Ali, Mustafa Santiago
Mustafa Santiago Ali
Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali is an activist, thought leader, international speaker, facilitator, and policy maker. He is committed to the fight for environmental justice and economic equity. Ali specializes in social justice issues focused on revitalizing our most vulnerable communities. Throughout his 26-year career, Ali has conducted over 1,000 presentations worldwide, including speeches, guest lecturers, and trainings. He founded Revitalization Strategies, a business that works to move the most vulnerable communities from “surviving to thriving.” Ali worked for 24 years at the Environmental Protection Agency, leaving in 2017. He went on to be senior vice president of the Hip Hop Caucus. This national non-profit and non-partisan organization builds positive change by connecting the hip-hop community to the civic process. As senior vice president, he led operations, expansion, and the strategic direction of the Hip Hop Caucus’ work on climate, environmental justice, and community revitalization. Ali is now Executive Vice President of the National Wildlife Federation.
“To address our most pressing issues on climate change and environmental justice, we must honor that ‘Communities speak for themselves.’ By working together in authentic, collaborative partnerships, we can make real change happen.” - Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali
Ali is a graduate of West Virginia University. At 16, he began working on social justice issues.
Ali joined the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 through a program of the Bush administration to involve college students from minority communities in environmental issues. He joined the EPA as a student and founding member of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). In 2004, he was selected as the EPA’s National Enforcement Training Institute’s “Trainer of the Year” for his efforts in training over 4,000 across the country in “The Fundamentals of Environmental Justice.” Ali worked at the U.S. EPA for 24 years. He was the Director of Communications in the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), where he led the Communications and Stakeholder Involvement (CSI) team.
In 2010, Ali was the Environmental Justice Lead for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2012, he launched the EPA’s Environmental Justice in Action Blog, which reached over 100,000 followers. This blog highlighted innovative actions to address environmental justice, sustainability, and climate change issues. In March 2017, as the Trump administration radically changed the goals and funding of the EPA, he resigned. He joined the Hip Hop Caucus as Senior Vice President of Climate, Environmental Justice & Community Revitalization leading the strategic direction, expansion, and operation of their portfolio on climate, environmental justice, economic equality, and civic engagement. Ali previously co-hosted the live radio show and podcast, “The Coolest Show on Climate Change,” with Antonique Smith & Rev. Lennox Yearwood.
Ali has worked with over 500 communities in the United States and worldwide, advocating for their environmental, health, and economic justice. He utilizes a holistic approach to revitalizing vulnerable communities. Mustafa has delivered over 1,000 presentations, panels, keynotes, and trainings nationwide at over 100 colleges and universities. Ali has been a guest lecturer at many institutions and previously instructed at West Virginia University and Stanford University in Washington.
Ali regularly gives interviews and has appeared on numerous TV stations and news publications, including MSNBC, CNN, VICE, and Democracy NOW. Ali’s interviews have appeared in publications such as Bustle, Ebony, GQ, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The New Republic, The Root, and The Washington Post.
In 2018, Ali was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Green Mountain College and an Honorary Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from Vermont Law School. He has also served as a Brookings Institute Congressional Fellow in the office of Congressman John Conyers in FY 2007-2008. Ali is a Board Member for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Union of Concerned Scientists, TREE, National Children’s Campaign, Environmental Film Festival, and Climate Hawks Vote.
Ali joined The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in 2019 after being invited by President Collin O’Mara. NWF designed a role especially for him: vice president of environmental justice, climate, and community revitalization. Ali reflected in an interview that NWF recruited him to bring the organization to the “21st century…a challenge” Ali readily embraced (Mullin, 2020). He is currently Executive Vice President at The National Wildlife Federation.
Ali lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Akosua.
While he worked at the Hip Hop Caucus, Ali met with young people to connect them with the environment and environmental justice. He seeks to mentor and demonstrate to them how pollution and climate change especially impact poor communities and Black and Latino neighborhoods.
About Mustafa. (n.d) Mustafa Ali Santiago. https://www.mustafasantiagoali.com/about-mustafa
Environmental Justice Leader Mustafa Santiago Ali to speak at Vermont Law School May 11. April 26, 2018. News Release, Vermont Law & Graduate School. https://www.vermontlaw.edu/news-and-events/newsroom/press-release/enviro…, South Royalton, VT.
Mustafa Santiago Ali. (n.d.) The National Wildlife Federation. https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Leadership/Mustafa-Santiago-Ali
Mullin, Rick. August 24, 2020. The rise of environmental justice. C&en. Retrieved July 21, 2023, from https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/rise-environmental-justice/98/i32.