Leah Obias

I serve as the Director of Policy and Strategy of RaceForward, where I work with my team towards a north star of furthering a vision for a multiracial democracy that advances racial justice and allows for low-income people of color to thrive. From people’s assemblies to horizontal task forces, we’re shaping our work through a place-based approach to governance that puts people and planet first.

To me, Energy Democracy is about expanding democracy and community control over public goods that should be human rights: food, water, energy, public education, and housing–all of which are all in jeopardy in today’s political climate.

At RaceForward, we take action on Energy Democracy by bridging the gaps between community-members and stakeholders in local government. In San Francisco, for example, we helped facilitate a comprehensive sustainability plan by bringing together coalition partners across the Bay Area to reduce building emissions of public buildings. In another recent local collaboration, we gathered community-based organizations and local government officers to co-create goals of reaching 100% renewables for public infrastructure. More than just technology, this approach is an experiment in democracy to test the potential and possibility of local organizations to come together with community-members, in non-extractive and equitable ways.

But the reality is that we still have a long way to go. In America, we are operating from a democratic deficit: unions represent less than 10% of the population, and individualism often blocks collective action.

So, our work becomes all the more important: we need innovative approaches that expand traditional technocratic models of governance so that communities build power on their own terms.

At RaceForward, we’re steadfast in shaping narratives and models that invite more folks to disrupt the cycle of democratic deficit, while also meeting the material needs of this current moment. If we want energy justice to be achieved alongside full dignity for Indigenous, Black, Brown, low-income, and immigrant families; safe and affordable housing; and clean air and water, we must recognize that our governance should reflect our movements as living, breathing ecosystems.