Wednesday, April 24, 2024
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Golden Eagle Ballroom
California State University, Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90032
CHAIRED BY:
Dr. Wai Kit Choi
Chair, Asian and Asian American Studies;
Professor of Sociology
Wai Kit Choi is an Associate Professor of Sociology at California State University, Los Angeles, and was a Fulbright Scholar from 2009 to 2010. His research interests are in globalization, historical sociology, and sociological theory. He has published in journals such as Journal of Historical Sociology, Postcolonial Studies and Science & Society. He also has an article on Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement in the journal Perspective on Global Development and Technology.
SPEAKERS:
Dr. Barry Hibbs
Professor, Department of Geography, Geology,
and Environment
Barry Hibbs has taught at California State University, Los Angeles, since 1997, where he instructs courses in groundwater hydrology, water quality, watershed analysis, field methods, and groundwater management. Dr. Hibbs received a B.S. in Geology from Arizona State University, an M.S. in Hydrogeology from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Hibbs’ research focuses on the hydrogeology of arid basins in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico; stream/aquifer interactions; isotope hydrology; urban hydrology; and trace element hydrochemistry.
Dr. Ángela Vergara
Professor, Department of History
Ángela Vergara is a professor of history at California State University, Los Angeles. She obtained her B.A. in History at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile (1994) and her Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego (2002). A social and labor historian, she is the author of Copper Workers, International Business, and Domestic Politics in Cold War Chile (2008) and Fighting Unemployment in Twentieth-Century Chile (2021), and co-editor of Company Towns in the Americas (2011). She has also written several chapters and articles on various topics such as transnational labor history, occupational health, workers and dictatorship, and labor courts. In addition to more traditional academic articles, she has contributed to media and public history outlets such as NACLA, Zocalo Public Square, and Phenomenal World. She is currently researching the entangled history of mine closure and its environmental and labor challenges in Chile and the United States. At Cal State LA, she teaches Latin American, labor, urban and world history courses.
Dr. Jessica Bremner
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Geology,
and Environment
Dr. Jessica Bremner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Geology, and Environment at California State University Los Angeles. Her research interests lie at the intersection of spatial justice, gender, housing, participatory practices, and the environment. Her most recent work examines the processes that shape the spatial inequality of water access in the Coachella Valley. Prior to receiving her doctorate in Urban Planning from UCLA, Jessica was the Planning Director of Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), a non-profit community development and design firm based in Los Angeles, USA and Nairobi, Kenya.
CHAIRED BY:
Victor Griego
President, Water Education for Latino Leaders (WELL)
In 2012, Mr. Griego founded the organization with the encouragement of his daughter Liliana. He recruited other leaders across California to create WELL. The mission of WELL is to educate local Latino elected officials on California water policies to promote timely and equitable actions that strive to develop a robust economy, healthy communities, and a resilient environment for all Californians. Mr. Griego and the WELL leadership believe that any elected official who serves Latinos is a Latino Leader; as such, most California elected officials are Latino Leaders. Mr. Griego began his career as an organizer with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union. He later owned and operated a successful Public Affairs consulting business. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Whittier College and a Master of Arts in American Politics from Claremont Graduate University. He is married with two adult children and two grandchildren. Mr. Griego has recently been recognized for his work with WELL by the Water Replenishment District of Southern California and the highly regarded California non-profit Climate Resolve.
MODERATED BY:
Councilmember Rafael Trujillo
City of Rialto
Rafael Trujillo was first elected as a Council Member to the City of Rialto in 2016. He previously served two terms on the West Valley Water District Board of Directors. He serves on several agency and association boards. Councilmember Trujillo makes difficult decisions in the city’s long history with perchlorate contamination clean up and during the city’s economic boom with an increasing demand for water with new residential and commercial customers. He also serves as a Case Manager for Congresswoman Norma Torres. He believes in the value of collaboration and sharing ideas in water policy.
PANELISTS:
Mayor Celeste Rodriguez
City of San Fernando, WELL UnTapped Fellowship Graduate
In November 2020, Celeste was elected to the San Fernando City Council and in December of 2022, she was selected to serve as Mayor. Throughout her professional career, she has been dedicated to improving the quality of life in communities with policies and programs that meet people's needs, emphasizing her passion for service and social justice. In San Fernando, she pioneered a public engagement policy, translation services, and childcare for community meetings, led a small business grant program and a food distribution program, and established a Community and Business Resource Center along with positions to support social services and economic development. Her initiatives also include a financial coaching program, a dry food bank, and comprehensive strategies to address homelessness. Before becoming Mayor, Celeste directed the Community Services Section of the Los Angeles Community Investment for Families Department, managing major financial empowerment and poverty alleviation initiatives, overseeing the FamilySource Center System and Survivor Services, and coordinating homeless relief efforts. With degrees in Economics and Social Work from the University of Southern California, her leadership reflects a deep commitment to community welfare, equity, and development.
Councilmember Gustavo V. Camacho
City of Pico Rivera, WELL UnTapped Fellowship Graduate
Gustavo Camacho, honored to represent the City of Pico Rivera on the City Council for over 10 years, has served as Mayor three times, during key moments including the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City's 60th Anniversary, and the unveiling of new parks and a library. Elected in 2009 after serving as a planning commissioner, his priorities include Economic Development, Public Safety, Water Quality, Road Improvements, New Parks, and Housing. He champions local commerce, chairs the City's Economic Recovery Committee, and supports educational initiatives, co-founding several non-profits and leading a locally administered apprenticeship program. Elected to the NALEO Board of Directors in 2019 and as President of the California Contract Cities Association, Camacho also serves on the boards of the South East Area Animal Control Authority, Los Angeles County Sanitation District, and the Water Replenishment District Education Foundation. Advocating for green technology, he represents a company specializing in Ozone based water purification systems. A Public Administration graduate from San Diego State University, he has three daughters and a rescued dog, with his term expiring in 2024.
Mayor Pro Tem Salvador Melendez
City of Montebello, WELL UnTapped Fellowship Graduate
Mayor Pro Tem Melendez has been a Montebello resident for more than 28 years. He attended California State University, Los Angeles, earning a B.A. in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations. He also obtained his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of La Verne College of Law. Mayor Pro Tem Melendez currently works for AltaMed Health Services as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Government Relations Department, specializing in workforce, local, state, and Orange County policy affairs. In this capacity he advocates for access to quality and affordable health care, specifically for underserved communities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. He enjoys running and spending time with his friends and family. Mr. Melendez's favorite thing about Montebello is its sense of community.
Danielle Soto
Director, Three Valleys Municipal Water District,
WELL UnTapped Fellowship Graduate
Danielle was elected in 2020 to represent Division 6 of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District, covering areas in Claremont, San Dimas, and primarily North Pomona. Since 2009, she has been part of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD), working in Legislative Public Affairs and Media, and is the Manager of Local Government/Community Outreach. Her environmental focus was honed at UC Santa Cruz, where she earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies, exploring environmental policy, water policy, and land-use planning. Previously, at 22, Danielle served on the Pomona City Council (2008-2012), founding environmental and transportation sub-committees and engaging in various leadership roles, including the California League of Cities Environmental Sub-Committee and chairing the Pomona Valley Transit Authority Board. Inspired by her grandparents, pioneering California Latino legislators Phil and Nell Soto, Danielle's commitment to public service runs deep, with her grandmother previously holding Danielle’s council seat before serving in the California State Legislature. Danielle also contributes to her community as a board member of the Pomona Valley Historical Society, focusing on the preservation and education of local history.
CHAIRED BY:
Dr. Analena Hassberg
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
Dr. Analena Hope Hassberg (known to her students as "Dr. Hope") is a scholar-activist, educator, and mother of two committed to organizing urban communities around food justice and environmental justice. She earned her Ph.D. in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California, and she is a Ford Foundation Predoctoral and Dissertation Fellow. Dr. Hope is also an active member of several community-based organizations throughout Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area. Her multi-disciplinary scholarship and research investigates and complicates notions of food security and food sovereignty and situates food as central to freedom struggles and liberation movements.
SPEAKERS:
Alberto Tlatoa
South Central Farm
Alberto Tlatoa is a food justice advocate, social entrepreneur, historian, artist, community organizer, and co-founder of South Central Farm in South Central Los Angeles. His environment allowed him to explore the connection between food justice, environmental justice, land access, and urban planning.
Cristian Marroquin
Community Services Unlimited
Cristian Marroquin currently serves as the Co-Director of GROW South Central Programs. As a CSU youth program alumni, Cristian believes and understands the work CSU is accomplishing by providing the Los Angeles community with equitable programming and resources. As a South Los Angeles resident, Cristian knows too well the importance of creating green spaces, the demand for local organic produce, and building community members' self-sufficiency and self-reliance. Since 2015, Cristian has participated in CSU’s Earthday South LA by providing tools and supplies to lead an arts and crafts workshop so participants could create personal custom pinback buttons. In 2019, Cristian held a composting workshop to introduce an alternative way of composting using a pickling method. Cristian is assisting CSU by implementing the pickling method of composting in CSU’s commercial kitchen and cafe to use at the Expo farm. Cristian at the moment maintains the Expo farm and growing space at the Paul Robeson Community Wellness Center with the help of local volunteers and staff.
Florence Nishida
Green Grounds
Florence Nishida, a Los Angeles native, began her gardening journey in the 1960s in Topanga Canyon, inspired by her grandmother's garden and her family's history in WWII internment camps. Retiring from careers in education, publishing, and biology, she joined the Master Gardeners of Los Angeles County in 2008, focusing on creating edible gardens in south central Los Angeles, including a women's shelter and her former middle school. In 2010, she founded the first edible plants garden at the Natural History Museum of LA, teaching edible gardening classes until 2022. Nishida also co-founded LA Green Grounds, promoting home food-growing in areas with limited access to fresh vegetables, known as "food deserts." The organization's Teaching Garden, started in 2016 by volunteers, supports local residents in adopting healthier diets, understanding nature, and fostering a sustainable ecosystem.