By Pro Bono Publico Award Merit Distinction Finalist: Dayna Jones | Lewis & Clark Law School

Each year, NALP confers the PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award, recognizing the significant contributions that law students make to underserved populations, the public interest community, and legal education by performing pro bono work. In addition to the Award winner, we also occasionally recognize one or more Merit Distinction Finalists.

During her time at Lewis & Clark, Dayna has been relentlessly dedicated to environmental justice and Native American Civil Rights issues. Working at the intersection of these two concerns, Dayna helped the Chemawa Indian School launch its Peer Court program, served as Treasurer of the Native American Law Student Association. Her most significant contributions, though, are legislative: when the governor of Oregon convened a Cleaner Air Oregon process to review the state’s air toxic rules, Dayna provided support to OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon; as an intern for State Representative Karin Power, she convinced her boss to advocate for overhauling the state’s air toxics rules on the floor of the Oregon House. We are excited to see what she accomplishes next.

When I came to Portland to study law, I was advised to immediately learn about the systems of injustice in our community and the folks who are most disproportionately affected by these systems. It did not take me long to become overwhelmed with the issues of transportation inequity, housing loss as a result of gentrification, police brutality, toxic air, and juvenile incarceration that plague this beautiful city.

I began showing up at community meetings, volunteering with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon (OPAL) and Law at the Margins, and collaborating with student groups to uplift the resilient work of frontline Native activists demanding environmental justice. During my second year of law school I also served as a volunteer legal intern for Representative Karin Power, a then-freshman legislator whose political platform has been tirelessly dedicated to achieving equity and a healthy environment for all of the diverse constituents of the state of Oregon. I also served as a volunteer Judge for Chemawa Indian School’s inaugural peer court program. In addition, I participated in a collaborative student reading group which paired Lewis & Clark law students with juvenile inmates housed at the MacLaren correctional institution.

If there were ten of me I would do ten times the work; the need for legal and administrative support is infinite. This infinite need is the result of America’s heteropatriarchial, white supremacist society which hoards financial and political access while disenfranchising low-income communities and communities of color. Investing in the organization, education, and power of environmental justice communities is exactly what I came to law school for. We are all connected and I know my children will never have a bright future so long as the children of others are being repressed, exploited, and underserved. I know I will never have a healthy environment as long as the environment of another is being polluted and poisoned. The fight for others is also a fight for myself, there are no lines to be drawn on where my existence ends and the existence of another begins.

Air quality has been a focal point of my pro bono work in Oregon. Despite its green appearance and reputation, Multnomah County has some of the worst air quality in the nation. The toxic air here is primarily a result of stationary air toxics, lax diesel emission regulations, and wood smoke. The neighborhood I live in has diesel pollution worse than 80% of the nation. The neighborhood of the OPAL office experiences an even worse toxic brew of diesel P.M, benzene, and arsenic. OPAL’s office is also located in one of the only majority-minority census tracts in Oregon and provides yet another testament to the fact that communities of color and low income offer suffer a disproportionate burden of pollution and its effects.

Air pollution in Oregon causes several different types of cancer, including skin cancer and lukemia, in addition to respiratory illness, and birth defects. Children, the elderly, and those with preexisting conditions are especially susceptible to the dangers of air pollution. During my work with OPAL, I participated in the Cleaner Air Oregon process. This process was convened by Governor Brown in reaction to a loophole in regulations that allowed a local glass facility to legally poison its neighbors for over forty years. To date, Cleaner Air Oregon is focused solely on stationary air toxic point sources. Despite this, I am hopeful that in the future zealous advocacy will encourage the Department of Environmental Quality, to include background considerations such as diesel into the risk assessment of a community. Participating in the Cleaner Air Oregon process has not been an easy lift for me, but it has been a very important one. Industry representatives are included in discussions and are paid to rebut and contradict all of the public health arguments made in support of the program. Local community groups simply do not have equal resources. Most of community representatives are not only unpaid, but being present in these discussions actually costs them money because of gas, time off work, babysitters, etc. This is one of the reasons pro bono work is so vital; the disproportionate representation that polluting industries have during regulatory processes designed to protect the public is staggering.

Advocating and lobbying for clean air should not be a sisyphean task, but the sheer power held by those who make a profit off of polluting others often makes it feel like it is. Providing pro bono and community service support to grassroots communities helps to shorten the gap in representation and resources and connects legal advocates to the frontline battles being fought in their community. After almost 2 years the Cleaner Air Oregon rulemaking process has finally concluded and I believe all of the unpaid hours advocates invested in this process have paid off with an introductory program we can all be proud of.

The fight for Cleaner Air Oregon is not over, though, as funding has to be approved by Oregon’s state legislature which is notorious for choosing business interests over public health. If funding is approved Oregon will be promoting the longevity of its citizens by transitioning from having some of the worst air in the nation to having some of the most health-protective regulations for stationary point source emissions. Diesel still needs to be addressed, and I hope that new students entering law school in Oregon hone in to the diesel crisis and make themselves available for pro bono support in the fight that is sure to come.

Now that I have graduated, I hope to make a career out of working toward environmental and social justice in communities most impacted by inequitable systems of representation. Regardless of where this career leads me, I know that pro bono work will be an integral part of my work. Pro bono work allows a person to be on tap, not on top, and provides a fulfilling contrast to the illusory ideas of success many lawyers find themselves surrounding in. True success is helping and loving others, striving to leave this environment better than we found it. I appreciate this nomination and recognition as I strive towards success in my personal and professional career. I hope that the work of PSJD students inspires others to challenge themselves to see how far they can go to make this world a better place for those around them.