Driving down poverty and increasing wellness — these are among the critical challenges being tackled at the annual Summit on Poverty.

The two-day program is a collaboration between Marquette University and the Social Development Commission. It’s designed to foster creative conversations among community leaders, educators, and members of the community.

Monica White is one of the summit’s keynote speakers. White is a professor at UW-Madison, and teaches courses in environmental justice, urban agriculture, and community systems.

What's environmental justice?

"For me, environmental justice is an effort, an attempt to raise the awareness that everyone isn't equally experiencing the benefits and the disadvantages of our use of the Earth's resources," she explains. “It is an acknowledgement that organizations, communities, and residents are speaking out against various kinds of inequities with regard to the benefits and the disadvantages.”

She spoke with Lake Effect's Susan Bence, and explains how her research has been influenced, in part, by growing up in Detroit, Mich.:

WUWM Environmental Reporter Susan Bence chats with Monica White.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story misquoted Monica White, saying " ... everyone is equally experiencing the benefits and the disadvantages of our use of the Earth's resources ... " She said, " ... everyone isn’t equally experiencing the benefits and the disadvantages of our use of the Earth's resources ..." Her quote has been updated.