Washington, DC  February 5, 2008 – The LEAP class of 2009 has been selected!  The class represents five environmental justice and environmental activist organizations from throughout the United States, from Los Angeles to Massachusetts.  The class is as follows:

Citizens League for Environmental Action Now  Houston, Texas

Ipswich River Watershed Association        Ipswich, Massachusetts

Ogeechee-Canoochee Riverkeeper          Statesboro, Georgia

Union de Vecinos                                      Los Angeles, California

Wind River Alliance                                  Ethete, Wyoming

The application process was extremely competitive this year, with 23 applications considered for the five spaces.  Teams from the selected organizations will participate in a three-day orientation workshop in April that will focus on training about organization development and capacity building.  The retreat will conclude with each organization working on the development of an action plan that will guide them through their LEAP capacity building and organization development process. 

Each organization will receive a subsidy of up to $10,000 to support new organization development and capacity building projects within their organizations.  The class of 2009 will emerge as stronger, healthier organizations. 

For additional information on LEAP and how it can assist your organization, please contact Tom Aloisi at taloisi@envsc.org.