Leadership
LEAN has a long history and produced an enormous array of work, while operating with a relatively small staff. LEAN’s Executive Director, Marylee Orr was one of LEAN’s founders and has led the organization for over 30 years. She, along with long-time Technical Advisor Wilma Subra bring a combined 70+ years of experience to addressing environmental challenges in Louisiana. The experienced female leadership of Marylee and Wilma has pioneered community empowerment and environmental problem solving in Louisiana. LEAN brings decades of experience and vast historical knowledge to each new issue while continuing to champion new and cutting edge strategies for protecting and improving the health, safety and quality of life for Louisiana communities.
Marylee Orr Executive Director
Marylee Orr began her advocacy work in 1984 when she organized a group called Mothers Against Air Pollution. After working in real estate and owning an art gallery, Marylee's life changed when her son was born with a respiratory illness that made it incredibly hard for him to breathe. Through the perspective of a concerned mother, Marylee became educated about air quality problems facing Baton Rouge and the impacts they could have on sensitive populations. This education also opened her eyes to the dramatic burdens and injustices facing minority communities within Louisiana's Industrial corridor. Orr began her environmental career with a monumental win preventing the burning of PCB's in the African American community of Alsen, LA.
In 1986 Marylee co-founded the Louisiana Environmental Action Network(LEAN) and is the current Executive Director. She helped pioneer cooperation between environmental interests and labor unions during the historic BASF lock- out of the 1980's to create effective common ground problem solving that improved both worker and community health and safety. With Marylee's leadership, LEAN has focused on using environmental challenges as an empowerment opportunity to not only solve health and safety issues but also address the fundamental imbalances facing underserved communities across our state. For over three decades now, Marylee has been a tireless and innovative leader in empowering marginalized communities facing environmental and public health challenges. Marylee and LEAN have been featured in countless articles and media outlets in over 15 countries including The Advocate, The Times Picayune, LPB, The Business Report, WGN Chicago, Al Jazeera, MSNBC, TIME, Newsweek, and CNN. In 2001, Marylee was depicted in the award winning Lifetime movie Taking Back Our Town and featured in Family Circle Magazine. In 2013 Marylee was one of the women profiled in Peggy Frankland’s book: The Women Pioneers of the Louisiana Environmental Movement.
Recently, Marylee and LEAN's work has garnered attention due to the popularity of Strangers in Their Own Land, a National Book Award Finalist and bestseller by Arlie Russell Hochschild which explores several of the issues LEAN has been addressing for decades. In a recent interview, Hoschild describes LEAN as a wonderful organization and a successful example of cross-race cooperation through LEAN's long history of work with African American communities along the Mississippi River where petrochemical plants have replaced plantations. In light of our countries current political and racial divisions and increasing environmental challenges, LEAN and Marylee's work to empower and unite communities to solve life threatening problems seems more relevant and needed than ever.
Select Awards
1991 United States delegate to the Global Assembly of Women and the Environment
2002 Appointee to the State of Louisiana Advisory Task Force on Funding and Efficiency of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
2005 Gary L Groesch Community Activist of the Year
2007 Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding performance and lasting contribution on the Louisiana D.E.Q. Statewide Solid Waste Initiative
2008 Conde’ Nast Traveler Environmental Award, runner-up
2008 OMB Watch Public Interest Hall of Fame Inductee
2009 Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s Environmental Leadership Award as the Individual of the Year for Environmental Advocacy and Community Outreach
2009 Louisiana Association for Justice Public Service Award
2012 Jane Bagley Lehman Award from the Tides Foundation
Select Media
Roadtrip Nation Interview with Marylee Orr
Bossy Like Me
Neighbors of the Fence, The Bitter Southerner