Hispanic Access’ Statement on the Establishment of Blackwell School National Historic Site as America’s Newest National Park

On July 17, the Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland formally established the Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas as the nation’s newest national park. In response to the designation, Maite Arce, president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation, released the following statement: 

HISPANIC EXECUTIVE: 8 Latino-Owned Organizations that Drive Sustainability Forward

Climate change continues to impact the planet at an alarming rate, which often leaves us feeling helpless. But if you ask the founders of these eight Latino-owned organizations committed to sustainability, there are approaches—at both a company and personal level—to help restore our ecosystem.

PASADENA STAR-NEWS: Community hike highlights San Gabriel Mountains Monument expansion, value for Latino access

It’s been a big year for the San Gabriel Valley mountains, and the folks who visit them.

That was celebrated on Saturday, July 6, at Eaton Canyon, as Hispanic Access Foundation’s Por La Creación, a nonprofit that advocates Hispanic civic engagement and improved lives, led a hike that drew more than 100 folks.

HARTFORD COURANT: Opinion: Harnessing Latino talent for tomorrow’s CT STEM workforce demands

As the Latino population is soaring, now constituting a significant portion of the U.S. populace and fueling unprecedented growth in various sectors, particularly the labor force, the cultivation of a diverse and skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of an increasingly complex global economy is becoming a critical challenge due to the social, cultural, and systemic barriers that hinder Latinos from workforce skill development.

Into the Fellowship – A Journey of Service

Hello, fellows.

My name is Santos Noriega, and I am a resource assistant at the USDA Forest Service in the Rocky Mountain Region.

I invite you to follow me as I share my experience in a five-part blog series that will encapsulate my journey from uncertainty and curiosity to finding my place.

From Intern to Community Leader: A MANO Project Alumni's Journey to Serving Their National Forest

After graduating from UC Riverside in Fall 2019, I learned I could work for a federal land management agency from a previous supervisor who had participated in an internship with the National Park Service. I became intrigued by the idea of working outdoors.

A collaboration between stakeholders for gathering information about wildland fires

During the month of June, working at my internship, I had the opportunity to meet with different professionals, both scientists and professors who have worked more closely on the issue of wildland fires in Puerto Rico. These meetings were very helpful, because I was able to compare information I had previously searched with information from professionals. At the same time, it was a process of great learning about the subject, because I was able to delve deeper into aspects that I did not know related to wildland fires.

An important activity that occurred during this last month was in the municipality of Lajas. This event was organized by the Hispanic Access organization of the Community Navigator Program with the purpose of orienting communities about some of the effects of climate change and talking about community resilience. This activity was of great importance, because I had the opportunity to give a presentation about the wildland fires in Puerto Rico, and the forest firefighters also participated. At the same time, it was of great benefit to the people from the community who attended, because they were able to inform themselves and ask all kinds of questions about the issue of wildland fires. Another activity in which I participated with the work group was the Pollinator Fair at the Rio Piedras Botanical Garden. This activity was a very educational one, where we were able to provide information to people about the different projects that the Forest Service has.

Working these months as an intern in the Forest Service has been a very rewarding experience, where I have acquired many tools for my professional development. This opportunity has helped me expand my knowledge about the problems we are facing in relation to Climate Change, which I consider to be of utmost importance at the time we are currently living in Puerto Rico. Immersing myself in this topic of wildland fires has also helped me connect with different people of interest who are focused on working for the well-being of natural resources. This has been essential for me because my professional interests have been focused on working on mitigation and conservation issues.

During the remaining time of the internship, I would like to continue learning more about the issue of wildland fires in the United Virgin Islands and hope to have a broader knowledge of how this problem is being worked on from other spaces like Puerto Rico. Being able to have all this information that I have been collecting in both places will help me have a more complete picture to continue working with the educational material of the Community Wildland Fire Defense Program project. Likewise, this information will be of great help so that organizations that work on related issues can work to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable communities.

A diversity of experiences within the RA program

In my last blog I talked a little bit about how I got to my current position with the RA program and how the path has been anything but straightforward in this career development process. And while that may seem challenging it can also be very interesting and diverse in terms of the experiences and opportunities I have had.