Alma Marquez was formerly Executive Director of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ). During her time with CCAEJ, Marquez developed organizational systems aimed at coalition building to address regional environmental inequities and at bringing CCAEJ to the forefront of key decision-makers in a historically dismissed region. Before joining CCAEJ, Marquez was Executive Director at Water Education for Latino Leaders (WELL). She led the organization to address water inequalities throughout California, especially in the hard-to-reach communities of our state. Despite the challenges this last year has brought due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was successful in her mission to educate more Latino elected officials on timely regional water topics. Marquez began her professional career as a Community Organizer at the Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO), an affiliate of PICO Faith In Action International where she learned grassroots community organizing while working on local and statewide campaigns.