A Letter from HOPE’s CEO

Welcome!

We are proud to share with you HOPE’s 2024 Energy Policy Toolkit.

Climate change is a Latina issue. Now more than ever, we must equip our communities with knowledge and resources around energy policy — one of the key factors in mitigating the negative impacts of climate change. Latinos are one of the largest and most rapidly expanding U.S. population, currently at 63.7 million, with 15.5 million living in California, and Latinas alone comprise 7.8 million. Latinos and their families will disproportionately feel the economic and health consequences of climate change. Latina voices must make themselves heard as California transitions its energy use to meet these critical carbon reduction goals. Currently, Latinas hold just over 4% of energy board and commission positions and we hope this toolkit will inspire more Latinas to apply for energy boards.

Our lives and livelihoods depend on knowledge and action.

This Toolkit builds on our last seven years of energy activities first presented at HOPE’s Latina Empowerment Day in 2017. We listened and incorporated feedback from the hundreds of Latinas who participated. With refreshed information, community resources, and our new Latina Appointments Collaborative, this Toolkit will provide the clarity and guidance our community needs to navigate the complexities around California’s rapidly evolving environmental protection efforts.

We hope the resources in this Toolkit will facilitate dialogue and motivate you to seek energy leadership positions. We must stay informed and involved in the energy issues that affect California’s 7.8 million Latinas.

We strongly encouraged community leaders to share learnings, successes, and goals with HOPE, and within their networks! Every action moves us toward a more sustainable, healthy, and prosperous future.

Sincerely,

Helen Torres, Chief Executive Officer of HOPE