GreenLatinos x UPROSE - State of the Climate for Latinos
Opening keynote address to kick off the day's programming
Associate Professor, UC Irvine
Michael Méndez is an associate professor of environmental policy and planning at the University of California, Irvine and Visiting Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. His first book "Climate Change from the Streets," published through Yale University Press (2020) was the winner of the Harold and Margaret Sprout Award. In 2022, he was awarded the Carnegie Fellowship.
Energy companies in nuclear, mining, milling, power generation, and infrastructure construction often displace communities, pollute homes, and undermine local prosperity, a reality of energy colonialism. This panel will explore its impacts and the fight for justice.
Time: 12:45 – 1:45 PM
Indigenous Educator & Environmental Advocate
Jessica Wiarda is a Hopi/Tewa Indigenous educator, civic organizer, and environmental advocate committed to uplifting Indigenous sovereignty and knowledge systems. Through her work with Women of Bears Ears and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Jessica serves as a bridge between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous allies, educating others on cultural sensitivity and respectful engagement.
Legislative and Policy Director, Grand Canyon Trust
Jerry Otero is a fourth-generation Coloradan who currently serves as the Legislative and Policy Director for the Grand Canyon Trust and is part of the leadership team of the America The Beautiful For All Coalition. He previously served as the senior energy analyst for the National Parks Conservation Association and served for nearly a decade as an aide and advisor to three United States senators.
GreenLatinos Vice President of State Programs
Ean Thomas Tafoya is active in Denver Public Affairs, Colorado Public Policy, and Federal Environmental Policy. Currently serving as GreenLatinos Vice President of State Programs, he has been named a Top 10 National Energy Justice leader by Vote Solar and completed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Energy Executives program. As Mr. Denver, a local music DJ and radio host, he uses media to uplift locals in the community.
Hear from national and local leaders on how extreme heat and migration are reshaping frontline communities. This panel explores the lived experiences of climate displacement and the urgent need for just policies that protect vulnerable populations.
Time: 3:45 – 4:45 PM
Arizona Field Organizer, Moms Clean Air Force
Pita Juarez is a strategic communications leader and award-winning storyteller with over a decade of experience in film, digital media, and advocacy. She has worked at the intersection of climate and justice, uplifting underrepresented communities and ensuring their voices shape the national narrative. In 2022, she was recognized as a Grist 50 Fixer for Arts & Media for her innovative approach to reshaping the climate narrative through storytelling.
Program Manager, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
Milagros Rosado Elia is the Program Manager for Climate and Clean Energy Advocacy at the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. She is a nationally recognized nurse leader, environmental health advocate, and international speaker with over 25 years of experience. An early-stage researcher, she focuses on the effects of climate disasters on cancer care and has presented her work globally, including at the University of Lausanne and Swiss Oncology Nursing Association Congress.
Climate and Immigrant Activist, Make the Road New York
Veronica Landazur is a local climate and immigrant activist from Make the Road New York. She has experienced firsthand the anxiety of living undocumented in the US as well as the instability that comes from climate displacement. In 2012, her newly-bought home in Staten Island took a direct hit from Hurricane Sandy, leaving her and her family traumatized. Now as a survivor, Veronica advocates for climate justice for immigrants in the US and indigenous water defenders in her country of origin, Ecuador.
A conversation on the lived experiences and root causes of climate displacement in the Caribbean, led by UPROSE and allies. This panel explores community-driven solutions and the importance of sovereignty in building resilient Caribbean communities.
Time: 2:30 – 3:30 PM
Founder, Institute for Agroecology
Katia Aviles has worked for the past 30 years seeking and organizing alternative participatory methods for underrepresented communities. Her work expands upon her activism in the US for visibility of Latino populations and her commitment to environmental protection through a non-eurocentric lens. She works on the intersection between science and political activism with grassroots community leaders and farmers. She works with agriculture in the Caribbean and refocuses her work on community-based adaptations surrounding natural resource management engaging the topic from a grassroots activism perspective. Hurricane María pushed the creation of the Institute for Agroecology to fruition, materializing a tool based on farmer's needs to protect and restore the land. Her work currently focuses on strengthening Caribbean networks for a thriving region in the face of unprecedented climate extremes. Amongst the Institute's achievements alongside her, the team has secured and moved to direct grassroots organizations more than $10M, providing legal, comprehensive, organization support to more than 150 initiatives, and secured more than 300 under collective stewardship.
Ecological Farmer & Co-founder, Finca Güakiá
Marissa Reyes Díaz is an ecological farmer, activist, and co-founder of Finca Güakiá, where she works agroecological and agroforestry practices. She is a member of the National Coordination of the Boricuá Organization and the Advisory Board of the Institute for Research and Action in Agroecology. She holds a degree in Biology with a specialization in Wildlife Management from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. She focuses on territorial defense through community development, active organizing, and the development of a school farm. Her constant awareness of our archipelago's vulnerability to the threats of the climate crisis has led her to focus on promoting the development of food sovereignty through solidarity and collective effort.
Co-Coordinadora, Co-Redes Negras por la Paz y la Justicia
Carla García will be speaking on her experience of displacement as a Garifuna woman now settled in NYC. A Garifuna woman from Honduras, she has lived in the United States since being displaced from her homeland. Her formal activism for the rights of her people began in 1977, and she continues to dedicate her life to advancing justice, peace, and dignity for Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities. You can find her on X at @carlaZGarcia1.
IALA-PR Team Member & Food Sovereignty Advocate
Born and raised in New York to parents of Trinidad (father) and Puerto Rico (Mother), Samantha has assumed her Caribbean descent as an integral part of her identity and her politics. Beyond the defense and preservation of ancestral Caribbean food cultures, she has devoted years -through grassroots movements and professional endeavors- to understanding the far reaching consequences of imperial colonialism by practicing food sovereignty and popular agrarian reform. She is convinced that the right to the land -and its use- lies solely on the people of that territory, and is invested in the investigation of methodology that will bring this change about. As of August 2023, she became part of the IALA-PR team accompanying schools of agroecology in the archipelago of Boriken Puerto Rico.
UPROSE Slow Fashion Event & Taina Asili Performance
Exploring the worldwide environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry and the movement toward sustainable practices.
Cofounder of FABSCRAP
Camille Tagle brings her deep history in the world of design and fashion to her work as Co-Founder of FABSCRAP. She spent her early career as an eveningwear designer for renowned New York City design houses, with creations that sold in major retailers and graced the red carpet. It was through her work as a designer that Tagle witnessed just how much fabric, especially reusable yardage, went to landfill after each collection. Moved by the issue and concerned about the environmental impact, she created a reuse system to get these fabrics into the hands of those who could use them. 9 years later, Tagle runs FABSCRAP, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that reduces waste, inspires innovation, educates and empowers a collective shift towards a more sustainable world; shaping the future of fashion. Tagle is especially passionate about strengthening FABSCRAP's relationships with industry partners throughout the country, believing that sustainability must become a key component in the education of today's designers to better shape tomorrow's design practices. Follow Camille on Instagram: @fab_scrap @tagle_camille
Model/Author/Community Organizer
Bio coming soon. Follow Cameron on Instagram: @cameronrussell
Model/Community Organizer
Bio coming soon. Follow Veronica on Instagram: @veronicapomee
Sustainable Fashion Advocate
Bio coming soon.
Discussing how to make sustainable fashion accessible to all communities and income levels, breaking down barriers to eco-conscious clothing choices.
Fashion Stylist/Creative Director
Bio coming soon. Follow Isaiah on Instagram: @isaiahdorty
Model/Community Organizer
Bio coming soon. Follow Veronica on Instagram: @veronicapomee
Sustainable Fashion Advocate
Bio coming soon. Follow Dominique on Instagram: @dominiquedrakeford