December 4, 2018: 3:00 – 4:30 PM (Pacific Time) REGISTER HERE
Webinar Presenters:
Ericka Flores (Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice—Inland Valley)
Carolina Martinez (Environmental Health Coalition—San Diego)
Chelsea Tu (Center on Race Poverty & the Environment—Southern San Joaquin Valley)
Ashley Werner (Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability—Fresno)
(See bios below)
This webinar and briefing will address recent developments in the Green Zones Initiative:
- In the southern San Joaquin Valley, the Arvin City Council passed a groundbreaking ordinance to become the first city in oil-rich Kern county to put limits on oil and gas drilling. During this 2018 midterm election, the town resisted a flood of oil and gas Political Action Committee spending and held on to a City Council majority that will maintain EJ priorities.
- In the San Diego region, community-led planning in National City led to the development of over 200 affordable housing units as part of a Paradise Creek Affordable Housing Project, which will also produce a community park, bike paths, and hiking trails along a restored creek area.
- In West Fresno, strong and sustained resident advocacy led to the creation of the Southwest Fresno Specific Plan, which will improve public health by prohibiting new industrial development within the community and prioritizing investments in housing, parks, transportation, grocery stores, a new community college, among other resources. The community continues to work to advance healthy neighborhoods through implementation of the Southwest Specific Plan and initiation of a city-wide Industrial Compatibility Assessment
- In 2016, a community-led alliance succeeded in enacting AB 2722 (Burke) Transformative Climate Communities (AB 2722 Burke) directing large-scale funding to comprehensive plans at the neighborhood level, and SB 1000 (Leyva) Planning for Healthy Communities Act that promotes better planning and protections for EJ communities Both laws advance a vision for thriving Green Zones across California.
To receive an invitation to the online briefing please sign up here.
WEBINAR BRIEFING ON CALIFORNIA GREEN ZONES: PRESENTER BIOS
December 4, 2018, 3:00 – 4:30 pm (Pacific Time)
www.calgreenzones.org/webinar
Ericka Flores, Community Organizer, the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ). Ericka.f@CCAEJ.org. Ericka works alongside Westside San Bernardino community leaders to hold decision-makers accountable and address various injustices within her community. Notable campaigns that Ericka has spearheaded include: pressuring Omnitrans to remove potentially explosive natural gas tanks, addressing the diesel pollution from the BNSF intermodal facility, and fighting warehouse proposals near schools and homes in Bloomington. She is a proud alumna of San Bernardino Valley College and holds a B.A degree in Sociology from California State University, San Bernardino.
Carolina Martinez, Policy Director at the Environmental Health Coalition. carolinam@environmentalhealth.org. In 2010, Carolina joined EHC as the Policy Advocate for National City’s Toxic-Free Neighborhood Campaign. In addition to earning M.A.s in Urban Planning and Latin American Studies, Carolina’s experience includes environmental justice policy advocacy, collaborating with community groups on cultural and social justice campaigns, and international labor rights.
Chelsea Tu, Senior Attorney at the Center for Race, Poverty & the Environment. ctu@crpe-ej.org. Chelsea collaborates with residents and community groups to bring land use decisions and infrastructure investments that benefit low-income communities of color in the southern San Joaquin Valley. She also coordinates the policy team at CRPE. Chelsea received her law degree from the American University Washington College of Law with a focus on environmental law, and completed her undergraduate work in environmental sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.
Ashley Werner, Senior Staff Attorney at Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. awerner@leadershipcounsel.org. At Leadership Counsel, Ashley partners with communities in the San Joaquin and East Coachella Valleys to develop and lead legal and policy strategies that eradicate barriers to opportunity. She received her J.D. from Boston College Law School with a Certificate in Human Rights and International Justice, and her B.A. from Swarthmore College.