Detroit – Dr. Dolores Leonard, a Southwest Detroit 48217 resident, fierce environmental activist and an early advocate for environmental justice causes, was recently honored as Environmentalist of the Year at this year’s Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Awards in Detroit.
For decades, Dr. Leonard, who grew up in River Rouge, has been revered among her community as a leader and advocate for environmental justice in her hometown and in the surrounding area, including 48217 – Michigan’s most polluted zip code. Much of Dr. Leonard’s activism over the years has centered on improving the quality of life for Black Michiganders, who experience some of the highest rates of premature deaths related to asthma, cancer, and upper-respiratory diseases.
Dr. Leonard has spent decades reigning in pollution in her community, playing an instrumental role in efforts to retire coal-powered plants and secure millions of dollars in environmental investments from corporate utilities like DTE Energy and Marathon Petroleum Company.
Most recently, Dr. Leonard was instrumental in securing agreements from corporate utilities in Michigan to end the use of coal-powered energy production and move toward 100 percent renewable energy sources. These agreements for investment in energy efficiency for low-income residents set a precedent for future cases that people continue to benefit from.
Dr. Leonard also led efforts to improve air quality for her communities. This included the installation of an air monitoring station in Southwest Detroit in 2015, staffed by Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. When Marathon Petroleum Company’s refinery in Southwest repeatedly violated state and federal air quality rules and regulations, Dr. Leonard advocated for the oil giant to fund an upgrade of the air handling and filtration system at the nearby Mark Twain School for Scholars.
In her capacity with the Sierra Club, Dr. Leonard made history as the first Black person to serve on Sierra Club’s National Environmental Justice Committee.
Dr. Leonard is also a life-long educator, teaching Economics at Wayne State and Wayne County Community College for many years. She also established a free library at the Kemeny Recreation Center, where she serves on the advisory board.