NEWS RELEASE
Dr. Catherine Coleman Flowers of Alabama has been named one of Time’s 2025 Earth Award recipients for her decades-long advocacy for clean water and sanitation in underserved rural communities. (Photograph by Eric Ryan Anderson for TIME @ericryananderson)
(HUNTSVILLE, AL) — Time has named Alabama resident Dr. Catherine Coleman Flowers one of its six recipients of its 2025 Earth Awards. Other awardees are actor Rainn Wilson; former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist; Jay Inslee, the co-founder of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a group of 24 states that represent nearly 60 percent of the U.S. economy; Ghanaian Chef Selassie Atadika; and billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg.
This prestigious recognition is an acknowledgement of Dr. Flowers’ contribution to global efforts to serve communities that are endangered due to climate change and environmental challenges. A native of Lowndes County, Dr. Flowers has been addressing the need for clean water there for more than 20 years.
“Lowndes County has never gotten credit for its role in fighting for democracy and voting rights,” Dr. Flowers told Time. “But hopefully we’ll also get the proper credit for fighting for equity and sanitation rights.”
Time praised Dr. Flowers as a non-partisan advocate who has partnered successfully with Democrats (President Biden) and Republicans (U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions).
“Throughout rural America people are living without working sanitation,” she said. “And that is an issue that should remain a priority no matter who’s in the White House.”
Dr. Flowers, a MacArthur Fellow, founded CREEJ in 2019. Its headquarters is in Huntsville, Ala. For more information about Dr. Flowers or CREEJ, please contact David Person, CREEJ’s Alabama media contact, at 256-763-7910.