At the close of August, CEJA Action brought together more than 230 environmental justice advocates and community members from across California for our annual Congreso! For two days, our members, partners, and allies gathered in Sacramento to celebrate our collective power, strategize on critical fights, and lobby for an environmentally just future for all Californians.
Lobbying for EJ Priorities
Congreso is as much about celebration as it is about action. 30 delegations of CEJA Action members and partners fanned out across the Capitol to meet with legislators and demand bold policies that put people over polluters. Together, we called on decision-makers to:
- End giveaways to Big Oil and ensure Cap-and-Trade dollars flow into programs that benefit EJ communities.
- Fix SB 131 by revoking CEQA exemptions that would allow oil, gas, and advanced manufacturing projects to bypass environmental review.
- Ensure energy affordability by supporting SB 24 and AB 1167, which prohibit Investor-Owned Utilities like PG&E from using ratepayer funds for political lobbying, campaigns, and advertising.
For many community members, Congreso marked their first time lobbying legislators. With training, peer support, and courage, participants shared powerful stories—from struggling with unaffordable energy bills to fighting for clean air in neighborhoods long burdened by pollution. Their voices reminded lawmakers that real people, not corporate profits, must drive California’s energy and climate policies.
As Jason Du, a member of APEN Action, shared:
“Participating in Congreso not only taught me about the critical bills that would affect our communities, but also gave me a way to advocate with key decision makers in the state legislature. The sense of community I felt was as powerful as the advocacy work itself… Congreso showed me how important it is to stay in the fight—and stay connected.”
The 2025 Environmental Justice Champions!
We were honored to present the 2025 Environmental Justice Awards to leaders who embody the courage, persistence, and vision of our movement.
Frontline Champion Award
🏆 Honey Bizzaro 🏆
Honey Bizarro is a visionary youth leader and organizer in Huntington Park. She is a member of Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) and East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) and has co-developed youth environmental and health justice curriculum, designed and co-facilitated workshops for over 50 high school and college students, and shaped Huntington Park’s General Plan, Housing Element, and Environmental Justice Element.
Frontline Champion Award
🏆 Anabel Marquez 🏆
Anabel Marquez is a long-time community advocate and the current president of Committee for a Better Shafter. She has shaped the fight for environmental equity in the San Joaquin Valley, challenging the fossil fuel industry’s disproportionate impact on frontline communities, pressing for stronger pesticide application regulations, and ensuring that community voices lead the way when securing investments that aim to improve air quality and public health.
Community Organization Award:
🏆 Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) 🏆
Since 1996, SAJE has been a force for economic justice in Los Angeles focused on tenant rights, healthy housing, and equitable development. The SAJE team helped CEJA’s member organizations during the LA for Resilient and Healthy Homes Coalition fight and successfully won a City ordinance to end the renoviction loophole that allows landlords to evict tenants through construction projects.
First-Ever Funder Track
Funding cuts at the federal level have been a deep reminder of the need to think critically about how money flows and our role in supporting each other to build a better world. For the first time, Congreso featured a dedicated funder track, bringing 15 philanthropic entities together with frontline organizations to explore how resource organizing and people organizing can move in lockstep toward environmental justice. This unique space sparked honest dialogue about how philanthropy can better meet the needs of grassroots organizers driving climate and racial justice in California.
On Land
This year’s Congreso was held on the ancestral lands of the Nisenan tribe. CEJA contributed a $1,000 gift to the California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project (CHIRP), and attendees matched that amount to raise a total of over $2,000 that will support Nisenan land rematriation, language revitalization, and cultural renewal.
Thank You, and Onwards!
Congreso would not have been possible without the leadership of our member organizations, the hard work of our planning and lobby teams, and the generosity of our sponsors whose contributions supported the non-lobbying portions of the event: USC Equity Research Institute, Bancroft Foundation, Communities First Fund, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Beneficial State Bank.
And of course, our gratitude to photographer Brooke Anderson (@movementphotographer) for capturing the joy, determination, and power of the this gathering!
This year’s Congreso was a vivid reminder that our power grows when we come together. Whether in the halls of the Capitol or in our neighborhoods back home, CEJA Action and our allies will continue to fight for a California where all communities can thrive.
