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1. The APEN consists of 34 Staff Members and 10 Executive Board seats. Among the Staff of APEN are Organizers at varying levels for State, Youth, and Senior among regional areas. There are coordinators for Finances, Communications, and Research and Policy. There are Managers to support general operations, digital, and campaign policy, among many other positions. The Executive Board consists of chairs and directors who shape the future trajectory of APEN. The organization also relies on the work of volunteers and community leaders to support its campaigns and programs.

1. “All people have a right to a clean and healthy environment where their communities can live, work, learn, play, and thrive. Towards this vision, APEN brings a collective voice to develop an alternative agenda for environmental, social, and economic justice.
   Through building an organized movement, we strive to bring fundamental changes to economic and social institutions that will prioritize public good over profits and promote the right of every person to a decent, safe, affordable quality of life and the right to participate in decisions affecting our lives. APEN holds this vision of environmental justice for all people. Our work focuses on Asian immigrant and refugee communities.”

2. The website clearly shows that their approach to collective community organizing together is stronger than the crises that threaten them. APEN’s mission is conveyed in the various campaigns and programs focusing on climate justice, immigrant rights, and workers’ rights.

1. The Love Canal disaster of 1970s

2. The publication of Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States in 1987 by the United Church of Christ Commission.

3. The rapid growth of the AAPI Population in the United States.

4. California’s environmental justice legislation.

5. The Covid-19 Pandemic.

The 1980s and 1990s were a period of momentum for the Environmental Justice movement in the U.S. There was a wave of awareness that communities of color began to realize the disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards such as toxic waste sites, air pollution, and contaminated water in their neighborhoods. APENs founders recognized that AAPI communities were often overlooked or ignored within the discussions around environmental justice. APEN saw this as an opportunity to build power and bring attention to these issues by organizing within the AAPI community.

1. The APEN was founded in the early 1990s. The website details its history from 1991, when following the attendance of the First National People of Color Environmental Justice Leadership Summit; the APEN sprouted into a full-blown idea. By 1993 the Asian Pacific Environmental Network was officiated as a non-profit organization. Its founding purpose was to address the environmental justice issues faced by Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the United States. The early structure of APEN consisted of small groups of organizers who worked to build relationships with AAPI communities in the Bay Area. 

It would be great to interview current and former staff members of CBE to gain insight into what it is like to work on major campaigns and among a team who is victorious in practical issues. I would ask what are the most impactful strategies in community organizing that have proven effective in various campaigns facilitated by the CBE.

CBE’s mission focuses on the belief that everyone has the right to live in a healthy environment, free from the harmful effects of pollution and other environmental hazards. They also believe mobilizing community engagement leads to their empowerment and includes them in critical policy and decision-making conversations. Finally, by holding polluters accountable and promoting environmental regulatory laws, the CBE can ensure that polluters abide by necessary restrictions.

1. The CBE is regarded as one of California's most important and influential environmental justice organizations and the nation. Given the victories in critical cases throughout the years, it has a solid reputation for its advocacy work and is well respected by policymakers, environmental advocates, and community members. 

2. Within the media, CBE has been covered extensively in credible local and national media outlets. The organization is often quoted and featured as a credible and effective EiJ org. Its work has been recognized and celebrated.

1. Communities for a Better Environment functions within the nonprofit sector, specifically within social justice and advocacy subsectors. 

1.  Among the CBE’s board of directors sits Caroline Farrell, the Executive Director of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment (CRPE)

2. The CBE collaborates with other local, state, and national grassroots organizations. 

3. Additionally, the CBE has a history of working with labor unions representing workers closely tied to environmental issues, such as employees from refineries and power plants.