Leslie Aguayo
Environmental Justice Associate
Climate Justice + Environmental Science & Policy + Climate Risk & Resilience
Leslie Aguayo uses her experience as an urban planner and advocate to further Carbon Direct’s environmental justice work and advance community development, energy justice, and equitable climate policies.
Leslie most recently served as Senior Advisor for Transportation and Energy Justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) within the Executive Office of the President for the Biden-Harris Administration. As part of CEQs first ever Environmental Justice team she brought her expertise in environmental justice, transportation, clean energy, community development and racial equity to ensure the equitable implementation of historic BIL and IRA investments, advance the Justice40 Initiative, support community capacity and increase access into the burgeoning green economy.
Prior to CEQ, Leslie was a Senior Climate Equity Program Manager at The Greenlining Institute a racial equity organization in Oakland, CA where she worked to further equitable electric vehicle policy and investments. She led Greenlining’s transportation electrification equity work, advocating to increase racial and climate equity in California’s state transportation planning and funding efforts.
Education
MCP, Housing, Community & Economic Development
University of California, Berkeley
BA, Anthropology
University of California, Irvine
BA, Urban Studies
University of California, Irvine
Awards
United States Foreign Language Area Studies Fellow, Portuguese
Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
University of California, Berkeley
James R. Boyce Affordable Housing Competition, 1st Place
College of Environmental Design
University of California, Berkeley