Charles Lee

Charles Lee is a Taiwanese-American environmental justice activist and the former Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Environmental Justice at the Environmental Protection Agency. Previously, he served as the director of the Office of Environmental Justice, and before that, he was the director of the Environmental Justice Program at the United Church of Christ for 15 years.

In 1982, while he was working for the New Jersey Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, Lee travelled to Warren County, North Carolina to learn more about the county's recent plans to develop a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) landfill. Over 500 activists arranged a sit-in to attempt to stop construction of the landfill and the dumping of thousands of tons of contaminated soil into this predominantly Black county. Though they were unsuccessful in their efforts, their mobilization called attention to the term environmental justice nationally. This would soon lead Lee to get job as the director of the Environmental Justice Program within the United Church of Christ, where he worked for 15 years. In his role at the EPA, he served to incorporate the ideal of environmental justice into national rule-making by fostering collaboration across sectors and backgrounds. In March 2025, Lee retired from the EPA.

Legacy In 1987, the United Church of Christ released a report entitled Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States, of which Lee was the principal author. The report has been described as "groundbreaking" At the first summit, delegates worked together to create the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice and the Principles of Working Together, documents that were foundational to ideals of the environmental justice movement nationwide. This annual summit continues to this day.

In 2017, Lee was honored by the House of Representatives in South Carolina and invited to give the keynote address at the University of South Carolina School of Public Health and Department of Environmental Health Services Seminar.

Research contributions

Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States, United Church of Christ, 1987 "Environmental justice: building a unified vision of health and the environment", National Library of Health and Medicine, 2002 "Confronting Disproportionate Impacts and Systemic Racism in Environmental Policy", Environmental Law Institute, 2021 "Another Game Changer in the Making? Lessons from States Advancing Environmental Justice through Mapping and Cumulative Impact Strategies", Environmental Law Institute, 2021