Stop TxDOT I-45 is a volunteer, grassroots group opposing the unjust expansion of the I-45 freeway into historic Black and Latino neighborhoods in Houston.

I have led the communications team since November 2020. Since then, our social media has grown 10x, reaching and engaging thousands of Houstonians into the fight.

We have successfully undertaken large-scale press campaigns resulting in coverage from The Guardian (‘It’s just more and more lanes’: the Texan revolt against giant new highways’), the New York Times (‘Mr. Biden, Tear Down This Highway’), and the LA Times (‘Freeways forces out residents in communities of color - again’).

Currently, the I-45 Expansion is paused while the federal government investigated civil rights complaints. This is a direct result of community organizing. Learn more at stoptxdoti45.com.

Through my work at Houston in Action, I wrote and helped secure a $70,000 grant from the Hershey Foundation. The project partners artists and grassroots organizing groups to create hyper-local art that captures Black, Latinx, and AAPI perspectives around abortion access and community care. The projects will be presented in late October 2022 and including dance, poetry, graphic design, and pole-dancing.

Through my work at Houston in Action, I leveraged funding to create a community arts project around city redistricting. Through partnership the Yates Highschool Photography Program and SANAM Studios, four alumni youth photographers came to city council and photographer community members advocated for their districts. Students then partake in a critique and learning process for how to stay engaged in community organizing, how to leverage their photography for social good, and where to find work in this field.

In the Fall of 2020, I led the mobilization of 19 musicians over the course of five concerts to create a safe, outdoor space where community members could meet and learn about the impacts of the I-45 expansion. While there, they were encouraged to fill out the Federal Environmental Impact Statement, assisted by our volunteers. We gathered over 40 FEIS submissions, a record for the Houston region.

In spring of 2021, I led the fundraising and creation of two rounds of disaster emergency bags for community members. These were distributed to people who live in high risk flooding neighborhoods, and had everything they needed to survive for two to three days. After both rounds, we were able to provide bags fro over 200 community members before hurricane season began.