The Biden-Harris Administration has allocated significant funds into environmental justice efforts, providing an opportunity to change the outcomes of ZIP codes like mine. Through Executive Order 14008, the Council on Environmental Quality Chair introduced the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) to publish maps highlighting disadvantaged communities. Thus, although CEJST recognizes significant burdens in my tract, such as historical underinvestment, traffic pollution ranking in the 99th percentile, and a lack of green space ranking in the 92nd percentile, my census tract in my city Lawndale is not labeled as disadvantaged because it falls slightly below the low-income threshold at 62%. This census tract is also home to majority Latinos.
Author Archives: Selena D. Melgoza
Selena D. Melgoza, (she/her/hers), is currently a second-year Master of Public Policy candidate at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. An incoming Fellow within the UCLA LPPI Research Department, Selena is dedicated to researching the systemic causes of disproportionate environmental and health impacts on disadvantaged communities to develop policy solutions to create thriving, sustainable environments.
At UCLA, Selena works with the Office of Government & Community Relations to conduct research on UCLA’s community and economic engagement with the Los Angeles region and collaborates with community leaders to access UCLA as a resource. She is also an active volunteer with the American Mexican Association. For her academic achievement and dedication to her community, Selena has received the 2022 Minerva Scholarship and the UCLA Luskin Second-Year Department Fellowship.
Prior to graduate school, Selena attended UC Berkeley and graduated with honors with a B.S. in Society & Environment and a minor in Public Policy. Motivated by her lived experiences as a first-generation, low-income, and system-impacted Chicana from Los Angeles, Selena is committed to advancing environmental justice and creating sustainable policy solutions for all.