ELC Inspires: UN Representative Myra Jackson

At Earth Law Center, our governance committee brings together bright minds and deep thinkers. In 2021, we are more committed than ever to transparency, cooperation and diversity within the organization. One of these key committee members is Myra Jackson. A virtuoso in many subjects ranging from electrical engineering, climate change and public wellness to organizational emotional intelligence and global spiritual traditions, Myra is a longtime advocate for rights of Nature.

Getting Here

From a young age, Myra was fascinated by all that came her way. Growing up in San Diego, everything was big: from the sky to her curiosity and ideas. In explaining her journey, Myra says,

“I've walked a spiral, a very dynamic spiral of feeling connected to the macro and the micro, aware of the inner life and inner processes. I am fascinated with that at the nano level.”

 Though an aficionado of books and learning, she stays grounded. She carries a “deep appreciation for feeling myself a part of Nature, knowing all of us, in fact, are a part of Nature.”

 This love of Nature and curiosity about our inner and outer worlds has led Myra on a journey that includes participating in the open working group at the United Nations that brought about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. She continues to work with the United Nations Expert Platform on Harmony with Nature and is a delegate to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Credit: Chris Ensey via Unsplash

Where She Belongs

Myra’s curiosity has always helped her lean into the unknown. Throughout her many career paths, she has often been in spaces where there weren't women, let alone black women. A sense of confidence and belonging has helped her navigate these periods:

“I never thought about it as being the only one [black woman] in the group. I felt that I was where I belonged, simply because that was where conversations or activities were happening that were of interest to me.”

One of the things she appreciates about the Earth Law Center is the deep respect for and cooperation with Indigenous peoples. “We are connecting with those that still have a sense of relatedness to the Earth, through working with Indigenous peoples and sovereign nations.”

Leaving a better world for her great-grandchildren has become one of the major pillars of Myra’s life and she doesn’t shy away from the big questions:

“Each day I'm listening and asking from the biosphere, ‘what activities support the living space of all beings on the planet? How do we restore the earth in a way that there's a place for all existence, for all to exist whole?’ I'm listening for a new future that will raise the whole and give space for all.”

Credit: Adobe Stock

Law Enshrines Our Values

Myra’s vision and Earth Law Center’s is different from traditional environmental law:

“We understand that where Nature is violated, human rights violations occurred in tandem. Earth Law recognizes the axiomatic relationship between people and Nature.  When Nature is protected, we are stronger in body, mind and spirit. Linking the wellness of Nature and the wellness of people as one dynamic is what humanity is waking up to as we live through an array of converging crises.”

Serving as the UN representative and focal point for Earth Law Center offers Myra a way to help bring nature-centric approaches into global and local policy-making foras where decisions impact people and planet.  She feels the big shift will occur in the social dimension as the  values of society are reconciled with the natural world. Then, the law will evolve to enshrine that newly forged social contract  as ecocentric law.

For Myra, “Earth Law Center offers one measure of entering into this restoration of relationship, cooperation and collaboration with the  earth and a path for humanity to move toward living in harmony with Nature.”