María is a 15-year-old first generation Mexican American. She currently attends Garner High School as a sophomore. She is also an active members of El Pueblo’s Youth Council. Maria considers herself to be outgoing, and is passionate about climate change because she sees how negatively it affects the environment around her. She always wanted to advocate for climate change and environmental justice, but just didn’t know how. When she saw an opportunity to join ACE’s Action Fellowship program, she knew she had to apply.

María believes that if her generation doesn’t start caring for the environment, it will most certainly get worse. She’s seeing what negative effects are happening now because the previous generation didn’t care enough for the planet, but also knows that we have the ability to switch fully to renewable resources right now.  When Maria isn’t working with ACE or El Pueblo, she likes to hang out with her friends and have fun in her spare time.