Mustafa Santiago Ali

Mustafa Santiago Ali is the Senior Vice President of Climate, Environmental Justice & Community Revitalization for the Hip Hop Caucus.  The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, non-profit and non-partisan organization that connects the Hip Hop community to the civic process to build power and create positive change.  As HHC Senior Vice President, he leads the strategic direction, expansion andoperation of the Hip Hop Caucus’ portfolio on Climate, Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization.  Mustafa is renowned as a National Speaker, Trainer and Facilitator specializing in Social Justice issues focused on revitalizing our most vulnerable communities. Throughout his career, Mr. Ali has conducted over 1,000 presentations across the country, including speeches, guest lecturers and trainings. He has also worked with over 500 domestic and international communities to secure environmental, health and economic justice.

Mustafa Ali joined the Hip Hop Caucus, after working 24 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  At the EPA, he served as the Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice and Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization.  Mustafa elevated environmental justice issues and worked across federal agencies to strengthen environmental justice policies, programs and initiatives. At the EPA, Mustafa led the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJIWG), which was comprised of 17 federal agencies and White House offices focused on implementing holistic strategies to address the issues facing vulnerable communities.  Mustafa Ali worked for EPA Administrators beginning with William Riley and ending with Scott Pruitt.  He joined the EPA as a student and became a founding member of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ).  Mr. Ali also served as the Director of Communications in the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), where he led the Communications and Stakeholder Involvement (CSI) team.  In 2012, Mustafa launched the EPA’s Environmental Justice in Action Blog, which reached over 100,000 followers.  This blog highlighted innovative actions to address environmental justice, sustainability and climate change issues.  In 2010, Mr. Ali also served as the Environmental Justice Lead for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2004, he was selected as the EPA’s National Enforcement Training Institutes “Trainer of the Year” for his efforts in training over 4,000 across the country in “The Fundamentals of Environmental Justice.”

Mustafa Ali was a Brookings Institution Congressional Fellow in the Office of Congressman John Conyers from 2007 through 2008.   His portfolio as a Legislative Assistant focused on Foreign Policy in Africa and South America, Homeland Security, Health Care, Veterans Affairs, Appropriations and Environmental Justice.

Mustafa Ali has been a Guest Lecturer at Yale University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Spelman College, Albany Law School and Howard University School of Law.  Mustafa is a former instructor at West Virginia University and Stanford University in Washington, and the former co-host of the “Spirit in Action” radio show which focused on social justice issues.