Sharon Lavigne

Sharon Lavigne

Sharon Lavigne (born May 1950) is an American environmental justice activist in Louisiana focused on combating petrochemical complexes in Cancer Alley.^[1][2] She is the 2022 recipient of the Laetare Medal, the highest honor for American Catholics, and a 2021 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize.

Lavigne, who is from St. James Parish, Louisiana which is at the center of the alley, has testified before Congress, and runs a faith-based organization, RISE St. James, focused on preventing expansion and worsening petrochemical plant pollution in the area.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Lavigne is also a collaborator on the Coalition Against Death Alley, a regional environmental justice group.^[3] She is also a plaintiff in White Hat v. Landry, an environmental justice case, focused on changes in Louisiana Oil and Gas law.^[6]

Lavigne is focused in part on defending the cultural heritage of the African American community.^[2] In 2019, she organized the community against a new Formosa Plastics Corp factory that would have disrupted a slave grave in the community.^[2][3][4] In December 2020, the plant's process was stalled by court ruling.^[7] She had previously help stall similar projects from Wanhua Chemical Group and South Louisiana Methanol.

Lavigne was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2021.^[8][9] She was named the 2022 recipient of the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal on March 27, 2022.^[10] The same year, RISE, Earthjustice, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and other plaintiffs won a lawsuit against Formosa that argued the potential air pollution of the proposed plant would violate federal standards.^[11]

Lavigne is a retired special education teacher.^[3] Her father was a sugarcane farmer in the area, and her mother a homemaker.^[3] Her family participated in civil rights actions in the area during the civil rights movement.^[3]

She is also a Black Catholic, a parishioner at St. James Catholic Church in St. James, Louisiana.