Our Story
mission
The Tishman Center is a collaborative community of practice that leverages research, policy, and design in accordance with the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing. We bring together research and action to tackle the root causes of climate and environmental injustice and commit to change in higher education practices within and beyond The New School.
vision
We envision a future of environmental justice- a world that is free from racism, in balance with nature, with care and respect for all beings.
Art By Drake Reed, Special Project Manager at the Tishman Center
Advancing Climate & Environmental Justice
The Tishman Center leverages collaborative research, policy, and design, in accordance with the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, to address the root causes of climate change and environmental injustice. We bring together research and action to advance climate justice and commit to bringing about systemic changes in higher education within and beyond The New School to achieve these goals.
Our approach is guided by a critical, collaborative, and action-based perspective. We work directly with Environmental Justice (EJ) partners, decision-makers, and practitioners at the leading edge of innovation. The Tishman Center is committed to advancing regenerative, transformative, lasting solutions to the climate crisis.
As a means of following the Jemez Principles, our body of work is founded on an ethic of care, solidarity, and mutuality that is predicated on an invitation from partners such as EJ organizations or coalitions, practitioners, and policymakers to co-create approaches to systemic problems. This approach disrupts the extractive, transactional model that informs so much of the history of academic-community partnerships. Together with our EJ partners, we are building a better model of university-community partnerships, one that we believe is replicable and scalable across higher education and the intermediary sector.
We are organized under three program areas: the EJ Disrupt Design fellowship, action-based research and advocacy, and campus sustainability & engagement.