Building a self-sustaining park in California’s South L.A.

As the year comes to a close, reflecting on 2010 on my work as a community organizer locally in Los Angeles, I’ve had the fortune of experiencing a few moments of victory in the midst of most cards being stacked against the...
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Healthy Neighborhood, Healthy Environment in South L.A.

I have been working for the past two years as a community organizer in South Los Angeles with four different community groups.  Last April 28 2010, I hosted an Open House to feature these community groups’ grassroots greening projects. Here...
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A Day Without A Bag

This will be the 3rd annual event that the Heal the Bay staff will have pulled off in L.A. County.  I remember my first “A Day Without A Bag” event like it was yesterday, being assigned to an El Monte site. ...
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A Healthier Future

Here’s an article I wrote for Heal the Bay’s “Currents” magazine (intro based on previous work of Heal the Bay’s James Alamillo): As part of Heal the Bay’s new Healthy Communities Initiative, we have been doing intensive community organizing work...
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South Central L.A. Infiltrates Portland

April 11, 2009 “We live in a concrete jungle, plagued by never-ending traffic jams,” environmental activist Refugio lamented on a recent trip he took to Portland, Oregon.  He was part of a delegation of community activists and agency representatives from...
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Building Community

I often hear people complain about how our media is further segregating us into compartmentalized categories all for the sake of “target demographics”.  So it was nice to see a use of media that was trying to actually create a feeling of connectedness and community...
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