Jesus Benavides originally joined us as a Regional Coordinator for our Climate Action Corps program. He came to us from the South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone (SLATE-Z)
where he served as a partnership coordinator. He Managed the SLATE-Z partnership
consisting of 72 public, private, and community-based organizations dedicated to revitalizing
South Los Angeles. He also led and planned a series of virtual community engagement
meetings focused on empowering the South LA community to confront environmental
racism, disinvestment, and inequities through the creation of a community plan that addresses the various contributors to and impacts of climate change.
He was born and raised in South Los Angeles. In addition, he is a first-generation
graduate from the University of California, Riverside. While in school he was a Judicial
Intern for the Riverside Superior Court, a Congressional Intern for Pete Aguilar, and Ronald
Loveridge Fellow for the Institute for Local Government. Jesus also served as a past
CivicSpark Climate Fellow (18-19), helping to incorporate equity into the Clean Power
Alliance’s local strategic planning.
His mission is to help frontline communities like his own of South LA achieve
environmental and racial justice.