Meet our November Staff feature, Francisco 'Paco' Ojeda! You may recognize him from some of our outreach efforts at Active SGV or seen him around town canvassing or spreading the word about our many projects! When he's not out promoting the awesome work of Active, he's exploring national parks and riding his bike. Get to know the SGV native below:

 1. How did you get started working at ActiveSGV (/ in this field)?
After coming from working with the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco at Camp Mendocino as a ropes specialist & camp counselor I decided that it was time to look for a more long-term stable job. Luckily, I was already following the Bike SGV Facebook page and saw that they were in search for an outreach specialist. I didn't hesitate to send over my cover letter, resume, and portfolio as instructed in the job application. A week after my interview I got a call from David saying that he would like to offer me the position and if it were possible for me to begin in December. However, I told him I would have to wait on the starting date because I was getting ready to take off on a trip to HAWAII!! Luckily David was cool about it and I began in January. At this time Bike SGV was beginning their rebranding process into Active SGV which was great because it meant that I would be working on more diverse projects where my urban planning education and work background were suited for.

2. What do you like most about ActiveSGV?
I like that we have a great group of young professionals who are like minded and we all grew up in the SGV which holds a special place in all our hearts. I think as millennials we realize the importance of self-care and having a healthy and comfortable work environment. Which shows in our flexible work schedules and no dress code policy haha. I also love that we have people on staff that are not only great at their job, but they have other hobbies and skills which overlap with a lot of the work we do such as our awesome yoga instructors Carly and Diane. Our very own lead singer and band member Danielle. Our awesome nature stewards Amy and Andrew. Our spiritual leader Adriana. Our fashion and fine dining expert/chef Andrea. Our dad jokes enthusiast and fierce leader David. Our warm and kindhearted individuals Marlene and Jose. Our giver of fatherly advice, Wes. And my partner in crime who's down for anything Ed.

**Note from the editor: SHOUT OUT ALERT!! Thanks Paco for all those kind words!! :D 

3. Favorite and/or memorable ActiveSGV experience?
My favorite Active SGV experience was Noches de las Luminarias 2019, and I'm not referring to the after party. When members of our community got up to speak and thanked us for all the work and effort, we put into making the SGV a better place to live, that was really special to me. Reason being is that our staff works so hard and I think a lot of the time we deal a lot with the bureaucracy and push back that comes with our line of work and sometimes it's all we're hearing for weeks on end. This can be really exhausting and bring down your good energy vibes. So, hearing all the positive feedback from our community made me really happy and reassured me that the work we do is impactful, and we are making a difference in our communities. That is what made that night so memorable to me.

4. If a friend from out of town were to visit, which place in the SGV would you take them to and why?
I would take them to the Vineland drive-in. Because one thing I've noticed about out of town friends is that a lot ot them have never had a drive-in movie experience. Also, you can't beat their prices ($11 for 2 MOVIES!) and you can bring in as much food as you want without worrying about getting it confiscated.

5. What you're listening to/ reading/ watching/ digging right now:
So, I've been visiting my youthful teens a lot in terms of music. There has been a lot of usher, nelly, young Chris brown, t-pain, going on in my playlist along with some other classics such as weezer, sublime, red hot chili peppers, blink 182 and the strokes. In terms of reading I'm finishing up this book called The Golem and The Jinni which is really good and falls under fiction/fantasy genre. The next book I have ready to go is The Color of Law, something I'm also looking forward to reading. For watching my best friend recommended me to take a look at Avatar The Last Airbender which was great! Also, Netflix recently released the second series The Legend of Kora which I already binge watched, so if you have any recommendations let me know. What I’m digging right now is making short films for fun. I've been spending a lot of time learning video editing software and even bought a gimbal for my DSLR.

​If you want to keep up with my awesome but humble lifestyle follow me on Instagram @greencollarscholar.

​Peter regularly leads volunteer days to shape the park’s beginner and intermediate riding sections, coordinates with El Monte City School District and ActiveSGV staff, and shares updates on the park’s status on the official Jeff Seymour Family Center Bike Park Facebook group page. His all-volunteer commitment is particularly meaningful as COVID-19 has significantly limited the types of recreational activities youth and families can participate in over the past six months and for the foreseeable future. Bicycling remains one of the few activities people can do in a safe, socially-distant manner to maintain their physical and mental health, and the Bike Park provides a safe, car-free space for the community to ride bikes and improve their skills. We commend Peter’s effort to make the SGV a better place with his commitment to the park.

APIFM's air quality work is particularly relevant as the region has suffered from some of the worst air pollution in decades due to recent fires, impacting millions of residents of the San Gabriel Valley and beyond. In addition to helping over 70 local residents install air quality monitors at their homes, the Clean Air SGV campaign is collaborating with UCI to study individual exposure to air pollution via the use of wearable/portable air sensors. In doing so APIFM is raising community understanding and awareness of a problem that will become worse if our region and state don't act to address it, and helping empower everyday residents to act individually and collectively to support clean air.

​ActiveSGV's annual awards bash, Noche de las Luminarias, honors people making strides to realize a more sustainable, equitable, and livable San Gabriel Valley. On 10/10/20 a special virtual edition of the annual party will celebrate 10 years of ActiveSGV. Tickets available here

Outstanding SGV Business - Around the Cycle
Physically located in northwest Pasadena, Around the Cycle was founded by a passionate team of "recyclists" with a simple concept: help busy people with too much stuff pass some of those items forward, and make a little money in the process. The new and used bike shop, which does the majority of its business online via a simple consignment model, carries the largest inventory of used bikes and gear in Southern California.

Over the past five years the team has helped thousands of people find new homes for their cycling gear. In the process they’ve elevated the utility of “reuse” in a bicycling industry that pushes the need for the latest, greatest technology, and helped lower barriers to cycling by making it more affordable, accessible and sustainable.​

The focus of this group of cyclists, triathletes and lovers of the outdoors remains making it as easy and valuable as possible for people to buy, sell and repair their bikes and gear, so they can be freed up to focus on the more important things in life.
Learn more about Around the Cycle, or take the first step towards passing forward some of your unused gear, at aroundthecycle.com.

Dr Anita Ghazarian, OD is the co-founder and Vice President of Ban SUP whose passion is to help avert the deluge of unregulated toxins and mitigate their effect on human health and the environment as well as to halt the runaway train of climate change. An Altadena resident and parent of two, Anita is a doctor of optometry, specializing in binocular vision disorders and vision therapy. She has also served for 16 years on the board of Foothill Autism Alliance and one of her children is on the autism spectrum. She strongly believes in collaborating with others within a network of activists who fight for social, racial, and environmental justice. 

Over the past several years Cheryl and Anita have led the fight against single-use plastic in west San Gabriel Valley, recognizing the role plastics play in polluting our rivers and open spaces, fueling climate change (almost all plastics are made from fossil fuel), and impacting human health. Less than 9% of plastics in California are currently “downcycled” (plastics cannot be “recycled” in the same manner metal or glass can). The duo has spearheaded local advocacy for statewide action (AB 1080 / SB 54; 2022 ballot measures), facilitated policy action in local communities including Pasadena and South Pasadena, commented on the Udall/Lowenthal Federal Plastic Ban Bill, and even coordinated a Plastics Crisis entry in the annual DooDah Parade. 

​Recently they were successful in getting Pasadena to review its Zero Waste Plan, a process which found that the City didn't achieve any of its goals and that plastics made from resins #3,4,5,6,&7 were not being recycled. As outspoken local advocates and community organizers, they also are active in supporting local, state, and national candidates who are ready to tackle the Plastic Crisis.

In addition to his expertise coordinating groundbreaking, multi-benefit public works projects, Rene also brings a creative, can-do attitude to his work. For example, Rene inspired and facilitated the introduction of a giant inflatable spider, ghost, Frankenstein, and other festive creatures along the South El Monte stretch of the “SGV Streets and Treats” ciclovia route in October 2019. The 20’-30’ tall inflatables wowed children and families who explored the miles of car-free streets on bikes, scooters, and other wheeled devices. They were also an opportunity to engage, support, and highlight a local South El Monte business during the event. More recently, Rene has been instrumental in the rollout of the SGV’s first electric bike share program and implementation of a Bike Friendly Business District in the City of South El Monte. ​

Heat records were broken across the West in August, straining the energy grid and causing rolling blackouts. Unprecedented wildfires then tore across California, Oregon and Washington, blanketing over 70 million Americans in some of the worst air quality in the world for weeks, and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate their homes. And all this amidst an ongoing pandemic and economic crisis. 

As Californians were experiencing in real life what climate scientists have been forecasting for years -- more extreme heat, drought, poor air quality, and wildfire risk -- the California State Legislature accomplished little of substance on climate issues in its abbreviated 2020 legislative session. Yet again oil, plastics and other industry groups were successful at stopping the few efforts at meaningful action on these issues, notwithstanding the fact that the scientific consensus is that things will NOT get better unless we act more forcefully. The price tag for this failure in leadership is shockingly high when one considers the long-term ramifications of further inaction. 

Below is a recap of how things shook out after the end of the legislative session on August 31, 2020. Passed bills now await signature (or veto) by the Governor. To help the bills that passed - including AB 1788, AB 1851, AB 2345, and SB 288 - get over the finish line, please submit notes of support to the Governor via this form. Brief comments are sufficient, just be sure to select the Bill number from the drop-down menu). 

• AB 1080 / SB 54 - Plastic Pollution Reduction Act - FAILED (by 4 votes in the Assembly) - Thank you Senators Connie Leyva, Bob Archuleta, and Anthony Portantino and Assembly Member Ed Chau for supporting this effort to address the single-use plastics crisis. SGV-area Senator Susan Rubio and Assembly Members Blanca Rubio and Chris Holden did not support this serious effort to tackle the plastic crisis. For more information on the CA legislature’s latest failure to address single-use plastics, see this media coverage here. You can also email your Assembly Member about the vote here.  
• AB 1788 - Wildlife Protection from Poisons - PASSED - Thank you Senators Leyva, Archuleta, and Portantino, and Assembly Members Chau and Holden for supporting this bill to protect pets and wildlife from poisons; Senators Susan Rubio and Archuleta and Assembly Member Blanca Rubio did not support this bill.
• AB 345 - Environmental Justice and Oil Drilling Setbacks - FAILED - Thank you Assembly Members Holden and Chau for supporting this effort to protect the public from oil drilling near homes, schools and other sensitive uses. Assembly Member Blanca Rubio voted against this bill.
• AB 1851 - Affordable Housing on Religious Sites - PASSED - Thank you to ALL the SGV-area legislators, each of whom supported this bill to reduce barriers to affordable housing on church and religious institution sites.
• AB 2345 - Affordable Housing and Density Bonuses - PASSED - Thank you to Senators Leyva, Archuleta, and Rubio, and Assembly Members Chau and Holden for supporting this effort to incentivize new affordable housing in California; Senator Portantino did not support this bill.
• AB 3030 - Conservation of Land / Ocean in CA for Open Space and Parks - FAILED - Thank you Assembly Members Holden and Chau for supporting this effort to protect 30% of open space in California by 2030; Senator Portantino and Assembly Member Blanca Rubio did not support this bill. 
• SB 288 - Active and Public Transit Project Streamlining - PASSED - Thank you to ALL the SGV-area legislators, each of whom supported this bill to exempt active and public transit projects from environmental review.

The team at ActiveSGV would like to thank everyone who took the time to call and email your State Assembly Members and Senators over the past few months. Those calls are important, and will be even more important next year. Momentum for action is growing in light of unprecedented fires, which are often followed by more extreme flooding. However before all that is an incredibly important general election. As the most recent state legislative session illustrated, who represents us at the local, state, and national level matters. A lot. Now is a great time to make sure you and friends and family are ready to vote. ActiveSGV's VoteSGV page includes lots of information to help get you started, including how to make sure you address is current, how to sign up to track your ballot, responses to candidate surveys, and ballot measure endorsements. 

We know you're used to hearing from Active SGV online on a regular basis... From Facebook posts, IG stories and DMs, to the newsletter--we talk with y'all a lot! But did you know that the person behind all those photos and posts is our Communications Manager, Andrea Jaramillo?! She's been working with Active for a year (exactly a year + some change!), quietly behind the scenes to help share Active's message. So next time you get a message from us, chances are it's her! Get to know Andrea below. 

How did you get your start at Active SGV? 
I spent the last 10 years living abroad and around the US studying and working until 2018, when I moved back to the SGV. Previous to moving, I lived in Bogota, Colombia, working with indigenous communities/sustainable fashion and digital communications; I enjoyed working at a community level. I reconnected with my homegirl CarCarDiesel, (aka Carly Curiel) and she told me about ActiveSGV (even though I was working on other things at the time). Randomly, after nearly a year in LA, I was thinking of asking CarCar if her non-profit was hiring when I saw she had shared their post for the Comms Manager position. The perfect position for me to apply all my skills! The stars aligned I guess, cuz I applied, got the job and the rest is history! 

What do you like most about working at Active?
What I enjoy most about working at Active is the awesome team I get to work with every day. Everyone is so passionate and genuinely cares about creating more equitable and healthier communities. We have a lot of fun on the clock and off! I also love our office! Have you been? It’s a little green space oasis! 

What has been your favorite experience working here?
My favorite experience so far was at Noche de las Luminarias 2019 (our annual fundraising night), where I had a chance to see the impact Active has on our community first hand from folks around the SGV. It felt good to hear others speak so highly about the org and know that we all worked together to have an impact on our region. We also had a sweet little team afterparty, which was fun. 

If a friend was visiting the SGV from out of town, how would you spend the day?
If an out of town friend comes to visit, one of the first thing’s I do with them is take them on a beautiful morning hike in the San Gabriel Mountains and spoil them with beautiful views and fresh air. If they don’t like hiking for whatever reason, I’ll take them to the Rose Bowl for an early morning run around the track. Next, I would take them to lunch at my favorite local business, Fiore Cafe (they have the BEST bread and grow many ingredients from the garden on their patio). We might spend the afternoon at the Norton Simon Museum or Huntington Gardens. I’m all about the food in the SGV, so for dinner we’d hit up central SGV for noodles… Maybe Pho somewhere on Valley or my favorite   noodle spot: Noodle Harmony in Monterey Park. 

What are you reading, watching, listening to or diggin' these days?
When I'm not working, I'm usually cooking. During the early days of quarantine I baked A LOT of bread, so much of my reading and watching were cooking and bread videos. I also did a deep dive into learning about natural/biodynamic wines which is a super interesting sector of agriculture and farming. Now, my boyfriend is super into fermenting (pickles, tomatoes, chilis, lots of different things!) So I've been absorbing a lot of second-hand knowledge of that. 
Non-foodie reads and listens include: 
-The Wangs Vs The Word, a novel by Jade Chang 
-A playlist I created on Spotify called 'silk' (think neo-jazz and modern blues). 
-Esperanza, a poetry zine created by my cousin Brian Leon. 
-Currently taking a break from streaming TV/movies :) 

Follow Andrea on Instagram here and for recipes and yummy food content, check out Tastebuds Instagram and website! 

From her involvement in policy making to the Metro Service Council, Diane's work in the SGV has made her one of our region's strongest advocates for resilient communities. With a background in Public Health, she returned to the SGV in 2016 and began volunteering with BikeSGV. Since then, she's discovered environmental justice is directly linked to the community's public health and is living out her dream by helping improve her community. 

Our Staff Spotlight feature is back! This month, we're featuring one of our newer Active team members, Marlene! With a passion for hiking and biking and a background in education, Marlene started to look for opportunities that would allow her to advocate for safer streets and environmental justice. It was long before she crossed paths with Active SGV, and well, the rest is history! Check out her feature below. 

1. How did you get started working at Active SGV?
It started with a decision back in December 2018 that I would look for opportunities that resonated with my values and interest—being outdoors and riding my bike. At the time I did not know about ActiveSGV, or that an organization like this existed. All I knew is that I needed to be proactive in the fight for environmental justice, advocating for safer streets for cyclist and pedestrians, and healthy communities. Like many people I started searching for opportunities to get involved specifically around these issues. I briefly volunteered at organization in Downtown Los Angeles before joining the Vision Zero street team to do community outreach. I found these experiences fulfilling. A few friends shared the opportunity at ActiveSGV and thought that it would be a good fit. As I read and learned about ActiveSGV work on environmental justice, equity, and sustainability I knew that I wanted to help and be a part of this community. I was very fortunate to be invited to join.

2. What do you like most about Active SGV?
I love the passion and dedication of all my colleagues from the OG’s to the young interns. I feel inspired and energized by their leadership. It motivates me to step up my game, to grow, and to look for ways to be a better person, colleague, and advocate. Before shelter place, it was also really cool to ride bikes to events with my colleagues—some of the coolest people I know.

3. Most memorable Active SGV experience?
My favorite/memorable experience at ActiveSGV happened in February when we hosted the Emerald Necklace bike train. It was my first time doing the ride so I was really excited. I wasn’t the only one excited-- 60 people came out for the ride! The bike trains had not been done in a while, so it was nice to see a large group of people come out on a Sunday morning. After the ride a few of us went to Sweet Veggie, shout out Andrew and Amy for introducing me to this vegan/vegeterian spot! The day didn’t end there, after lunch Ed gave us a tour of his amazing backyard filled with fruit trees and let us to pick fruit to take home. It one of my favorite days so far!

4. If a friend came from out of town, where would you take them in SGV and why?
I would invite my friend for a hike on the Gabrielino Trail followed by food either at ThienTam vegetarian restaurant or Plant Love Food both offer delicious vegan/vegetarian food! I would probably also show them Jeff Seymour Family Center, it’s such a wonderful example of how to reimagine spaces to be sustainable and welcoming.

5. What are you listening to, reading, doing, digging right now?
Since shelter in place I started listening to podcast. I like stand up so a lot of the podcast I listen to are by comedians, not all but most. Here are a few of my favorite that I recommend:
1. Small Doses with Amanda Seales
2. Whitney Cummings Good For You
​3. ActiveLab