Environmental Activism

I am an artist, Water Resource Engineer, environmental activist and most importantly, mom to two girls. I worry about my girls future in an uncertain world due to the threats of climate change, sea level rise and pollution.

Below you can watch a video of me speaking during a press conference and rally as part of a moms mobilizing even hosted by the environmental group Green for All in the House Triangle area of the US Capitol. We were rallying against budget cuts to the EPA and the adverse impact they would have on our environment and health. I had the opportunity to speak at the press conference event which was followed by lobbying visits to members of Congress for my state of Florida. You can read my speech here. On November 10, 2017, the local newspaper La Gaceta of Florida published an Op-ed I wrote about my experience lobbying in DC against EPA budget cuts with Green for All. An English translation can be found here.

This was a unique experience and I hope to continue contributing to this and other environmental groups with my expertise as a Water Resources Engineer, artist and mom. My Engineering curriculum vitae can be found here.

Since then I have joined the Orlando chapters of Citizens Climate Lobby, Climate Reality Project and Moms Clean Air Force. I recently wrote another Op-ed in Spanish for La Gaceta regarding local grassroots efforts to establish a Central Florida Climate Compact. An English translation can be found here in English.

Here is a recent video I made with Moms Clean Air Force to motivate people to vote in the 2018 Mid-term elections. I am thankful to Moms Clean Air Force for connecting me with the producers of the PBS show "EcoSense for Living." In Episode 303 "Do We Still Need the Clean Air Act?", me and other Moms speak about our concerns regarding air pollution in our local communities and its effects on our children's health and our climate, and also show my environmental art. You can watch the episode here.

In March, 2019 I had the opportunity to attend the Atlanta Climate Reality training and become a Climate Reality Leader. The main themes of the training were environmental justice and the health effects of air pollution and climate change. The interfaith mass, which was a voluntary part of the training, was very inspirational and reaffirmed my commitment to fighting for the most vulnerable, the low income communities, communities of color, and our children and elders. I am looking forward to advocating for climate justice for these vulnerable populations and educating the public on the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation.

“Change is not going to happen in a vacuum. Change can only happen when enough of us protest, march, call & demand our elected officials be accountable for pollution and put our kids’ health & the health of the planet first."--Michelle Irizarry

You can see my environmental art here.