Healthy Indoors | 25
women in Detroit, who just months ago had been homeless.
Veronika's efforts here are a classic example of sustain-
ability. Scrap material is diverted from the landfi ll (environ-
ment) and is being used instead to help a fl edgling non-profi t
enterprise grow (economy) and it is offering a helping hand
and giving jobs to the homeless (social).
Since the fi rst time I met Veronika several years ago,
her efforts have expanded dramatically. Now called The
Empowerment Plan, her organization has trained and em-
ployed 30 or more homeless women and has made and
distributed over 10,000 coats for homeless people.
Veronika Scott's efforts have not gone unnoticed by
those outside of Detroit either. In 2011, she was invited to
the UN to speak as a young woman change-maker, and
was also invited by the Clinton Global Initiative to speak on
her drive to create The Empowerment Plan. In 2012, Ve-
ronika was awarded the JFK New Frontiers Award from the
John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. She is the youngest
person to ever have received the honor.
Thank you, Veronika. More on The Empowerment Plan
can be found here: https://www.empowermentplan.org/
i
Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?
Next up, we will talk a bit about imponderables like these
and how they affect the way we communicate about sus-
tainability.
All views expressed here are my own and do not represent
the opinions of any entity whatsoever with whom I have
been, am now or will be affi liated.
Tom Murray is a pollution prevention and
sustainability expert, most recently serving
as a Senior Science Advisor with the Unit-
ed States Environmental Protection Agen-
cy. Tom has over 44 years in government
service. He is the architect of several envi-
ronmental partnership programs. Tom holds
a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Mount
Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg,
Maryland and a Master's Degree in Biology/
Environmental Science from the American
University, Washington, D.C. Tom retired from federal service
in January of 2016 and is now president of Tom Murray
Environmental Consulting located in rural Maryland.
Email him at: tmmurray49@outlook.com
