Raya Salter, executive director of the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center, has been appointed to the New York State Permanent Environmental Justice Advisory Council, a statewide body charged with advancing environmental justice policy, the organization announced.
Salter was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, according to the center, which thanked Stewart-Cousins for the appointment. The center described the council as a key statewide body created to help ensure that environmental justice is meaningfully integrated across state decision-making.
According to the organization, the council’s work includes developing statewide environmental justice policy guidance, monitoring how state agencies carry out that work and establishing opportunities for public input. The center said the council was expected to begin meeting in the first quarter of 2026.
The center said Salter brings decades of experience in energy law, climate policy and community-based environmental justice advocacy to the role, and characterized her appointment as reflecting the value of frontline-informed leadership in shaping equitable environmental outcomes across the state.
The advisory council was established under state legislation, which the center identified as a 2019 Senate bill, to embed environmental justice considerations in how New York agencies make decisions.
