Colette Pichon Battle is a 2022 William O. Douglas award-winning lawyer and climate justice organizer. A trusted voice in climate justice and Black liberation, she was born and lives in Bayou Liberty, Louisiana. As Vision & Initiatives Partner for Taproot Earth, the goal of her work is to create spaces for frontline communities to gather and advance climate strategies that help us steward the water, energy, and land. 

Colette has gained national recognition for her outstanding use of the legal and judicial process to achieve environmental goals. Her TED Talk on climate migration ranks in the top 10 TED talks of 2020, and she is a 2019 Obama Fellow for her climate justice work with Black and Native communities. Colette’s featured media appearances include WIRED, Outside Magazine, NPR, On Being, Mother Jones, Sojourners, & Inside Climate News. 

When not working to save the world, you can find Colette spending her free time in rural Louisiana, amongst the land, waters, and people that have poured love and nourishment into her from birth.