- Linda Soto
Supervisor: Jesica Fernández
Project: Linda joined the project in 2024, where she engaged middle school youth to encourage them to be advocates for community and school-based causes through art. Previously, Linda was a Student Ambassador at her former elementary school, where she aided a T-K Spanish Dual Language Immersion class and advocated for the importance of early student biliteracy development. Linda was also a proud LEAD Scholar and a Future Teachers Project Fellow. As a Child Studies and Sociology major, Linda placed great importance on elevating student voices through creative outlets that reform and address environmental issues in their local communities.
- Ashley Orozco-Plata
Supervisor: Jesica Fernández
Project: In 2023 Ashley joined the project, where she facilitated and led art and critical pedagogy sessions on youth participants’ future visions and community goals. She worked with youth on a variety of projects, such as creating posters advocating for causes that are important to them. She was especially interested in climate awareness, and integrating social and environmental concerns in the curriculum. Ashley encouraged youth to become self- and community advocates who stand up for what they see as just. Ashley was also a Future Teachers Project Fellow, a LEAD scholar, and a Child Studies major interested in youth engagement with environmental justice and racial justice. Previously, she worked at Sunnyvale Middle School as a tutor/mentor for first-generation students.
- Naomi Hernández
Supervisor: Jesica Fernández
Project: Naomi joined the project in 2024, engaging in promoting awareness and understanding of environmental injustices impacting health outcomes, specifically emotional well-being. She majored in Philosophy and Psychology and was a member of SCU’s Culture & Impacts Emotion Lab, and the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, where she contributed to fostering environmental justice education. She volunteered at the Policy, Advocacy, Leadership Action (PALA) Program, addressing air quality issues in East San José, and participated in the Latino Education Advancement Foundation (LEAF) advocacy program, where she worked to advocate for school funding. Naomi combined her academic background with practical experience to make meaningful contributions to EJ.
