The Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise (ACRE), the predecessor to the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), evolved as an effort to address the root causes of poverty in Alabama. This led to the need to create a model that could be replicated in rural communities across the United States. Efforts to address the problems revealed a complex set of issues that needed multidisciplinary, grassroots-led solutions. One central issue that continued to surface was the lack of infrastructure, particularly wastewater infrastructure, necessary for sustainable economic development. Whether it is a small town or an unincorporated area, we must eliminate the health, economic and environmental disparities suffocating rural and marginalized communities. CREEJ is dedicated to reversing these disparities and seeing a world where everyone has access to clean water, air and sanitation.