is an artist residing in San Diego and a Professor of Art at San Diego City College. She received her MFA degree from San Diego State University and a BA in Art Studio from University of California, Santa Barbara. She founded and is the director of the Sugar Museum, San Diego, which fosters sugar awareness through exhibitions and projects. The educational program is devoted to providing broad and balanced perspectives about sugar for adults and children. Her recent artwork explores the transition from gas to electricity in homes and elsewhere, citywide and beyond. Fascinated by the electrical grid, the beauty of the power lines in her neighborhood, she wonders how this transition will work justly? When will SDG&E turn into SDE? Tomorrow, while the unknown future can be terrifying, she concentrates her research and hope for a just transition.

is a retired City of San Diego environmental management administrator who devoted over 30 years to public service. During her years as the Deputy Director of San Diego’s regional wastewater and recycled water system, she managed a $110 million dollar budget and the challenges of a dynamic system and team. Her Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry from San Diego State University was essential for her many City career years managing, training, and responding to hazardous waste management issues. Ms. Pryatel presently operates a residential garden design business. She is very passionate about Groundwork San Diego’s mission and donates a portion of her profits and time to support the organization’s efforts.

is a Water Sector Community Engagement Specialist for MDB, Inc. Elena manages projects and supports the development of reports, maps, environmental outreach materials, evaluation tools, presentations, and other materials for EPA water programs. Elena’s broad educational achievements include a MS in Geography Watershed Science from San Diego State University; a BA in Environmental Science and a BA in Anthropology from University of California, Irvine; along with a focused Data Analytics Certification program at University of California, Berkeley Extension.

With a strong commitment to helping others, Elena also served in the United States Peace Corps working in Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama as a Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Project Coordinator.  Her achievements include co-developed the Community Analysis Development Plan with the rural water committees to address environmental health issues and presented the plan to the Ministry of Health along with providing interactive health, hygiene, and nutrition workshops for women and school children.

Elena is also committed to community efforts and is involved with the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and other environmentally focused activities.

is a Water Resource Control Engineer at the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board (San Diego Water Board), where she works primarily on projects to restore the lower Tijuana River and protect regional tribal beneficial uses of water. She serves as the San Diego Water Board tribal coordinator and contributed to the development of the State Water Resources Control Board Racial Equity Action Plan. She is an alumnus of San Diego State University (SDSU), where she has taught undergraduate and graduate environmental engineering courses as a part-time instructor. She participates regularly in SDSU’s Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Program and Aztec Mentorship Program. She is a member of the Water Solutions Network. 

is the principal of Urban West Development providing project development and construction management services for residential, office, industrial, retail and environmental projects. He served as Director of Project Development for the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation from 2006-2013, where he was responsible for project management of housing, retail, environmental and commercial projects totaling over $350 million. He has served as a Board Member of the -San Diego Housing Federation and the San Diego Land Trust.

is an Associate Professional at SCS Engineers providing engineering/design support within the solid waste practice focused on landfill, landfill gas, and composting related to permitting and design, air quality and compliance support, construction, operation, and monitoring for private and municipal clients. Glorya’s educational accomplishments include a MS in Civil Engineering (Environmental) from San Diego State University along with receiving the Dean’s Award in Engineering, and a BS in Environmental Engineering from University of California San Diego.

Glorya has other noted professional experience which includes serving as a Groundwork Earthlab Program Assistant and Educator. While in that role, she expanded accessibility to climate science education in an underserved community by leading weekly STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) lessons for groups of 10 to 40 middle school students.

is a manager with Aspire Software Company, an ERP system tailored to the service industry – primarily landscape focused. He received his B.S. in agriculture, and has been in the green industry for 20 years , including related work with U.S. Embassies in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico. He has a passion for youth development and landscape education. 

is the Executive Director for the Utility Consumers’ Action Network (UCAN), a not-for-profit Intervenor that advocates and represents the interests of customers of San Diego Gas & Electric at the California Public Utilities Commission. A native of San Diego, he has a long record as a nonprofit professional. Mr. Lopez served two terms as an elected Board Member for San Diego City Schools, representing District E (Southeastern San Diego). Previously, at UCSD, he managed student retention and outreach efforts, and built partnerships with K-12 schools. As an attorney, he specialized in Government and Non-Profit law.

is the Co-Chair for the Independent Voter Project. The Independent Voter Project works to represents the rights and access of independent voters to the political process. Marston was president and co-owner of Marston+Marston, Inc., a full service public, governmental and community relations firm and, before that, was senior vice president of another San Diego-based public relations firm where he spent nearly four years serving as the lobbyist for the City of San Diego in Sacramento. Marston was a member of the California State Assembly representing San Diego’s 78th District and is active as the Past President of the San Diego State University Alumni Association.

is Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Education at UCSD. He started theTeacher Education Program at UCSD and directed that Program from 1972 until 1998, when he became the founding director of The Center for Research on Educational Equity, Access, and Teaching Excellence. CREATE coordinates efforts at UCSD to improve the academic preparation of under- represented students. He has helped build equitable educational environments (The Preuss School UCSD and Gompers Preparatory Academy in Southeastern San Diego). He assists Groundwork San Diego in Southeastern San Diego by advising that organization on evaluation measures and educational policies. He has authored 7 books on a variety of educational equity issues; In the Front Door: Building a College-Going Culture of Learning, documents the political and cultural context surrounding establishing CREATE, Preuss, and Gompers. A National Education Association Fellow, he was presented Lifetime Achievement Awards by AAA, AERA, USD, ASA, and the Revelle Medal (the “highest honor awarded a faculty member for Outstanding Contributions to UCSD”) in 2016.

LLios enchim aniavu, my family comes from Sonora and Guanajuato in Mexico and San Diego. I am Yaqui and Guamare and I have spent my years growing up and living within the beautiful landscapes on both sides of the border. I have an AA degree in Kumeyaay Studies and an AS degree in Sustainable Agriculture. I am currently working on completing my BA degree in Environmental Science. I am employed as a licensed realtor and notary.

I have been lucky enough to be able to try on many hats in my lifetime which has given me incredible experiences in many different fields. I am passionate about fighting for the rights of indigenous communities and believe that Indigenous rights and sustainability are interconnected concepts that emphasize the preservation of indigenous cultures, lands, and resources while promoting environmental stewardship and equitable development for future generations.