Environmental Justice Advocate: Gem Montes
@ People’s Collective for Environmental Justice
Gem Montes is a Policy Analyst and Advocate at the People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PCEJ) in the Inland Empire. Upon realizing that the City of Colton, which experiences some of the worst air in the nation, has little to no public access to air monitoring information, she partnered with PCEJ to create a Community-Based Participatory Research project called The Air I Breathe. Through this program, students and parents learn about the importance of indoor and outdoor air quality, its health impacts, and mitigation measures. Gem is a former Colton planning commissioner and knows the importance of advocating for improved quality of life where you live and work. She holds a board position on the Inland Empire Section of the American Planning Association.
Gem’s grassroots advocacy efforts were used to oppose the development of the High Speed Rail’s Colton Component and in support of Colton’s warehouse moratorium, slowing warehouse overdevelopment in the city. She has fiercely advocated against the expansion of a declassified metal shredder operation located in Colton and continues to look for ways to protect and educate her community against its negative effects on our land, air, water, and health.
In 2022, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Riverside’s School of Public Policy. While there, she received a fellowship with the University of California’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative as an Engagement Fellow. Immediately afterward, she received a fellowship with the California Climate Action Corps as a Heat Rezilient Fellow at Pauma Tribal Farms. Notably, she has accrued multiple certifications in tribal subjects such as Tribal Leadership and Governance, Advocacy and Water Protection in Native California, Tribal Air Quality, and related subject matters. She has also interned with the Mojave Desert Land Trust’s Women in Science Discovering our Mojave (WISDOM) program, where she did field observations of birds and bees at Bonanza Springs.
Gem’s broad range of education and experience has allowed her to successfully navigate complex relationships and establish trust with government agencies, tribal affiliates, environmental organizations, and community members. Her passion and commitment to finding solutions for the injustices imposed upon frontline communities results in work that is second to none. At an age when most are retiring, she remains eager to learn and continues to be a force to be reckoned with.