Alfredo Romo
Co-Founder & Executive Director of Neighbors for Environmental Justice (N4EJ); Community Organizer
Topics: Environmental Justice, Air Monitoring and Health Impacts, Cumulative Impacts Assessment, Social Demographics of Communities as it relates to Social Justice, Immigration and Environmental Justice
Pronouns: he/him
About
Alfredo Romo is the co-founding member and Executive Director of Neighbors for Environmental Justice (N4EJ). A cancer-survivor, community organizer, and environmental justice advocate and long-time resident of the southwest side of Chicago. For years, Alfredo has been fighting for the right to healthy air, clean water, and an environment free of pollution for frontline communities.
In 2018, the N4EJ team was formed in response to MAT Asphalt, a hot-mix asphalt plant, entering their beloved McKinley Park neighborhood, right across the street from the natural environment of the McKinley Park park district. The team has been working to organize against this environmental disruption through focusing on research and data collection, mobilizing and organizing community members, and advocating for increased oversight and enforcement against MAT and the cumulative impacts of heavy industries. As the Executive Director of N4EJ, Alfredo has also been intentional with connecting the lived experiences of frontline communities to the underlying conditions that produced this situation: environmental racism, corruption in the city, state, and federal governments, and a widespread political belief that industry is more important than the health of marginalized people. Through N4EJ, Alfredo focuses on city-based environmental justice issues, through our membership of the Chicago Environmental Justice Network, in addition to issues at the state and policy level - he works with EJ organizations all around Illinois and the surrounding regions to achieve equitable and just communities.
Throughout the five years since N4EJ began, Alfredo has shown support and solidarity on countless environmental, health, and social campaigns throughout the city, state, and nation - including, but not limited to: the Cumulative Impacts Assessment (CIA) with the Chicago Department of Public Health, the Illinois Environmental Justice Act (House Bill 2520), the Hilco botched implosion in Little Village, which led to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Report that exposed the environmental negligence of the city against marginalized communities, and the General Iron fight on the Southeast side of Chicago, which lead to the U.S Housing and Urban Development (HUD) letter of noncompliance on the city.
Alfredo continues to be a strong advocate for healthy and equitable futures for all communities through the advancement and fight for environmental justice. Alfredo believes that no person should have to face environmental health hazards, no matter where they live.
Alfredo is interested in speaking on topics like: Environmental Justice, Air Monitoring and Health Impacts, Cumulative Impacts Assessment, Social Demographics of Communities as it relates to Social Justice, Immigration and Environmental Justice