Lifting as We Climb: Environmental Justice, Civic Engagement, and Leadership

Join the Center for Civic Engagement; HSI-MSI Initiatives; Politics, Policy and International Relations; and the Bates Center for Public and Global Affairs for a conversation about environmental justice, civic engagement and authentic leadership with a focus on our regional gateway communities and the global impact as we face another hurricane season fueled by global warming.

How can leaders and community members work together to advocate for the communities most impacted by climate change and other environmental challenges with a focus on equity and justice?

What can we learn from Puerto Rico and the ongoing recovery process after Hurricane Maria?

About our speakers

Carmen Yulín Cruz became prominent in the media in 2017 when she served as the Mayor of San Juan, PR and advocated for the people of Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. In 2008, Yulín was elected Representative At-Large for the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. In 2012, she successfully ran for mayor of San Juan, and was re-elected in 2016. On September 20, 2017, Hurricane María completely devastated Puerto Rico. Mayor Cruz became a strong advocate for getting much-needed help and dignified care for the people of Puerto Rico. As a result of her relentless efforts, numerous non-governmental organizations and private companies supported the recovery efforts for San Juan and the rest of the Island. “This is not about politics, this is about saving lives,” she continues to repeat incessantly.

Yulín is an active advocate for equality, fighting for the LGBTQ community, the deaf community and children with functional diversity as well as those who have struggled with gender-based violence. She is also a champion for the rights of immigrants. Her vision of public service is one of governing not for the people, but with the people.  A true believer in alliances and working partnerships, for Yulín, those are the key to finding common ground to successfully achieve better and greater objectives for the common good. In her book, El Poder está en la Calle (Power Is in the Street), she writes about the struggles and experiences of the people and how rewarding it can be to find their own power to change society and change the country.

For Carmen Yulín Cruz, the principles of justice and equality are her ultimate passion and commitment in life. Mayor Cruz has received various recognitions and awards, including TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World (2018), the Martin Luther King Centre Justice (2018), Peace and Freedom Award and Humanitarian Leadership Award (2018), the Antonio Villaraigosa Leadership Award in (2018). Since February 2021, Yulín has been a Distinguished Fellow in Leadership at the Weissman Center at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She is the first to ever occupy this position. In 2021, Yulín joined the Board of Directors of Annie’s List, a Texas-based organization that works to get progressive women elected up and down the ballot.

John Valinch (he/they) is a proud first-generation Puerto-Rican/American college graduate whose life is devoted to catalyzing change and amplifying the power of marginalized communities. His journey in the environmental justice movement and broader social justice movement began at the age of 15 when he joined GreenRoots to stop a diesel power plant from being built in his hometown of Chelsea, Massachusetts. He is guided by a principled commitment to justice, equity, sustainability, and building people-power through strategic research, engagement, and public policy. 

John joined Boston Trust Walden as an ESG Analyst in May 2024. In this role, John evaluates current and potential portfolio investments and engages companies to advance sustainable business practices, policies, and achieve impact across a broad array of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. As the Senior Manager of Climate Resilience and Land Use at Groundwork USA, John led resident-centered climate resilience intervention strategies through the Climate Safe Massachusetts Partnership and facilitated equitable development best practices and environmentally-just land reuse strategies through the Brownfields Technical Assistance Program. He also spearheaded the organization’s federal affairs program, uplifting the importance of climate resilience and environmental justice for the 21-affiliate Trust Networks. 

John previously worked as a Research Analyst for UNITE HERE!, an international union representing over 270,000 hotel, gaming, airport, and food service employees. At UNITE HERE!, John co-led a strategic research team to support hotel organizing campaigns. He also co-founded Hospitality Employees Advancement and Training (HEAT), Inc., a joint labor-management culinary training academy in Miami, Florida, which provides hospitality workers the training and skills needed to earn sustainable living wages, benefits, and jobs with dignity in South Florida. In addition, he helped secure registered apprenticeships in the hospitality sector in a collaboration between UNITE HERE! and the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute. 

John serves on a number of boards, advisory groups, and steering committees. He is the Co-President of Comunidades Enraizadas (“Rooted Communities”) Community Land Trust in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and serves as a Director of the Board at GreenRoots. John is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Climate Adaptation Forum, coordinating quarterly, interdisciplinary conversations on climate change. He also serves on the Segal Advisory Board, working to build the capacity of the Eli and Phyllis Segal Citizen Leadership Program at Brandeis University. In 2015, John co-founded the Chelsea LGBTQ Coalition, the first interracial, interfaith, and intergenerational LGBTQ network in the City’s history. 

John holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and a Master of Business Administration from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. John previously graduated summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2014, where he received a B.A. in Political Science with a Minor in Public Policy. In his spare time, John enjoys spending time with loved ones, outdoor explorations, and building up the power of communities to secure a healthy, equitable, and life-affirming future for all. 

Representative Manny Cruz (D-7th Essex) is a dad, public servant, entrepreneur, and non-profit leader who was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts. Cruz's career experience includes working as the advocacy director of Latinos for Education Massachusetts, the district director of the Office of State Representative Paul Tucker, a legislative aide with the Office of State Representative Juana Matias, and a national park service ranger with the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. He has served on the City of Salem School Committee; on the boards of LEAP For Education, Plummer Youth Promise, and the North Shore Community Actions Program; as a founding board member and secretary of the MA Alliance for Early College; and on the Salem Race Equity Task Force. He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2022 and is currently running for reelection.