Mayor REY LEÓN was born in Fresno and raised in the Huron area. Mr. León is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley where he obtained a BA in Chicano Studies with an emphasis in public health. He is the founder and Executive Director of the San Joaquin Valley Latino Environmental Advancement & Policy Project (Valley LEAP), a Latino Valley based environmental non-profit organization. Mr. León is based in Fresno for the Valley and focuses on environmental & transportation justice, air quality, climate change, energy, green jobs and community development. Mr. Leon has been working to ensure that environmental justice principles are advanced in the regions institutions and culture. Rey is founder of the San Joaquin Valley Regional Green Jobs Coalition which counts on 300+ members and co-founder of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition. As Co-chair of CVAQ, Leon helped advance some of the greatest victories for air quality in the Valley including the ending of agriculture industry’s exemption from the clean air act and the placement of two public members, a doctor and a scientist, onto the region’s air pollution control district. Mr. León sits on various boards and committees including the Center on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT) and member of the California Air Resources Board Environmental Justice AB 32 Advisory Committee. Mr. León has been organizing in the Valley for the past twenty years and for the past eleven years has been advocating and successfully building coalitions, community capacity, advancing public policy; placement of the first PM 2.5 air quality monitor on the West Side of the Valley, systems change; developing the first ever environmental justice strategy and committees for both the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the Fresno County Council of Governments. In 2014, Valley LEAP completed an Environmental Justice Planning Project and Report for the farmworker community of Huron where over 30 projects to improve mobility, access and safety were identified. Through Valley LEAP, Rey continues to organize with the grassroots, grasstops, agencies and other partners to promote sustainable development, clean energy alternatives, green jobs and reduction of pollution; GHG’s in concentrated clusters of poverty in the central San Joaquin Valley. Mr. León, through Valley LEAP, successfully works with Valley communities to achieve environmental and climate justice. Most recently, Mr. León was voted into the Mayorship of his hometown of Huron, Ca in a landslide 76% of the vote. As Mayor of Huron he is working diligently to improve quality of life for the residents who mostly are composed of hardworking low-income farmworker families. In general, the following are projects he is pursuing, supporting and leading; Clean energy, youth opportunities, community volunteer policing, restorative justice, pedestrian and bicyclists safety, economic empowerment for families and small business, improved street lighting (LED), trees, EV plug-in infrastructure, mural district beautification and an empowered civil society. GREEN Raiteros: 1. http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2014/07/21/the-central-valley-was-ride-sharing-long-before-uber/ideas/nexus/ 2. http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2016/10/19/ill-take-er-womens-shelter-grocery-store-ill-even-deliver-baby/ideas/nexus/ 3. http://cal.streetsblog.org/2017/04/14/9797/ 4. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/17/opinion/sunday/the-anti-uber.html Huron GREEN: http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2013/09/30/californias-coast-doesnt-have-a-sustainability-monopoly/ideas/nexus/ Fighting Garbage: http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/tag/dump/ VIDA: http://www.vidaenelvalle.com/news/state/california/fresno/article120618028.html Fighting for SR269 Bridge: http://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article148134349.html Huron Unified for Quality Education: http://kvpr.org/post/hurexit-proposal-split-coalinga-huron-unified-reaches-state Huron Report and Plan: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/offices/ocp/dist6/fy11-12/HuronFinalReport.pdf InfiniteEarth: http://infiniteearthacademy.com/podcast/local-leadership/