Clean Water Profile: Mariah Davis

Next up in our Clean Water Profile series is the Coalition’s own Mariah Davis. Mariah was named the River Network’s 2022 Emerging Leader this spring and was recently promoted to the Coalition’s Deputy Director. We sat down with Mariah to learn more about her experience and her ongoing plans to continue supporting water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Rosey Pasco: How will your Deputy Director title expand your work?

Mariah Davis: In this role, I will work with our staff to implement our new Strategic Plan. DEIJ is embedded throughout the plan and it’s reflective of the work the Coalition has been doing to build more capacity for our member organizations in this space. I am excited to expand new, diverse partnerships with frontline and marginalized communities. I am working on a few fundraising ideas to expand our work with diverse communities and build support for goals in the Strategic Plan. I’ll continue my work to support our members by seeking resources needed to build their organizational capacity to enhance their advocacy, professional development, and culture competency skill sets.

RP: How did you wind up at the Coalition?

Mariah receiving her Emerging Leader award at River Network’s 2022 River Rally

MD: A few years out of college, I started working for Virginia Conservation Network (VCN). VCN is a member of the Coalition, a State Lead organization, and an affiliate of NWF. I’ve always known the Coalition well and participated in Equity workgroup calls, attended the conferences, and Lobby Day. Having spent my life in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, I felt like it was a great fit for me. I aligned with the mission and felt the Coalition was a work culture I saw myself in. After that I applied as Field Manager and never looked back.

RP: What first drew you to the environmental field?

MD: Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my brothers and dad playing outside. We often went fishing, crabbing, hiking, and explored the woods in our backyard. Growing up in Chesapeake, VA (the very bottom of the Bay watershed) allowed my family and I abundant access to local streams, rivers, and green spaces. I'm also a big lover of animals…and picking blue crabs. The importance of preserving our land and water was always instilled in me. When it came time to pick a major in college, I went with what my heart told me.

RP: You work a lot with the Coalition’s more than 275 member organizations. How do you coordinate and steward that many members?

MD: One program I'm very passionate about is our Coalition Leads Program. Our Coalition's Leads include our State and Engagement Leads who coordinate state and federal clean water policy with our members. They do tremendous work and play a critical role to ensure local stories and impacts to clean water are heard by decision makers. I've managed this program for the past five years and it's given me a deep understanding of Coalition member needs from policy and campaigns, increasing organizational capacity, fundraising, and DEIJ support. Our Coalition Leads play a critical role working on the ground with our members to gather thoughtful feedback and information from our members from issues surrounding political challenges to developing resources so that organizations can carry out their missions more successfully.

The Coalition State Leads and staff at a retreat at West Virginia’s Cacapon State Park in September 2022.

RP: How else do the State Leads support the Coalition’s goals?

MD: The Coalition Leads have supported the creation of fantastic advocacy tools for our members such as our agricultural and stormwater videos, Civic Engagement Toolkit, and the DEIJ in Action Guide. Each year, they help plan our Chesapeake Bay Day (Lobby Day) on the Hill. They schedule and lead meetings with Members of Congress and their staff, coordinate talking points, and recruit member organizations to sign-on in support of our Appropriations request letters, which are the Coalition’s biggest legislative priority. Beyond their work at the federal level, the Coalition Leads regularly organize members around issues impacting the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. They've led and supported efforts to successfully halt the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and delay Mountain Valley Pipeline, pass bans on fracking, strengthen laws to conserve and increase open lands spaces and tree canopy, and much, much more.

RP: You’ve mentioned DEIJ a few times now. Why are you drawn to work on DEIJ issues at the Coalition?

MD: Well, first being outside is an important space that allows me to be free and open to expressing myself. I typically feel safe hiking and enjoying the outdoors, but not everyone does. It's a very real fear for many people with marginalized identities. I have to be careful in certain spaces that I'm in and often have my guard up. Because, although the environment doesn't judge me, other people do. Just yesterday I was walking into my house and a neighbor profiled me. A neighbor, someone who sees me every day, shouted out her window from three stores up, “Are you delivering food from the Chinese restaurant?” It might seem harmless, but I'm a homeowner and I park in an assigned spot outside my house every day. Why on earth would she believe and feel compelled to ask if was a delivery driver from the Chinese restaurant she ordered food from? These experiences are not uncommon for people who look like me.

I didn't learn about the impacts of environmental racism in college, which says a lot about our education system. I learned about it through community engagement work with frontline and underserved communities. Being vulnerable and sharing my personal experiences with others allows me to connect more deeply with my work and my colleagues. Sharing personal experiences and lessons I've learned in my career is a way I incorporate DEIJ into my work. I'm very passionate about creating inclusive spaces and career opportunities for other BIPOC colleagues and people with marginalized identities.

RP: What are some DEIJ projects or programs you’re working on that excite you?

Mariah at the Coalition’s tree planting in Lancaster County, PA, October 2021.

MD: I lead the Coalition’s Equity Workgroup which works to address and raise awareness about environmental racism. The workgroup is focused on learning and understanding the tools and resources Coalition members need to advance internal and external efforts that foster a safer and more equitable community working for clean water. This past year, we've organized racial equity trainings, safe spaces to discuss navigating power dynamics, and facilitated discussions to identify organizational solutions and challenges. We’ve also taken action on environmental justice policies and have built support for the Environmental Justice for All Act. We had special guests on our calls including the House Nature Resources and bill sponsors of the EJ for All Act on workgroup calls to discuss the bill and get feedback from workgroup members.

Last, but not least, we've continued to invest in BIPOC colleagues by creating safe spaces to network, share challenges, learn, build professional development skills, and find healing. Our Young Professionals of Color Mentorship Program continues to serve as one of the only spaces in the Bay community that provides free customized trainings and mentorship opportunities to BIPOC professionals.

RP: How else do you work for clean water outside of your day job at the Coalition?

MD: I was appointed by the Mayor of Annapolis to serve on Anne Arundel County's Board of Directors for the Resiliency Authority. This is the first multi-jurisdictional authority in the nation established to finance and support infrastructure to ensure communities are resilient to the impacts of climate change. This is an exciting opportunity to learn and give back to my community.

Rosey Pasco is the Choose Clean Water Coalition’s Communications Intern