When Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, Colette Pichon Battle saw more than flooding. She saw deep cracks in the systems meant to protect people. Since then, she’s made it her life’s work to help communities rebuild—not just their homes, but their power. Hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi Better Tomorrow Speaker Series this April, Pichon Battle will host a public lecture to share insights from her transformative work.
The presentation, Reclaiming Democracy: From Disaster Recovery to Community Governance, is free and open to the public, and will be held on Wednesday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Kuykendall Auditorium, Room 101 on the UH Mānoa campus (register online).
“The University of Hawaiʻi has a key role to play in disaster preparedness and recovery,” said UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno. “We know the recovery process is long and complex, and so we’re looking forward to talking with Colette Pichon Battle about building community resilience over years and even decades.”
Rooted in justice
Pichon Battle will share lessons from years of grassroots recovery work that centers justice, sustainability and local leadership. As founder of Taproot Earth, she combines Indigenous environmental knowledge with strategies from the Black freedom struggle to reimagine community governance.
“We are honored to host Colette Pichon Battle on Oʻahu. The organizing work she and her team have done in New Orleans and elsewhere has helped communities build back not just structures but spirit,” said Michelle Kaʻuhane, chief impact officer of Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.
This lecture is part of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series, a collaborative initiative of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, Kaiāulu by Kamehameha Schools, UH Mānoa and the Learning Coalition.
