BIOGRAPHIES
Sylvia Betancourt has actively engaged in community organizing and social justice for over 30 years. Sylvia is Program Manager at the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA), which is based at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital of Long Beach. She has extensive experience in community outreach, engagement & policy advocacy in environmental health and justice, particularly in the context of air quality and freight transport industries. Sylvia serves on the Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital’s Pediatric Asthma Center of Excellence Leadership Team, the Long Beach Medical Center Community Benefit Oversight Committee, the USC Environmental Health Centers Advisory Board and as a Community Scholar, the Long Beach Board of Health & Human Services, and Metro’s Long Beach to East Los Angeles 710 Fwy Task Force and Coordinating Committee. Together, with allies in the Coalition for Environmental Health and Justice (CEHAJ) and THE (Trade, Health, Environment) Impact Project, Sylvia is involved in efforts to improve air quality and address environmental health concerns in our region through the inclusion of community voices. Together, with her talented colleagues at LBACA, Sylvia works to change the lives of children with asthma in our region through a promotora model that upholds equitable access to quality health education and healthcare, clinician training, and health policy changes for cleaner air and improved health outcomes.
Sylvia Betancourt
A life-long resident of the El Sereno community in East Los Angeles, Hugo Garcia has a strong passion for environmental justice. He brings extensive experience with over 3 1⁄2 decades of community organizing and policy advocacy work related to environmental justice and open space campaigns, and projects throughout the City and County of Los Angeles.
Hugo currently serves as the Campaign Coordinator for Environmental Justice at Esperanza Community Housing in South-Central Los Angeles. He, alongside the community, coordinates the People Not Pozos Campaign to end oil drilling at AllenCo Energy in University Park. He also is a Community Engagement Consultant for ClockshopLA, an arts and culture programming organization based in Northeast Los Angeles, and serves as Boardmember on Save Elephant Hill - a community-based environmental organization. Hugo previously worked at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust as Lead Organizer and Coordinator of the Park Equity Leadership Academy, and the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy as a Project Manager. He also serves as an appointed Commissioner on the Los Angeles County Fish and Wildlife Commission. In addition to community engagement, he specializes in building strategic partnerships and successful organizing strategies. Hugo also has experience in teaching and employment development, having served as Director of the 2nd largest youth employment development program in the city of Los Angeles.