UCLA alumnus Cindy Montañez remembered for championing environmental justice

Cindy Montañez, former San Fernando councilwoman and former California state assemblywoman, served as an inspiration to many. At a Día de los Muertos event on Nov. 1 at Kerckhoff Grand Salon, the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Latina Futures 2050 Lab and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability paid tribute to the UCLA alumna's legacy of community activism and social justice by hosting a panel on "Latina Futures and the Environment." The panel presentations were followed by a cultural celebration with environmentalist and storyteller Nalleli Cobo as the keynote speaker, while performances included artists from the San Fernando Valley where Montañez grew up and UCLA's own Mariachi Uclatlán. The Montañez family actively contributed to the program and participated in the celebration, making the event a heartfelt tribute to Montañez's enduring impact.

"Cindy championed environmental and climate justice," said Veronica Herrera, a UCLA professor of urban planning and political science who moderated the panel.

Panelists highlighted how Montañez, who died Oct. 21, 2023, centered community and people of color in her work. Participants included UC Irvine professor Michael Mendez, Pacoima Beautiful executive director Veronica Padilla-Campos, and Isabella Arzeno-Soltero, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.

Reflecting on the panelists and the crowd, Mendez said Montañez would have been happy to see so many people of color taking on leadership roles and putting a focus on public health concerns to advance environmental policy.

Montañez's leadership roles in politics and environmental organizations were groundbreaking for a Latina woman. Her activism was apparent even as a student at UCLA in the 1990s. As an undergraduate, she was a participant in a hunger strike, which ultimately led to the establishment of what is now the César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies.

In 1999, at age 25, she became the youngest person elected to the San Fernando City Council. Three years later, she broke barriers again and became the youngest woman elected to the California Legislature.

Montañez went on to be the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, advocating for cleaner water and improved water-capture methods. She also became one of the few Latina leaders of environmental nonprofits as the CEO of TreePeople, an organization that brings Southern Californians together to plant trees in their communities.

Padilla-Campos was inspired by Montañez's transformation of TreePeople, especially as a woman of color, given that many environmental leaders are men. She noted that Montañez hired locally and empowered people to be passionate about green spaces in their local communities.

"It was really great when Cindy took over TreePeople because I feel like she put TreePeople on the map in a different way, in a special way," said Padilla-Campos, who works with kids to make the embankments around the Pacoima Wash a vibrant public space, a mission in line with Montañez's own visions for the San Fernando Valley.

The lived experiences of the community were central to Montañez's work as she engaged in fights for environmental causes such as better air and water quality.

Mendez learned from Montañez how to bring people of color into climate change discussions and advocate for individuals who could not speak up for themselves around these issues.

"Climate change is cultural at its core," Mendez said.

Montañez's example helped guide Arzeno-Soltero's work in the Salton Sea, a lake in Southern California's Riverside and Imperial counties, as she grounded her research with an emphasis on community. When environmental pollutants were found in the Salton Sea, Arzeno-Soltero cultivated community power, teaching individuals who live in the area how to conduct their own research on the land.

"What they breathe [around the Salton Sea] is way past any healthy standard. And this affects their lives," Arzeno-Soltero said.

Community members learned how to collect data, analyze measurements and write policy briefs, and some even joined Arzeno-Soltero's Civil and Environmental Engineering Department as graduate students. Through their own power, the community has been able to push their vision on how to improve the environmental conditions of the Salton Sea.

"The first thing that we do is we work with communities; we don't work on communities," Arzeno-Soltero said.

Mendez encouraged the crowd to carry Montañez's spirit forward.

"We need to think about what Cindy would do as we face difficult decisions regarding our care for the planet and our care for each other," Mendez said.

In closing remarks, Veronica Terriquez, director of the Chicano Studies Research Center and cofounder of the Latina Futures 2050 Lab, emphasized that Montañez's legacy of leadership and dedication to local communities continues.

"Her environmental activism benefits Californians to this day, and her leadership style serves as strong inspiration for those fighting for environmental justice, climate justice and social justice more broadly," Terriquez said.

Tags: social justice | environment | politics | In Memoriam