience with utility services.
Board of Directors
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Bishop Marcia Dinkins (President)
Bishop Marcia Dinkins, Founder and Executive Director of The Black Appalachian Coalition, is a pioneer in addressing the social, political, and racial inequities that persist in Appalachian communities.
For decades, she has championed the voices and lived experiences of Black Appalachians, ensuring they are no longer invisiblized. Her work embodies the principle of justice, serving as a rallying cry for transformative action and policy change.
BLAC’s initiatives are rooted in a deep understanding of systemic racism and economic disparity. Bishop’s leadership has empowered marginalized communities to access resources and rewrite their narratives.
BLAC’s vision for justice extends beyond advocacy; it is about building hope, amplifying voices, and sustaining a movement centered on equity.
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Gregory Norris (Treasurer)
Gregory Norris is a Retired Marine Corps Drill Instructor. He is the founder of the Non-Profit Organization named ACES 4 Youth. He attended the White House twice to participate in meetings on how to Launch President Obama's My Brother's (Sister's) Keeper Initiative, a program particularly for black males and females of color.
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Gloria Lowe
Gloria Lowe is the Founder and Executive Director of We Want Green, Too, a 501(c)3 nonprofit in Detroit with a mission to create an inclusive, safe, sustainable, and energy efficient community space to serve veterans on Detroit’s east side. Veterans and community members can come to the space to gain environmental literacy and green job readiness to prepare them as leaders of the green economy.
Ms. Lowe is an Interior Construction Designer with over 18 years of Construction Management experience and training throughout Detroit. Ms. Lowe's knowledge and skill sets the foundation of WWG2 to assist Veterans with intellectual disabilities and help them transform their lives and communities, one soul, one house at a time, moving from energy poverty to energy democracy.
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Apostle Dr. Junius B. Pressey, Jr. (Vice President)
Apostle Dr. Junius B. Pressey, Jr. is the Founder, President, and CEO of Indiana Environmental Clean Energy J40 Corporation, a non-profit community-based organization offering education, workshops, and solutions for sustainability, environmental, climate, and energy justice. The mission is to help businesses and individuals in disadvantaged communities transition to sustainable energy sources, reduce their carbon footprint, and contribute to a greener future. He is also a member of People Soar Energy Fund and a member of RE-AMP Network (Indiana).
Dr. Pressey has served his community in a number of ways, including as a former president of the Fort Wayne National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Board member of Fort Wayne Urban League, Board member of Fort Wayne Changemakers, and Board member of the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition.
He has also been recognized for his leadership in a variety of ways, such as designation as a "Blessed Tomorrow Ambassador" by EcoAmerica for building climate leadership, a Special Commendation from the City of San Diego for completion of the Climate Ambassador Program, Certificate of Completion of PSEF/ Community of Color Building Solar Capacity Program.
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Tanya Paslawski (Executive Director)
Tanya Paslawski is the Founder of Elevated Engagement, providing consultation, training, and facilitation on energy justice. She is an attorney and energy industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in utility regulatory policy analysis, development, and advocacy. Tanya is on the board of the Institute for Energy Innovation and is an appointee to the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions.
She is also co-founder and facilitator for Advancing White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE), providing training and supported conversations on systemic inequities and tools for change.
Tanya has a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Oakland University. She is licensed to practice law in Michigan and is a Certified Diversity Professional. Tanya’s work is influenced by her training as a certified meditation teacher and study of Kingian Non-Violence as a trainer-in-training.