Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area

PCJ in the Bay supports partnerships between Stanford students, faculty, and staff and Bay Area community leaders to help build equitable climate change solutions.

Get Involved | Highlights | Partner Organizations | Advisory Board

Why climate change, and why now?

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to humanity worldwide, including here in the Bay Area. Sea level rise, extreme heat, and wildfire smoke are all environmental issues exacerbated by climate change that pose significant security and health threats, with particularly harmful impacts on communities already experiencing socioeconomic vulnerability. Addressing these vulnerabilities and building community resilience are urgent priorities. At the same time, we need to make drastic changes to our current energy system in order to avoid even more catastrophic impacts in the future. This transition to clean energy must be an equitable one.

What is PCJ in the Bay?

Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area is an initiative to engage undergraduate and graduate students in addressing these challenges in close collaboration with community partner organizations, as well as other departments, programs and centers at Stanford.

PCJ in the Bay seeks to:

Build climate resilience and a just transition to a green economy in the Bay Area through sustained community partnerships; and
Expand, deepen and coordinate opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to work toward climate justice in the Bay Area, across all elements of Cardinal Service.

See the current list of PCJ in the Bay partner organizations and Advisory Board members.

Get involved

To join our interest list, please sign up here.

Apply for a summer fellowship

Advance environmental justice through a 10-week fellowship with a local community partner. Open to undergraduate and graduate students. We're conducting a Round 2 of recruitment for fellowship opportunities - apply by April 7th!

Environmental and Climate Justice Advocacy in the Belle Haven Community of Menlo Park with Belle Haven Action
Environmental Justice For Frontline Communities in South San Mateo County with Nuestra Casa
Building Resilience to Sea Level Rise and Drought in the Bay Area - Advancing Policy Frameworks and Technical Analysis with One Shoreline (MA/MS and PhD only)
Developing Climate Resilience within South San Francisco Communities with Rise South City
Supporting Food Sovereignty through Garden Education and Capacity Building in San Jose with Valley Verde

Take a community-engaged course

Enroll in a course that incorporates environmental justice and/or community engagement. Courses offered this spring:

Complete a community-engaged capstone

As you plan for senior year, you may wish to work on a senior capstone, honors or synthesis project to solidify the academic knowledge and other educational experiences acquired during your time at Stanford. Depending on the requirements of your major, you may be able to introduce a community-engaged component, helping to fulfill a community need while meeting your degree requirements. Reach out to Brandon Reynante reynante@stanford.edu to learn more.

Join the PCJ in the Bay Advisory Board

Help guide PCJ in the Bay while building leadership skills and connections with faculty and community partners in the process! Undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply. Check back in spring quarter.

Volunteer

Volunteer directly by making a Cardinal Commitment, or organize your student group to take on a project with a community partner.

For faculty and staff

There are many ways for faculty and staff to contribute, including:

Mentoring a student research or capstone project
Advising a student organization leading a project with a PCJ in the Bay partner
Teaching a Cardinal Course in collaboration with a PCJ in the Bay partner
Join the Advisory Board - we seek new members annually in late summer / early fall.

To learn more and get involved, contact Brandon Reynante.

PCJ in the Bay in the media

‘Communities Know Best’: Climate Solutions in the South Bay Start with Listening. KQED, June 21, 2021.
What Can the Bay Area Do About Rising Seas? East Palo Alto Has a Few Great Answers. KQED, April 22, 2021.
Flood Resilience | Hannah Melville-Rea. Stanford University, May 21, 2024.

Advisory Board

Ever Rodriguez, North Fair Oaks Community Alliance
Jennifer Adams and Miriam Yupanqui, Nuestra Casa
Garry Sotnik, Valley Verde
Violet Saena and Lolina Bruggeman-Munoz, Climate Resilient Communities
Ava Acevedo, Undergraduate Student, Public Policy
Hannah Melville-Rea, PhD Student, E-IPER
Kaden Nguyen, Undergraduate Student, Political Science and Earth Systems
Sarah Reyes, Undergraduate Student, Sociology and Urban Studies
Pearl Shing-Roth, Undergraduate Student, Earth Systems
Amanda Zerbe, Environmental Law Clinic
Anjana Richards, Doerr School of Sustainability
Esther Conrad, Bill Lane Center for the American West
Emily Polk and Sibyl Diver, Environmental Justice Working Group; Program in Writing and Rhetoric, Earth Systems Program
Holmes Hummel, Precourt Institute for Energy
Jen Chiu, Woods Institute for the Environment
Khalid Osman, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Luci Herman, Law and Policy Lab, Stanford Law School
Mele Wheaton, Emmett Interdisciplinary Program on Environment and Resources
Michael Kahan, Program on Urban Studies
Michael Wara, Woods Institute for the Environment
Patrick Archie, O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm
Richard Nevle, Earth Systems Program
Rodolfo Dirzo, Earth Systems Science, Doerr School of Sustainability
Star Plaxton-Moore, Brandon Reynante, Luke Terra, and Alex Wheeler, Haas Center for Public Service