Juan Flores (he/they/el) is a fourth-year student double majoring in Public Affairs and Sociology and minoring in Public Health. As a first-gen student and an environmental justice community organizer, Juan has tailored his academic work to uplift and reinforce his work in the community. In his Departmental Honors Thesis, Juan will explore the impacts of SB 1000 (Leyva), one of California’s most important environmental justice policies, and its impact on community relations and its efficacy to address community needs. Through his work Juan is attempting to build a narrative regarding accountability in governance and ensuring that public policy delivers on creating tangible public health improvements. Juan is inspired by his own community organizer background in serving in the City of Sacramento’s Environmental Justice Working Group in 2021 and developing community-driven recommendations for air quality and pollution concerns. As a first-generation, Latine student who was raised in a community impacted by environmental injustice, Juan grounds his academic journey on his passion for creating health equity for his community.