I want to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who has reached out and made me feel so welcome in my short time here. I am incredibly honored to join this powerful collective of environmental activists and climate justice champions. Ideas, suggestions, and concerns are always welcome. Our strength is in our collective voice and varied perspectives. I know we can work together to build on past successes and explore new ways to engage more of our community at deeper and more impactful levels.
It is especially meaningful to me that the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter chose to elevate a woman and person of color to this role. I am proud to be part of an organization that centers diversity, equity, and inclusion—and recognizes that addressing the climate crisis requires building a just and equitable society. I will do my utmost to lead with courage and wisdom, to exceed expectations, and to make you all proud.
I didn’t always realize how privileged I was growing up at the United Farm Workers headquarters in rural Keene, California—just 35 miles east of Bakersfield. Outside of school, we spent our days exploring creeks, climbing trees, and scaling rock formations in the pristine Tehachapi Desert Mountains. This wild, largely untouched landscape, teeming with life, shaped my early respect and reverence for Mother Earth.
But it wasn’t long before I learned that many children—especially those from poor immigrant families—didn’t have the same freedom or safety. I was raised in an activist family, surrounded by leaders like César Chávez and my mother, Dolores Huerta, who helped shape the environmental justice movement. They exposed the harms of pesticide use on farmworker communities—children born with preventable birth defects and entire towns grappling with poisoned water supplies.
These early experiences sparked my deep love for the land and ignited a lifelong commitment to defend both people and planet from the harms of unchecked corporate and federal power.
And if there was ever a time to fight, it is now.
Federal rollbacks are dismantling critical protections and threatening decades of hard-won progress. Polluters continue to poison our communities. Our air and water are under siege. The climate crisis is escalating.
This is a call to action.
We must grow this movement, amplify our impact, and rally resources to meet the moment. I invite you to support our work at the highest level you can—and to bring others with you. Together, we can continue this vital work.
A gift from you today will help us address our most pressing challenges, including:
- Stopping the Proposed 20-year Residential Oil Drilling Permit Extension in Signal Hill
- Supporting Increased Protection for the Northern Angeles Forest
- Demanding a Better Plan from the CPUC, because Clean Energy Can’t Wait!
- Building Electrification
- Protect 30 percent of lands and waters in the United States by 2030 to meet the challenge of climate change and provide space for wildlife and communities to thrive.
Every gift matters—whether it’s $5, $50, or $500. What matters most is standing up and saying: “Not on our watch.”
Thanks to supporters like you, we’re building grassroots power, driving systemic change, and protecting the places and people we love.
When I reflect on my childhood—those days of exploring nature and witnessing activism firsthand—I understand how those experiences shaped who I am today. I am the woman who finds joy in hiking through our national parks, who is moved watching someone see the ocean for the first time, and who stands up boldly to speak out for us all to have this right.
That’s how I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be—and I am so excited to work alongside you to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the Earth, while promoting responsible use of its ecosystems, educating the public, and using all lawful means to achieve environmental justice.
In the words of my mother, Dolores Huerta:
¡Sí se puede!
Yes, we can!
Warmly,
Juanita V. Chavez, Angeles Chapter Senior Director