North Carolina Climate & Jobs Roundtable Melvin Montford, Executive Director, NC A. Philip Randolph Institute
Melvin is the Executive Director of the NC A. Philip Randolph Institute, where he works to foster self-improvement, self-empowerment, and self-sufficiency in economically disadvantaged families. Melvin understands that civic engagement is a year round process, and that many of the issues facing economically disadvantaged communities are related to environmental sustainability and public health. Melvin has worked to elevate fracking and other environmental issues in recent elections, forged important new relationships between labor and environmental groups, and deeply understands that our labor force needs to be at the forefront of planning for a clean energy economy. He sees a future where machinists and steelworkers are building wind-turbines in high paying jobs. Long before most of us had even heard of the Koch Brothers, Melvin was fighting back against their influence in our elections and democracy. He has been pushing for the rights of workers for decades, and now, from fracking to climate change, Melvin is at the forefront of bringing new advocates to the fight for clean energy.