Clean Air, Healthy Futures: Transforming Fresno County Together

---

Policy choices determine who can breathe.

When people ask me why I fight so hard for clean air, I tell them: take a breath here in Fresno. For too many of us, the air is toxic. It carries dust from our fields, exhaust from endless traffic, and pesticides from nearby crops. It is the reality of living in the Central Valley, one of the most polluted regions in America. I’ve had to witness my husband, Maurice, turn pale and almost pass out on bad air quality days. I’ve had to drive him to the emergency room just to be able to get air into his lungs. Witnessing a loved one wheezing and unable to speak is a frightening reality too many families face daily.

I grew up knowing how deeply the environment shapes our health. Before I became the CEO of Fresno Building Healthy Communities, I worked in public health as an HIV health educator, an outreach worker, and eventually a case manager. I saw patients whose asthma attacks sent them to the ER, families whose children missed school because the air outside made it unsafe to play, and elders whose lungs weakened year after year. These experiences made it clear to me: clean air should not be a luxury; it is a right. When you live in a place where the air can make you sick, good health means more than regular check-ups–it also means fighting for clean air and water.

That’s why I helped lead efforts to pass and implement the Community Air Protection Program (CAPP) through Assembly Bill 617. The CPP emphasizes a community-focused, collaborative approach to clean our air. It is one of the most essential tools we have to reduce air pollution emissions and exposures in neighborhoods most impacted by it, like the neighborhood in Calwa where I grew up.

AB 617 requires the California Air Resources Board and local air districts to work together with community members, community-based organizations, environmental justice organizations, state and local governments, regulated industries, and other key stakeholders to develop and implement Community Emission Reduction Programs (CERPs) for each community to address cumulative, localized air pollution impacts. The program requires regular updates to emission tracking and reporting, ensuring accountability.

As a member of the steering committee, I helped bring unprecedented clean-air investment and community-driven action to the Valley’s low-income and disadvantaged communities. In South Central Fresno, more than $45 million in incentive funding has been committed to a variety of clean air projects that will reduce significant air toxics emissions in the community, particularly diesel particulate matter from mobile sources, the main contributor to our high pollution levels.

As a solutions driven leader, I am proud of the fact that after 5 years of implementation, we have provided close to 3,000 residential air purifiers to residents, supported 31 schools with air filtration systems, invested $3.7 million in urban greening projects, financed close to $15 million to replace school buses, public fleet vehicles and heavy duty trucks, and 286 passenger vehicle with cleaner models. These are real results that improve the lives of everyday people.

Despite these accomplishments, the fight for clean air is more urgent than ever. Fresno ranks third-worst in the nation for short-term spikes of fine particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association. These tiny particles settle deep into the lungs, causing asthma attacks, heart disease, and premature deaths. I cannot accept that children in Fresno should grow up gasping for air while others in California play freely under clear, clean skies.

That is why I believe in a future powered by renewable energy. By installing rooftop solar panels, building wind farms to create local jobs, and investing in clean energy that not only lowers emissions but also brings opportunity to the communities that need it most, Fresno can grow toward a cleaner environment. That’s why I have been at the forefront as California moves to approve large-scale solar projects in our region. I helped ensure that Community Benefits Agreements with real, tangible, and measurable benefits to local neighborhoods are not just recommended but required. The Central Valley should not be left behind in California’s green transition. We should be at the center of it.

As your Assemblymember, I will continue to lead innovative policies and programs that ensure every breath you take helps sustain life, not shorten it. I will hold polluters accountable and work to ensure our communities receive the long-overdue investments we have been waiting for.

I’m proud to be endorsed by California Environmental Voters and the California Environmental Justice Association, because they understand that this fight isn’t just about policy, it’s about people. Together, we’re proving that environmental justice and community health are forever linked, and we must fight for clean air.