Susana Almanza
Susana Almanza
Susana Almanza is a dedicated environmental justice activist from East Austin, Texas. She is a Founding Member and the Executive Director of People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER), an environmental justice organization in East Austin. She has over 30 years of experience fighting against environmental racism and prejudice, and in 2021, she was appointed to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Almanza, S., 2020. COVID-19 has killed more than 100,000 while racism has killed millions, UrbanitUs. https://www.urbanitus.com/covid-19-has-killed-more-than-100000-while-racism-has-killed-millions/
Almanza, S. R., 2016. Reflections of la Madre Tierra, in Tejana in Literature and Art. University of Texas Press.
Almanza, S., 2008. Gentrification and Land Use in Austin, In Twenty-First Century Gateways. Brookings Institution Press.
Almanza, S., 2008. Removing the Poor through Land Use and Planning, Race, Poverty & the Environment, 15(1), pp. 61-74. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41554592
Southwest Network for Environmental & Economic Justice & the Campaign for Responsible Technology, 1997. Sacred Waters: Life Blood of Mother Earth: Four Case Studies of High-Tech Water Resource Exploitation & Corporate Welfare in the Southwest.
Susana Renteria Almanza, born in 1952, is an Indigenous American and child of Tomasa Calderon and Miguel Juarez Hernandez Renteria. Her parents were not formally educated and spoke only Spanish. Her parents raised their children in East Austin, Texas. Growing up in poverty during the ’50s and ’60s, Almanza witnessed issues including school segregation, discrimination, and inequity. At her elementary school, 98% of students were Latinx, but 99% of the teachers were Anglo, resulting in cultural and language barriers between students and teachers. Often, Spanish-speaking kids were punished for speaking Spanish among themselves. These were among many issues that Almanza saw and experienced firsthand, sparking her interest in racial justice and human rights. During her youth, she protested police brutality and education inequality with the Brown Berets, a Chicano/Mexican-American organization focused on grassroots organizing against oppression. Almanza holds a Paralegal Certificate from the Career Center of Texas and continues to fight against oppression and uplift her community of East Austin.
In 1991, Almanza founded People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER), a woman-led people of color organization. She is the Executive Director of PODER, an organization that seeks to engage the local community in environmental and economic issues through education, advocacy, and action. Almanza is a founding member of the organization. In 1991, Almanza co-wrote the 17 principles of environmental justice at the First People of Color Summit. Other previous experience includes working on the City of Austin’s Planning Commission, the Parks and Recreation Board, the Environmental Board, and the Community Development Commission.
Almanza served as the Precinct Chair for Precinct #423 Austin Travis County, was a member of the Redevelopment Plan 2003-04 for Saltillo District, and co-chair for the Southwest Network for Environment & Economic Justice Coordinating Council, a network of over 80 grassroots organizations in the Southwest U.S. Her expertise has helped her publish numerous works, both with others and individually, including “The Impacts of Siting Transportation Facilities in Low-Income Communities and Communities of Color,” “Texas Network for Environmental and Economic Justice: Toxics in Texas and Their Impact on Communities of Color,” Sacred Waters: Life Blood of Mother Earth,” and “Gentrification and Land Use in Austin,” among others.
Additionally, Almanza is proud to have received awards and recognition for community advocacy and work including but not limited to the Social Justice Award from the NAACP Austin, TX in 2013, Distinguished Service Award from the City Council of Austin for her work on the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Community Oversight Team, Environmentalist of the Year in 2010 from Ten Thousand Villages, the Cesar Chavez “Si Se Puede!” award from PODER, the National Leadership for a Changing World award from the Ford Foundation, and the Outstanding Service Award from the Pan American Advisory Board for Community Service.
Almanza has been relentlessly dedicated to the field for over 30 years. Throughout her career, she has had numerous accomplishments and experiences. Her dedication is demonstrated by her 2021 appointment to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. She was also appointed to the NEJAC Enforcement Subcommittee by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and appointments to multiple City of Austin committees and boards, including the Parks & Recreation Board, Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Community Oversight, and the Community Development Commission, among numerous other highly regarded positions.
Almanza highlights Dr. Sylvia Herrera as one of her greatest mentors. Dr. Herrera shared her education, experiences, and knowledge with Almanza and the community, serving as a role model and advisor in grassroots organizing. Specifically, she highlights that Dr. Herrera taught her how to facilitate focus groups, develop health surveys, and analyze data, among many other things.
In addition to being a mentee herself, Almanza has mentored others. For over 30 years, she has mentored youth, college students, community members, and families. With PODER’s Young Scholars for Justice Program, she has helped youth become community activists and leaders. Furthermore, she has mentored staff to help them be better advocates for the community and themselves, college students who have gone on to create their organizations, and community members who have served on the board of directors for PODER and other organizations. Almanza’s dedication and passion for communities and grassroots organizing are evident in how she continues giving back to others in her community, from youth to adults already in the field.
Almanza advises young professionals to always work with grassroots organizations, associations, and other groups and be respectful and patient. They should be willing to listen to community members’ stories and embrace/uplift their voices. She emphasizes that while young professionals will share their knowledge with the grassroots community, they must also accept the community’s knowledge.
About. PODER. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2023 from https://www.poderaustin.org/about
Our team. PODER. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2023 from https://www.poderaustin.org/our-team
Our team [Photo]. PODER. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2023 from https://www.poderaustin.org/our-team
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.
Susana Almanza. Wikipedia. 2023. Retrieved October 2023 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susana_Almanza
Our team [Photo]. PODER. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2023 from https://www.poderaustin.org/our-team