Q: What is your current role with the Surfrider Foundation?
I am the lead volunteer with Clean Border Water Now.
Q: Why and when did you get involved with the Surfrider Foundation?
In 2017 there was a large sewage flow that created a huge stench over all of Imperial Beach and caused several days of beach closures. It was a catalyst for a group of moms to get involved. We started a letter writing campaign that got the attention of Surfrider, and three of us decided to join the No Border Sewage campaign in 2018. We changed the name to CBWN to more effectively relay the message that the problem also includes chemical and trash waste, along with sewage pollution.
Q: What are some environmental issues that are affecting your local community?
The sewage, trash, and chemical flows that come to the US from Mexico are detrimental to the plants and wildlife in the Tijuana River Valley and in the ocean near the shore in that area. This pollution adversely affects our community that is largely comprised of Latino families and families that fall near or below the poverty line. This also affects the border patrol agents, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and lifeguards who are compelled to enter polluted water to rescue migrants or pursue suspects who find themselves in perilous situations or unknowingly travel through polluted areas.
Q: What Surfrider projects have you worked on?
Since beginning my Surfrider experience in 2017, I have been involved in the effort to fund projects at the border to reduce and mitigate the flow of hazardous waste and trash across the border. We did this by suing the government for lack of resources and effort, lobbying for funding and for attention to the issue, and by advocating for reasonable solutions to the problems.
Q: Are there any specific project's that you have worked on which benefited your community?
We have achieved some of our main goals in terms of funding border water infrastructure programs. These programs and projects will directly impact the quality of life in the areas that are directly at the border, and will also impact beach water quality once they are implemented.
Q: What has been the highlight of your Surfrider experience?
The absolute highlight of my time with Surfrider has been lobbying in Washington and in Sacramento. Being able to speak with our elected officials about the trials and tribulations of living and working in an environment that is constantly dealing with a plethora of pollution has been extremely rewarding. Knowing that our advocacy has directly impacted legislation is an incredible feeling.
Q: Do you have any personal experiences or campaigns/issues that you're passionate about where the social justice and environmental movements have intersected?
Where we live, there are more people below the poverty line than in most other places in San Diego County. Our neighbors feel that they do not have a voice. We live side by side with people who are not comfortable advocating for their community for many reasons, be it immigration status or a number of other factors.
Additionally, the people who live just south of the border are often struggling to survive day to day and don’t realize that the ocean in which they recreate is a sewage cesspool. The government of Baja has refused to put warning signs up at local beaches, which is frustrating for everyone involved on both sides of the border. The social injustice is extreme here.
Q: What can Surfrider do to foster an inclusive and welcoming experience? Do you have any examples from your experience where this is successfully happening?
Surfrider does quite a bit to be inclusive of everyone from what I’ve seen, and by that I mean that I’ve never even seen an instance where someone isn’t warmly welcomed into a meeting or to an event.
The way that CBWN is striving to be inclusive is by translating materials into Spanish and making sure that we have knowledgeable volunteers who can communicate in other languages, but especially Spanish.
Q: What is the most important thing you tell others about Surfrider?
I love telling people that Surfrider is a huge proponent of anything that is good for the environment and that every single person who is with the organization stays because they want to help make an impact.
Q: Why is being a part of the Surfrider ocean conservation community important to you?
I initially joined Surfrider to make sure that our community had a bigger voice shouting about the injustice of the sewage, trash, and chemical pollution in the Tijuana River Valley and on the shores of Imperial Beach and Coronado. Over the last five years, I’ve learned so much more about how the little things we do every day can make a huge impact on our environment. Surfrider advocates for the little things AND the big things, and that is extremely important to me.
