Bilingual Environmental Education Specialist Andrea Salazar (she/her) was born and raised on the ancestral lands of Ohlone, Miwok, Muwekma, and Confederated Villages of Lisjan (currently recognized as the SF Bay Area). Her ancestral roots are anchored in central-western Mexico on the ancestral lands of the Huichol, Coca, and Caxcan peoples.

She is a passionate and motivated Indigenous ecologist, excited to make waves and bring solutions to the environmental and climate change action worlds. Trained as a natural resource and forestry scientist, the backbone of her motivation is envisioning and actualizing a future with resilient landscapes and communities. She is committed to protecting plants, animals, and landscapes for cultural and natural resource purposes as personal and professional life-long goals. She strongly believes in relation-based ecological stewardship as the key to transforming our internal and external ecosystems.

Andrea earned her bachelor’s degree in ecosystem management and forestry and a minor in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley. While studying, she participated in multiple professional and extracurricular programs, gaining years of experience in community engagement with and for BIPOC communities, emphasizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Her experience spans an array of knowledge such as ecology, natural resource management, community-oriented agroecology, wildlife ecology, fire ecology, Indigenous science(s) and knowledge(s), community engagement and activism, climate change, and holistic healing.

Image: A headshot of Andrea smiling, she has short black shoulder length hair. She is wearing a white sweater with orange earrings. In the background there is a patch of tall bay laurel trees.