CSS honors assistant professor for exemplary environmental advocacy
UC Irvine urban planning and public policy Assistant Professor Michael Méndez is the recipient of the Hero Award from California Safe Schools (CSS).
The nonprofit organization was born of a near-tragic incident involving a 6-year-old student in the Los Angeles Unified School District, who, along with his classmates, was accidentally sprayed with a hazardous pesticide by a school gardener in a hazmat suit, as they arrived at school. When the cloud of chemicals enveloped them, one child had a severe asthma attack and had to be taken for medical treatment by his mother.
Although he recovered, he wanted to be assured that nothing like this would ever happen to him or other children again. His mother’s unwavering commitment to protecting children led to the founding of CSS, which has continued to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of children, teachers and staff through a pesticide policy known as Integrated Pest Management.
On Oct. 9, CSS hosted its 26th annual Your Life Is Now Forum at the California Endowment in downtown Los Angeles, where more than 200 guests celebrated the dedication of environmental and community leaders while creating invaluable networking opportunities between regulatory and enforcement agencies, students, teachers, environmentalists, offices of elected officials, and community members.
Méndez was honored for his tireless work in environmental policy and justice, which extends beyond academia. For instance, California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed the scholar to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Méndez is also the author of the award-winning and oft-cited book Climate Change from the Streets: How Conflict and Collaboration Strengthen the Environmental Justice Movement (Yale University Press, 2000). Besides receiving the honor, he shared insights about his career and areas of expertise during a CSS panel discussion.
Fellow recipients of CSS Hero Awards, which recognize the outstanding contributions of exemplary leaders, were: Rachel Greene, assistant head deputy in the Sex Crimes Division of the LA County District Attorney’s Office; Maria Hall, civil rights attorney and director of the LA Incubator Consortium, Warren Hawkins, manager of the Community Outreach & Enforcement Section at the California Air Resources Board; and Leticia Ordaz, television news anchor, publisher and award winning bilingual children’s book author.
The prestigious CSS Champion for Change Award was presented to actor and pioneering green living advocate Ed Begley Jr.
Learn more about California Safe Schools at https://www.calisafe.org/.