In 1990, members of various civil rights groups wrote a letter to the eight largest American environmental organizations pointing out their exclusion of people of color and perpetuation of environmental racism. At that time, people of color made up less than 5% of the staff of major environmental organizations. It wasn’t until 2020 that, collectively, environmental organizations began to take diversity seriously enough to hire dedicated staff to work on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ). These green equity officers, often women and people of color, found themselves with the formidable task of combating racism and leading cultural change in organizations entrenched in white supremacy culture with few allies or resources to help them. 

Understanding the urgency of their mission and the difficulties of their position, in 2019 a small group of Oasis began to meet and collaborate to share resources and peer support. They became the founding members of Oasis, a collective with over 280 members today who are forging DEIJ programs and strategies. For these members, Oasis is a lifeline, a safe space for peer support, professional development, resources, and opportunities. 

In recent years, DEIJ has both undergone explosive growth and intense backlash in environmental organizations and society at large. DEIJ leaders struggle with institutional demands to move organizations meaningfully towards equity, diversity, and inclusion while frequently dealing with dwindling funding and lack of support. Guiding organizational change under these circumstances is mentally, emotionally, and physically laborious. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice cannot advance without the people who advocate for them. Oasis brings DEIJ practitioners together to collaborate on organizational change efforts, share and create targeted, cutting edge resources, and sustain a critical safe space for practitioners to learn, engage with each other, and thrive in their roles.