Liz Avants Interview

Liz Avants is a founding member of the environmental group Alliance against Waste and Action to Restore the Environment (AWARE) established in 1986 to address a permit proposal by Dow Chemical to erect a hazardous waste incinerator in her community. She worked closely with her cousin Les Ann Kirkland and through their efforts and perseverance Dow was denied a permit for the incinerator. She also worked on the successful defeat of the Spanish Lake solid waste landfill in her parish. She is a founding member of the statewide group Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN). Liz has been retired from DOTD for six years. Today, she cares for her elderly father and enjoys babysitting and playing with her grandchildren. Though she feels that most haven’t learned from past errors she is still hopeful that things will change for her grandchildren and their children. Audio interview with Liz Avants for Women Pioneers of the Louisiana Environmental Movement by Peggy Frankland, conducted by Jennifer A. Cramer, Director of the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History. Copyright: Louisiana State University Special Collections.