{"id":270664,"date":"2025-02-28T17:16:21","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T01:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=270664"},"modified":"2025-03-24T13:28:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:28:56","slug":"tackling-californias-pressing-issues-james-irvine-foundation-leadership-awards-2025-recipients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/tackling-californias-pressing-issues-james-irvine-foundation-leadership-awards-2025-recipients\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackling California\u2019s Pressing Issues \u2013 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards 2025 Recipients"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>(L-r) Recipients of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards: Skye Patrick, Stacy L. Smith, Helen Iris Torres, Nayamin Martinez, Cutcha Risling Baldy, Kaitlin Reed and Shantay R. Davies-Balch. (The James Irvine Foundation)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Amidst top-down federal changes, community leaders are addressing some of California&#8217;s pressing issues. This year, the James Irvine Foundation awarded $350,000 leadership grants to seven women from six nonprofits, empowering grassroots initiatives ranging from tackling environmental pollution to advancing Indigenous food sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p>In a media briefing on February 20, hosted by <a href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ethnic Media Services<\/a>, some recipients of this years\u2019 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards gathered to discuss how their organization helped tackle some of California\u2019s most pressing issues.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Speakers<\/b><b><\/b><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-270665 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/02-20-25-Irvine-Recipients-speakers.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"196\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/02-20-25-Irvine-Recipients-speakers.jpg 800w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/02-20-25-Irvine-Recipients-speakers-300x74.jpg 300w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/02-20-25-Irvine-Recipients-speakers-150x37.jpg 150w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/02-20-25-Irvine-Recipients-speakers-768x188.jpg 768w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/02-20-25-Irvine-Recipients-speakers-672x165.jpg 672w, https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/02-20-25-Irvine-Recipients-speakers-400x98.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Nayamin Martinez<\/b>, Executive Director, Central California Environmental Justice Network<\/li>\n<li><b>Cutcha Risling Baldy<\/b>, PhD, Co-Director, Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab &amp; Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute<\/li>\n<li><b>Helen Iris Torres<\/b>, CEO, Hispanas Organized for Political Equity (HOPE)<\/li>\n<li><b>Cindy Downing<\/b>, Program Officer, The James Irvine Foundation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>\u201cIn this time where it seems that everybody else is making decisions that we don\u2019t have a voice in, the only way we\u2019re going to have agency is if we organize ourselves,&#8221; said Nayamin Martinez. &#8220;If we just remain silent, they\u2019ll run over us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Based in Fresno, the CCEJN supports Central Valley communities disproportionately affected by air and water pollution, pesticide exposure, and extreme heat. Martinez\u2019s efforts include distributing free air and water filters and achieving significant policy wins, such as California\u2019s first statewide pesticide notification system and restrictions on oil drilling near populated areas.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the things we\u2019re proudest of is giving a voice to farm workers,\u201d she noted. &#8220;IIn collaboration with the state Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, we hosted the very first farm worker hearing in Sacramento last February. From that came an audit commission for Cal\/OSHA that enforced regulations to better protect farm workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Through a state-led Sustainable Pest Management Work Group, Martinez also helped draft a plan to reduce California&#8217;s pesticide use by 80% over the next 20 years. However, within weeks of the new presidential administration, CCEJN faced challenges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fear of raids and deportations is causing people not to show up to work. Right now it\u2019s the peak season for citrus, and some farmers in the industry here don\u2019t have enough workers,\u201d Martinez explained. \u201cWe are recipients of an EPA grant that\u2019s frozen, and local food banks that were receiving money from the Department of Food and Agriculture to provide food in struggling communities have also gotten their funds frozen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re focusing much more on educating our community about knowing their rights,\u201d she added. \u201cWe can\u2019t help people focus on cleaning the air or water, if they\u2019re afraid that they or their children won\u2019t be here in the next month or year \u2026 It\u2019s in all of our best interest to defend these agricultural jobs, because if we don\u2019t, we won\u2019t have billions of dollars in income.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>California generated around $57.7 billion in agricultural revenue in 2022, making it the largest agricultural producer in the U.S. Between one-third to one-half of U.S. farm workers are based in California, with an estimated 75% undocumented.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing food and climate resilience requires embracing Indigenous knowledge, said Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy. &#8220;In Western conceptions of conservation or preservation, humans are often considered outside of nature,\u201d she explained. \u201cIn our knowledge, humans are part of nature, and we need to think about how the ecosystem works together so that everyone can breathe, drink the water and have the food they need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndigenous peoples know that\u2019s possible because we lived in that world before colonization,\u201d Baldy said. &#8220;Lately, my elders have been reminding me how we\u2019ve been navigating a federal government that has been trying to control and erase us from the very start, in agreeing to treaties and then breaking them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the Food Sovereignty Lab, Baldy mentors students in projects promoting Indigenous sovereignty in ecology, food, and even culture, having brought back the local Hoopa Flower Dance, a coming-of-age ceremony for girls. She enlisted over 200 community volunteers to build and maintain an on-campus Indigenous Garden with medicinal plants and herbs; launched a mental health and wellness initiative to curb youth substance abuse; and helped students deliver 125 food boxes with regional food and recipe cards to Indigenous people in need.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes it feels like we\u2019re all alone in the things that we want to do, but we need to start by telling a story about the future that we want to see,\u201d Baldy said. \u201cThat\u2019s how we begin building it together, by claiming for yourself: \u2018I believe that we can have a world where everyone lives well together.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Current political and economic challenges faced by organizations like these are not unfamiliar. Helen Iris Torres explains, \u201cit\u2019s a moment of reflection to say: \u2018Why are we still here?\u2019 I truly believe that we repeat history because we haven\u2019t learned our lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, Latinas made up 20% of California&#8217;s population and 40% of Californian women; yet, they face the nation\u2019s widest wage gap, earning 39.5 cents for every dollar made by white, non-Hispanic men.<\/p>\n<p>Since becoming executive director of the Los Angeles-based statewide civic advocacy organization in 2000, Torres has trained over 60,000 Latinas and built an alumni network in which 61% serve on government boards or commissions, 41% hold executive roles, and 16% are holding or pursuing elected office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEither we can keep bearing witness to the injustice of the world, or we can do something about it,\u201d she said. \u201cMy passion stems from seeing my mother, who brought me and my sister from Puerto Rico to Detroit as a monolingual Spanish speaker to raise us alone \u2026 I had a very serious heart disease growing up, and she had to navigate a public education and health care system that, frankly, discriminated against her for being a single mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe governmental changes we\u2019re facing now, too, will pass, but only if we ensure our place at the decision-making table,\u201d she added. \u201cIf you\u2019re not invited to that table, set up your own; that\u2019s where we need to be right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nominations for the 2026 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards are now open, with a simplified process this year. The deadline for an initial nomination involving three candidate-related questions is March 12, and the deadline for a more detailed submission from accepted candidates is April 30.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are leaders who are confronting California\u2019s most critical challenges by building up a better future for our state,\u201d said Cindy Downing. \u201cWe may feel much like the times are quite daunting, but here is what happens when folks step up with a bold vision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Images provided by EMS.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(L-r) Recipients of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards: Skye Patrick, Stacy L. Smith, Helen Iris Torres, Nayamin Martinez, Cutcha Risling Baldy, Kaitlin Reed and Shantay R. Davies-Balch. (The James Irvine Foundation) Amidst top-down federal changes, community leaders are addressing some of California&#8217;s pressing issues. This year, the James Irvine Foundation awarded $350,000 leadership grants&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/tackling-californias-pressing-issues-james-irvine-foundation-leadership-awards-2025-recipients\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":270666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1848,4786],"tags":[64552,63462,64549,5209,5210,64547,64554,5845,64555,64550,64548,64553,64551,64545,64546,63463],"class_list":["post-270664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-topics","category-society","category-u-s-news","tag-central-california-environmental-justice-network","tag-cindy-downing","tag-cutcha-risling-baldy","tag-ems","tag-ethnic-media-services","tag-helen-iris-torres","tag-hispanas-organized-for-political-equity","tag-hope","tag-james-irvine-foundation-leadership-awards","tag-kaitlin-reed","tag-nayamin-martinez","tag-rou-dalagurr-food-sovereignty-lab-traditional-ecological-knowledges-institute","tag-shantay-r-davies-balch","tag-skye-patrick","tag-stacy-l-smith","tag-the-james-irvine-foundation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}