Aura Vasquez (she/her) is an Afro-Latina Colombian immigrant, community leader, organizer, and justice-oriented policy expert. She has worked extensively with the Los Angeles City Council, impacting legislation across Los Angeles county and the broader state of California. Aura’s efforts towards a more equitable and environmentally mindful society have led to successful campaigns, including the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. She has partnered with dozens of organizations and hundreds of individuals, demonstrating solidarity for causes that she sees as ‘interconnected,’ including affordable housing, renewable energy, immigration reform, amongst many more.

Recently, she began consulting companies to advance environmental regulations in the business sector. No matter what sector, campaign, or cause Aura is advocating for, she does so in a way that’s accessible to the public so everyone’s voice is heard.

We at Closing the Gap podcast acknowledge that Los Angeles lies on unceded Tongva land.

Brandon Rothrock (he/him) is a queer geographer supporting fellow LGBTQ+ environmentalists as they navigate their careers. Through his research and advocacy, he advances environmental justice for marginalized communities. Brandon’s experience in higher education, sustainability issues, and energy policy demonstrates his commitment to a better world for everyone, especially those historically discriminated against. He uses his connections and knowledge to help advance social change while embracing his identity and communities.

Brandon is also a Board Member for OUT for Sustainability (OUT4S), a U.S.-based non-profit that “co-creates a platform for environmental justice and climate resilience by and for the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Connect with Brandon Rothrock

Website

Resources

Support Out 4 Sustainability

Website

Instagram

Brandon’s Affiliations

Environmental Defense Fund

Agents of Change in Environmental Justice Fellowship

Resources

Just Solutions’ Post on the LGBTQ’s vulnerability to climate change

Black Faces, White Spaces by Carolyn Finney

Fire & Flood DocuSeries

Can’t Stop Change: Queer Climate Stories from the Florida Frontlines

Definitions

LGBTQIA+: stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and the + symbol stands for other individuals who identify outside of sexual and gender norms

Environmental Justice: a movement to address environmental injustices, including air pollution and land use, that disproportionately harm historically marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color and LGBTQIIA+

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

When we understand what brought us to where we are today, we can decide where to go from here. In this episode, co-hosts Tania Roa + Adriana Maria Medina discuss social justice events in 2023 that led to collective action. As we reflect, we can learn from them and determine our priorities for 2024. It’s a new year, but our struggles are the same.

*Please note: some of the events we discuss include violence, police brutality, and Palestine.

Resources for events mentioned in this episode, and organizations supporting the causes mentioned, are below. Also, as always, scroll to find definitions.

U.S. News

• Former Officers Charged in Tyre Nichols' Death

• East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment

• Tortuguita Shot Protecting Atlanta Forest

• Willow Project for Alaska Campaign

U.S. Organizations to Support

Color of Change

Stop Cop City

Alaska Conservation Foundation

International News

• Plastic Crisis and Great Pacific Garbage Patch

• Panama's High Court Stops Canadian Mining Attempt

• Ecuador Stops Oil Drilling in Amazon

• Latest on Palestine and South Africa Sues Israel

• Crisis in Sudan

• Democratic Republic of Congo Calls for Peace

International Organizations to Support

4Ocean

Amazon Watch

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

International Rescue Committee

Definitions

Biodiversity: short for biological diversity; it is the variety of life on Earth and includes the variety of genetic, species, and ecosystem levels

Occupation: when one group or country takes control over another territory through force, and the invading group establishes its own law in the now occupied region

Zionism: a nationalist movement that emerged in the 19th century with a goal of establishing a homeland, protected by law, for Jewish people in Palestine - a region roughly corresponding to the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition

Anti Semitism: hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews

Genocide: the intentional destruction of a national, ethnic, or racial group in whole or in part

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Chi Bailey, lover of God and high quality clothing, expresses his spirituality and fashion taste through his brand Chi qc™. All pieces are upcycled, hand crafted, and sweatshop free, speaking out against the harmful impacts of fast fashion on people and the planet. Low quality clothes produced in mass volumes degrade the environment, mistreat garment workers, and encourage consumers to buy more clothes than they need. Chi shows us another way of living that respects God’s creation.

Chi is of African and Korean descent, and his cultural upbringing also plays a role in his creativity. Chi qc™ inspires us to be more childlike through its Born Again Garments that incorporates colorful, playful designs with deep storytelling.

Closing the Gap recognizes that Charlotte, North Carolina is unceded land of the Cheraw Indigenous people.

Support Chi qc™

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Definitions

Fast fashion - mass-producing trending clothes at a low cost to incentivize consumers to buy quickly, often characterized with cheap quality, environmental pollution, and severely low wages

Upcycling- the process of transforming unwanted or used materials into new products

Slow fashion - an aspect of sustainable fashion and a concept describing the opposite to fast fashion, advocating for clothing manufacturing and consumption that respects people, environment and animals

Fast Fashion Articles

Slow Fashion: For Your Wallet and the Planet (page 4)

Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact

The Best Small Businesses in Los Angeles

Work Labor Conditions and Rights Articles

Garment Industry

Coal Mining

Chocolate Industry

Slow fashion brands mentioned

Reformation

Industry of All Nations

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Closing the Gap co-hosts Tania Roa and Adriana Medina welcome you back to the podcast with a new season: Season 2. To start off the season, Tania discusses her summer living in Colombia and Adriana shares her first impressions of her new home in New York City, unceded land of the Lenape or Lenapehoking people.

Some themes arose from these major moves including authenticity, leaning into change, and being an active participant in one's community.

Resources

Palenque's Famous Band: ⁠Kombilesa Mí⁠

⁠Dr. Shamell Bell of Black Lives Matter⁠

New York City Events

Rest in Power O'Shae Sibley

Eric Adams on NYC Migrants

Eric Adams Investment on NYPD Robot Dogs

NYC Flooding Shutting Down Subways

Definitions

Generational trauma - psychological and emotional wounds that have accumulated over time and transferred to future generations

Gentrification - the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses

Voguing - a type of dance that imitates the characteristic poses struck by a model on a runway (history of voguing)

Liberation - freedom from oppression, or freedom from limits on thought or behavior

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com.

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

It's our last episode of Season 1! Tania & Adriana take time to reflect on the past season and celebrate the beautiful, progress-oriented community we've all built - that includes you! We then discuss something very close to our hearts: what it's like to live in the United States when you lack certain powers or privileges, and when you possess others. The mixed emotions including frustration, despair, and the urge to take action are ones many people experience. By sharing our perspectives, we hope to inspire you to share your story. It's time for us minorities, or marginalized/underrepresented people, to take up space and show up for our communities.

Definitions: Reparations - making amends through financial compensation or other means to try to right wrongs

Organizations to support:

Regional-Based Organizations

⁠Little Miss Flint

Trans Defense Fund Los Angeles

National-Based Organizations

United We Dream

Indigenous Peoples Movement

Movement for Black Lives

Dear Asian Youth

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Meet our first international guest: Heizal Patricia Nagginda of Uganda. Heizal founded Climate Operation to create a place where all people can learn about the climate crisis, how it impacts them, and what they can do to address it. Climate Operation began as a regional hub and is now an international space that has reached thousands of people. To promote creativity and accessibility, Climate Operation uses different mediums to get the message across, including tool kits and comic books. In all of her work, Heizal highlights the connections between climate and social justice, such as the effects weather extremes have on people who contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions, yet are feeling the worst impacts of climate change.

Climate Operation:

Website

Climate Education Directory

11th Hour Climate Education Comic Book

Follow Climate Operation on Instagram

Other Resources:

Tania’s article on climate migration

Tania & Heizal’s chat on Indigenous voices in conservation

How to take climate action venn diagram

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Gentrification impacts communities around the world. It can lead to increased cost of living, displacement of long-term residents, and discriminatory behavior. We analyze gentrification trends in México City, Puerto Vallarta, and California and use them as examples of a larger issue. To allocate resources fairly, policies and practices should be created and implemented by local communities rather than foreign investors, who tend to prioritize profit over people's well-being. As travelers and as immigrants, we acknowledge that by us moving to new areas we influence the local culture, and we can do so in a way without uprooting the lives of those who were there before us. ("Gente" means "people" in Spanish)

At Closing the Gap we acknowledge that the above-mentioned places lie on Indigenous land.

Speak up for Iran:

Mohsen Shekari

Middle East Matters Action Items

Persian with Purpose Action Items

Resources:

Community Land & Investment Trusts Explained

Rent control groups: @housingjustice4all, @streetwatchla, @latenats, @oaklandtenatsunion

Definitions:

Gentrification - the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses

Digital Nomad - people who travel while working remotely using technology and the internet

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)