Leadership
- About LEAN
- 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
- 2017 eTown Echievement Award
Select Media
Wilma Subra, Technical Advisor
Wilma Subra is an environmental scientist focused on applying her scientific expertise and experience towards alleviating public health threats facing residents and communities across Louisiana and the globe.
Subra was born in Morgan City, Louisiana. She obtained a bachelor's degree in microbiology and chemistry in 1965 from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, and her master's a year later.
From 1967 until 1981 Subra worked for the Gulf South Research Institute. She founded the Subra Company in May 1981 to help people facing problems because of environmental health issues. Since 1998, Subra has been the Technical Advisor to the Louisiana Environmental Action Network(LEAN) and provided her unique expertise to countless communities throughout Louisiana and across the country facing threats to their health, safety and quality of life. Wilma has been a pioneer and tireless force providing scientific expertise to communities who would traditionally not have access to this type of specialized knowledge and support.
Subra has held many local, state and national positions including seven years as vice-chair of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, six years on the EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and five years on the National Advisory Committee of the US Representative to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation.
She is the recipient of a 1999 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship Award and has been profiled extensively in media outlets around the world.
Select AWARDS
- Women of Achievement Award from Connections, 1989
- Louisiana Wildlife Federation’s Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award, 1989
- MacArthur Fellowship Award from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, 1999
- Catholic Diocese of Lafayette Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, 2003
- Volvo for Life Award, Environmental Category, one of three national finalists 2004
- Louisiana Environmental Action Network Defender of the Environment Award, 2006
- Global Exchange Domestic Human Rights Award, 2011
Select Media
A Strong Voice for Environmental Action in Louisiana's Cancer Alley, Los Angeles Times, August 27, 2013