Who We Are
CEJA is a statewide coalition of grassroots, environmental justice organizations. We are working to achieve environmental justice by organizing in low-income communities and communities of color – those most impacted by environmental hazards – and by pushing for policies at the federal, state, regional and local levels that protect public health and the environment.
CEJA unites the powerful local organizing efforts of members to create comprehensive opportunities for change at a statewide level. We combine grassroots organizing with strategic policy advocacy.
Our members
Our member organizations are the heart of CEJA.
Asian Pacific Environmental Network remains one of the few organizations in the country explicitly developing the leadership and power of low-income APA immigrant and refugee communities. APEN is building new models of development, land use, and resource allocation in Richmond and Oakland, and across the state, to promote healthy, green, just communities as long-term solutions to eliminate health and economic disparities for low-income API immigrant and refugee communities and low-income communities of color.
Communities for a Better Environment works in low-income Latino and African American communities in Oakland, Richmond, Wilmington and Huntington Park. CBE combines community organizing, science-based advocacy, and legal intervention into a uniquely effective single strategy to successfully impact change in these target communities and develop campaigns to address health hazards in the community.
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice works with Latino residents in the Inland Valley areas of Riverside and San Bernardino, including unincorporated areas. CCAEJ is implementing a community-driven program that focuses on intervening in the extreme exposure through a multi-agency task force and revitalizing the community through a food justice, recreation equity and community land-use planning process that brings in green jobs, grocery stores with fresh food and produce, parks and recreational facilities.
Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment works with Latino and immigrant communities in the San Joaquin Valley, including unincorporated, rural areas. CRPE’s strategies include incubating community organizations, training leaders to identify community needs, and empowering them to achieve their goals.
Environmental Health Coalition works to improve the well-being of families and children in low-income communities of color in the San Diego/Tijuana region. EHC’s integrated approach engages residents in meaningful civic participation. Through organizing, advocacy and leadership training, residents are empowered to determine their visions for their neighborhoods and achieve public policies that reflect their desired changes.
People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights (PODER) organizes Latino immigrant families to address environmental injustices and implement solutions to achieve healthy, sustainable communities. PODER works in San Francisco’s Mission, Excelsior, and southeastern neighborhoods. PODER uses a mix of community-based campaigns and projects, with collaboration from a wide range of partners such as other neighborhood-based organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions, to achieve change.
