A Summer With Cleveland Owns!

We at Cleveland Owns were honored to have Josephine Galdamez on the team as a Yale Environmental Fellow with Emerald Cities Collaborative this summer. Below Josephine talks about her life and her work with us:

Hello, my name is Josephine Galdamez. I use she/her pronouns, originally from South Central Los Angeles, CA. I have had the fantastic opportunity to be a Yale Environmental Fellow with Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC) on maximizing federal funds through environmental policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act for local governments and community-based organizations. During my time with Emerald Cities, I had the opportunity to provide technical assistance to Cleveland Owns. My conservation journey began with my mom. My family is from El Salvador, a tropical country rich in natural resources such as volcanoes, beaches, forests, and wildlife. My mom often talks to me about her time in the rivers, and seeing the smile on her face when she mentions it lights me up every time. Two blocks from my childhood home is a warehouse that pollutes greenhouse gas emissions into the air. It sits very near an elementary school. As an adult, I have had the opportunity to learn about my Nahuatl indigenous heritage, which was taken away from my family, and I have been able to learn about restorative ways of taking care of our planet. The parts of my indigenous heritage contradict what I learned from being raised in the United States. In the U.S., I was taught nature is a place that exists apart from human life and that being out in nature means traveling far away to “untouched” wilderness. My culture has taught me we connect with nature by appreciating the smallest interactions in our daily lives.

My connection to the natural world led my professional journey. I graduated from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs with a master's in Public Administration and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Data Analysis for Public Policy. My passion for environmental justice led me to work with the Attorney General's Office of New York (AOG). As the Environmental Justice Science Intern, I provided policy recommendations on expanding the languages available for wireless emergency texts during natural hazards. This policy will ensure that the two laborer groups most at risk of heat illness and death in NY state can receive critical health information when they need it most. I currently live in Syracuse, NY, and work as the Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator at the Mayor’s Office of the City of Syracuse.

Both Cleveland Owns, and ECC are working towards energy democracy as the urgent solution for our climate crisis. Energy democracy consists of community ownership, control, and benefits of “energy” that are invested back into our communities instead of wealthy billionaires. Energy democracy is a call to action for a Just Transition away from an extractive energy economy to a regenerative energy economy, looking deeply at the intersection of energy, environment, climate, and social justice. With Cleveland Owns, I had the opportunity to pursue my passion for helping thriving communities adapt to a world where natural hazards are more commonly occurring. As part of a larger coalition, Cleveland Owns is applying for a Community Change Grant. If their application is successful, it will provide the resources needed to create Climate Resilience Hubs in Cleveland.

Kristin Baja, founder of the climate resilience hubs as a concept, defines the hubs as community-serving facilities that support residents, distribute resources, reduce carbon pollution, and create resiliency among communities. These hubs are crucial because they can save lives during and after a natural hazard and allow communities to thrive daily with assistance on food, housing, and other needs. Some of the criteria for the hubs include resilient energy systems such as solar with battery backup, community gardens, air filtration, water capture, and onsite air and water filtration.

In my research for Cleveland Owns, I found some of the best examples around the country. Cities like Baltimore have pioneered some of the best practices for Climate Resilience Hubs and are experiencing similar climate issues as Cleveland, such as loss of tree canopy cover and more frequent extreme heat. Many partnerships were made in Baltimore for these hubs amongst the mayor's office, houses of worship that have also become Climate Resilience Hubs like the Stillmeadow Community Fellowship and the Maryland Energy Administration. In addition to serving as a refuge in accurate climate disasters, the resilience hubs allow communities to thrive by supporting day-to-day functions.

In addition to research, I had the opportunity to interview an Environmental Protection Specialist with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a previous intern at Stillmeadow Community Fellow, and an Interfaith Power and Light leader on what they saw as critically important for Climate Resilience Hubs. Each had a definition that overlapped one another and defined Climate Resilience Hubs as fulfilling one or more of the following categories:

• providing supportive planning for coastal climate change threats (Coastal Planning),
• supporting financial assessments for resilience capacity (Economic),
• offering physically supportive structures for localities and communities (Infrastructure);
• supporting a functioning and remote resilience hub model (Mobile);
• aiding local and state resilience planning (Planning);
• supporting scientific research and analyses (Research);
• providing supportive information (Informational Resource).

They also discussed the importance of strategy in choosing climate resilience hubs as places with a strong foundation within the community. Houses of worship can be ideal candidates. They often seek ways to live their values of caring for our sacred earth and serving their communities—sheltering folks during tornadoes, serving as cooling and warming centers, and providing food and clothing to some of the most vulnerable. Investing in houses of worship as climate resilience hubs allows communities to enhance emergency management efficiently, cut climate pollution, and boost community resilience. These initiatives ultimately create opportunities for communities to become more self-sufficient, socially connected, and prosperous in the long run.

Josephine and Molly Bryden enjoying the evening at the July Co-op Circle!

During my fellowship, I had the lovely chance to meet the Cleveland Owns team in person on my trip to Cleveland, Ohio.  It was my first time visiting Cleveland. I got to eat the best pastrami sandwich of my life and walk downtown to see the Chandelier. I was amazed by the strong foundation the team has built within their community. I did not know what to expect in the housing co-op circle, but it was a delightful and informative experience. A housing co-op is a community living and collectively owning their homes. The different models of housing co-op can help keep the cost of housing permanently equitable and affordable. In a non-cooperative landlord-tenant relationship, rent tends to cover landlords' mortgages and profits. In a housing co-op, there is more affordability, and the tenants only pay the cost of living on the property.  I got to listen to the experiences of people living in a housing co-op and how they strategize communicating with their landlords. I also got to talk about people interested in starting a housing co-op. I engaged in an activity where the table I was sitting at simulated being in a housing co-op together, and we discussed that we would make decisions through a simple majority approach. Overall, my time with Cleveland Owns is one I will treasure, and I am very grateful to see what is possible with time and commitment in the community.