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Alfred Brownell
Fellow

Alfred Brownell is an internationally recognized environmental rights activist and lawyer from Liberia. Alfred has advocated for more than two decades to protect the environment and human rights in West Africa and to empower Liberians and West Africans victimized by resource exploitation. He co-founded and headed the public interest law nongovernmental environmental rights organization Green Advocates International. To support and empower communities and indigenous peoples in Liberia and West Africa, Alfred also co-established the Alliance for Rural Democracy, the largest solidarity movement in Liberia consisting of local communities, women and labor unions. He also co-established the Natural Resources Women Platform to empower and support women's struggles for economic, social, and environmental rights in Liberia. Alfred’s advocacy has also led to backlash targeting him and his family; in 2016, following repeated death threats, he was forced to flee Liberia and is living with his family in the United States in temporary exile. In 2019, Alfred won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, considered the “green Nobel,” which honors the achievements and leadership of grassroots environmental activists working in the face of repression.