Forth and the Greenlining Institute are partnering on the TEEM Community of Practice, a multi-year and multi-state initiative aiming to advance equitable electric mobility. TEEM will bring practitioners in four states to share policy goals, build relationships, and develop mutual commitments towards advancing racial equity, electric transportation and climate change goals. Our first cohort includes Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia but will expand to other states in future years.

TEEM officially launched in January 2021 and we’ve spent the past few months focusing on discussing mobility equity, building community, and setting the foundation for the rest of the year. Our national calls have featured presentations on mobility equity from Greenlining’s Hana Creger and we have heard from several of our equity partners on how we can apply equity. In our state calls, we have spent time understanding each organization’s priorities and we’ve localized topics to understand the state-specific context our organizations are working in.

For the rest of the year, we will dive into topics such as operationalizing equity, understanding the historical and present context of transportation and race and exploring different electric mobility options that will better serve communities. Below is a timeline of how we are planning to focus our efforts with TEEM this year.

While creating learning opportunities is one significant focus of the community of practice, TEEM is also intentional about building community with our cohort members within states and across state lines. The TEEM cohort consists of equity, environmental justice, and traditional environmental and clean energy organizations that typically don’t work together on electric mobility. Our goal is to bridge the gap between these organizations, create space for equity organizations to lead in these conversations, and set shared priorities at the state and national level. 

Through TEEM, we are excited to explore opportunities that are already emerging with the Biden Administration. As more funding and resources become available at the federal level, it will be important to direct funding to states and we see TEEM as a place where we can ground ideas that are being discussed at the national level. By building stronger state networks, TEEM states will be better prepared to utilize federal funding and resources more effectively and equitably. The work we are doing with TEEM Community of Practice has an opportunity to make a longer-lasting impact and greater wins.

More information about TEEM can be found online here and in our one-pager. If you would like to speak with our project team to learn more about TEEM, please email us at alexad@forthmobility.org  and isa.gaillard@greenlining.org.