In late August longtime environmental advocate Michael Hansen stepped down as executive director of the Greater Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP). GASP employees Jilisa Milton and Latrice Dudley were selected to take over the role as co-directors due to their complementary strengths, Hansen previously told the Lede.

In her Q&A this week, Dudley discussed her changing leadership outlook in the wake of bearing witness to gun violence and shared details on several upcoming GASP advocacy projects.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Prior to your new role, what was your position at GASP and what responsibilities did you have?

I was deputy director of operations and effectiveness. Leading up to my leadership at GASP, I worked for 15 years in nonprofit, government, and for-profit settings. Over that period, I have generated and managed over $50M in community and economic impact across 22 U.S. states, working with community agencies where I emphasized my passion and drive for institutional-level change. My commitment to service and justice has been a defining feature of my career, expressed through my deep commitment to addressing systemic inequities.