O’Farrell, City Council Appoint Immigration Advocate to Critical Climate Board

The Climate Emergency Commission is integral to the execution of L.A.’s Green New Deal and ensuring equitable and just climate policies

LOS ANGELES (April 27, 2022) — The Los Angeles City Council today unanimously approved Council President Pro Tempore Mitch O’Farrell’s nomination of Jocelyn Duarte, a local immigration advocate, to the Climate Emergency Commission, a critical body that helps set the direction for the City’s climate emergency goals.

“Jocelyn Duarte is one of Los Angeles’ most effective advocates for uplifting immigrant communities, and she has put her experience front and center,” said Council President Pro Tempore Mitch O’Farrell. “Her appointment to the Climate Emergency Commission will ensure that equity and justice frame each of our decisions related to climate policy as we work to create a healthier, cleaner Los Angeles.”

A division of the Department of Public Works, the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office (CEMO) was created in 2021 to ensure coordination between the Mayor, City Council, City departments, and communities across Los Angeles on matters related to environmental justice and implementation of the City’s climate strategy and Green New Deal. Since early 2022, CEMO has been hosting a series of assemblies aimed at getting feedback and direct discussion to policy makers and city leaders.  The Climate Emergency Commission works to establish priorities for CEMO, with a specific focus on engaging frontline and Indigenous communities, who have been disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. The City Council’s Chair of the Energy, Environmental Justice, Climate Change and LA River Committee is empowered to make one nomination for appointment to the Climate Emergency Commission.

“I’m deeply honored to be appointed to the Climate Emergency Commission,” said Jocelyn Duarte. “My life’s work has focused on uplifting Los Angeles’ immigrant communities, who are already being impacted by the worst effects of climate change. I’m thankful to Councilmember O’Farrell for my nomination and look forward to using my knowledge and experience to inform just, equitable climate policies in Los Angeles.”

Jocelyn Duarte is the Executive Director of the Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund (SALEF), a non-profit that promotes civic participation and representation of Salvadoran and other Latino communities in Los Angeles and across the nation. Her work focuses on immigrant communities originating in Central and Latin America, with a focus on migratory patterns to the United States from those regions, and her work at SALEF is also focused on providing educational and legal services to the immigrant community, family and youth services and homelessness prevention for recently arrived immigrants.

Duarte serves on the faculties of California State University, Northridge and East Los Angeles Community College. She holds an M.A. in Latin American Studies from California State University, Los Angeles, as well as a B.A. in Central American Studies and a second B.A. in Gender and Women’s Studies from California State University, Northridge.

Duarte will be officially sworn in by City Clerk Holly Wolcott. Her term will last through June 2026.