Natalia

For the summer 2025 Chuck Green Fellowship, I had the opportunity to work with COPAL MN’s Environmental Justice Committee, an organization dedicated to building Latine immigrant power and advancing environmental and climate justice. COPAL focuses on connecting community voices with the resources and advocacy needed to tackle the disproportionate impacts of climate change on immigrant families, both in Minnesota and abroad.

My main project was centered on collecting and elevating community stories. Over the course of the fellowship, I collected around 30 stories, including from immigrant families and COPAL staff, documenting their experiences with climate challenges and the organization’s impact in their lives. These stories were not just narratives; they became vital evidence in grant proposals, directly supporting the committee’s efforts to secure thousands of dollars for climate adaptation projects such as water reservoirs in Guatemala’s dry corridor. Ranging from accounts of resilience in the face of climate pressures to reflections on COPAL’s role in building power and opportunity, the stories now form a narrative archive in Every Action that preserves lived experiences as testimony of the organization’s influence. This work showed me how powerful it is when advocacy is grounded in both data and the voices of the community. I also created a comprehensive website to house COPAL’s proposal for international climate adaptation funding. By centralizing key information and resources, the site makes it easier for the proposal to be shared, reviewed, and considered for grants and partnerships. Additionally, I supported the organization of COPAL’s grant information by cleaning up data across Excel spreadsheets and Every Action, ensuring that past proposals, award letters, and official agreements were properly stored and accessible.

This fellowship provided me with the autonomy to develop my skills in event coordination, community engagement, and data management, while also deepening my understanding of how immigrant voices can inform climate justice work. I am profoundly grateful to COPAL MN, my supervisors, fellows, and the Chuck Green Fellowship for trusting me with this work and for showing me the importance of centering community in every step of advocacy.