Orange County
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice Organizing Academy
Mission
Our annual youth organizing academy is an intensive eight week program that invites guest speakers to share their experience and expertise on topics such as Indigenous Sovereignty, Peoples History of OC, Community Organizing, EJ issues in OC and more. Our goal is to equip participants with the resources, skills, and confidence to organize around EJ issues in their own communities, hold elected officials accountable, and implement Just Transition policy changes.
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Our mission is to expand and engage our youth member base through OCEJ's ongoing campaigns. Through our partnerships with Orange County’s low-income communities of color, academic institutions, and local stakeholders, we will build resident power to influence decisions in a region with low support from public officials on environmental justice issues, and to take on the multiple, decentralized agencies with discrepant degrees of jurisdiction over environmental, climate, and health issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the requirements?
Anyone between the ages of 18-26 years old residing in Orange County can apply. All sessions, both in-person and virtual, are mandatory for EJOA participants to attend. There are 5 in-person sessions and 11 virtual sessions on zoom. Participants will be expected to provide their own transportation to in-person locations. We will have COVID-19 safety protocols in place for our in-person sessions. The program is an accessible and entry level program and no background knowledge or experience is required.
When is the program?
EJOA is a 8 week program and will meet twice a week on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 11am -1pm, with a few exceptions as noted on the schedule. There are sixteen sessions in total. The program will start on Tuesday, June 10 and end on Tuesday, August 5. Please check the schedule below to plan accordingly.
What can I expect from the program?
After completion of the program, our hope is that participants will feel empowered to organize on different environmental and social justice issues in their own community. Each session will be different pending on the style of each guest facilitator but will include a mix of lecture, discussion, breakout rooms, activities and more. Participants will work on a final project during the 8 weeks, in which they will present their final project at the EJOA symposium, on July 31 before graduation. Participants who complete the academy (attend all sessions and present their final project) will receive a $500 to accomodate for any expenses incurred during the program.
How do I apply?
The application is through google forms. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and we will reach out to applicants to conduct 30-minute interviews with OCEJ staff. Applications are due Sunday, May 18 at 11:59 PM PST.​
If you have any questions, please contact our Youth & Education Director, Sydney Cheung, at sydney@ocej.org.
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2025 EJOA Curriculum & Schedule
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Week 1:
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Tuesday, June 10: EJOA Orientation*
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Thursday, June 12: Intro to Environmental Justice
Week 2:
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Tuesday, June 17: Indigenous Sovereignty, Part 1
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Thursday, June 19: Indigenous Sovereignty, Part 2
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Saturday, June 21: Peoples History Tour of OC*
Week 3:
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Tuesday, June 24: Youth Climate Organizing
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Thursday, June 26:Water Justice
Week 4:
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Tuesday, July 1: OC Water District Tour*
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Thursday, July 3: Day Off, No Session
Week 5:
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Tuesday, July 8: History of Soil Lead
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Thursday, July 10: Community Engagement
Week 6:
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Tuesday, July 15: EJ Policy Advocacy
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Thursday, July 17: Know Your Rights & ICE Rapid Response
Week 7:
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Tuesday, July 22: Zine Workshop*
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Thursday, July 24: Digital Security
Week 8:
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Tuesday July, 29: Abolition & Transformative Justice
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Thursday July 31: Student Symposium
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Tuesday, August 5: Graduation*
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*In-person session
The full schedule with location details and time will be shared
with accepted applicants.