Nalleli will be speaking at the St.Jospeh County Public Library, Humphrey Auditorium, in Downtown SouthBend at 4 pm.

ABOUT THE KEYNOTE:

At 9, Nalleli Cobo first engaged in community activism. Her activism started in ‘09 when Nalleli noticed that she was regularly sick. It started with headaches, stomach pain, nosebleeds, and body spasms. Then the problems got worse until she developed asthma and heart palpitations. She noticed that others in her neighborhood were also having similar health problems. Nalleli lived in an apartment complex in South L.A., across from an AllenCo’s oil drilling operations. Nalleli and her neighbors noticed strong smells coming from the oil well, and these fumes made walking or opening windows difficult during drilling times. After calling the city, local health agencies, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Nalleli noticed the smells coming from the oil well were actually getting worse, not better. Her health continued to decline. Nalleli and her neighbors decided to take action. She helps to organize neighbors and create a grassroots campaign called People, not Pozos (Wells). Through grassroots activism, Nalleli strengthened her community’s voice, while fighting the uphill battle against the oil company poisoning their neighborhood. After the hard fight, AllenCo temporarily closed in Nov 2013, but the community continues to work to close the plant permanently. Nalleli is also a founding member of the South Los Angeles Youth Leadership Coalition. This group, along with Communities for a Better Environment Youth from Wilmington, sued the City of Los Angeles for Environmental Racism and violation of CEQA. Nalleli is also a member of STAND LA (Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling Los Angeles) which works tirelessly to establish a 2500 ft buffer between oil extraction and homes and sensitive land.

We are beyond excited to host her for the 2019 conference!

Interested in hearing the Keynote?

The Keynote ticket is only $10!