New Stakeholders' Advisory Committee Chair shares why people are the most important part of environmental restoration

Abel Olivo is the new chair of the Chesapeake Bay Program's Stakeholders' Advisory Committee. As executive director of Defensores de la Cuenca, a nonprofit dedicated to engaging Spanish-speaking communities with the environment, Olivo is dedicated to centering people in the work of not only his organization, but throughout the Bay Program. We touched base with Olivo to answer a few questions about his background, nonprofit work and vision for stewardship in the Chesapeake. 

Do you have a personal connection to the Chesapeake Bay, a river or a special place in the watershed?

My connection starts at a pretty local level. When I first moved to the D.C. area, my connection [to nature] was very limited. I lived on Capitol Hill, and would occasionally go to some of the parks off the Potomac River, but that was mostly on rare, special occasions. When I moved a couple of years ago to my home in Prince George's County, Maryland, I was much closer to the Anacostia River. Being able to bike there quickly, I started going more often. Whether I was walking around or biking the Anacostia River Trail, I just enjoyed admiring the river and the landscape, taking notice of the birds, turtles and fish, and any other glimpses I might spy of wildlife. I've always enjoyed nature and the environment, but this accessibility really helped deepen the connection between me and the river. That access developed my love and appreciation for the Anacostia, but it also made me want to know how to protect this beautiful resource and understand some of the connections between the river and the Bay. 

Was there a specific moment that inspired you to dedicate your time and talents to the Bay’s protection through the work of Defensores de la Cuenca?

The inspiration that pushed me to get into environmental work was that I have a deep love for nature and I receive so much personal joy from experiencing all of the rivers and forests that our watershed has to offer. However, I was not seeing many other folks from the Latino community accessing or interacting with the Bay and its rivers. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons, but one of the most glaring to me was the absence of engaging programming for diverse audiences, particularly from the Spanish-speaking community. So it really got me thinking about how to fill the gap of available opportunities for broader audiences. It’s one thing to think about, we can do this similar program in Spanish, which we do, but taking it further and considering some of the other challenges there are to engaging marginalized communities. 

So in recognizing that challenge, we started to think about how we can create messaging that is appealing to our audience. It's more than just creating the content and the material, it’s centering the community needs in the content, and designing our communications and the programs around that. 

Many of our participants join us for activities and programs that they've never done before. Some have never physically been to some of these places, while others didn't know about these aspects of air quality, water quality, the importance of trees in an urban area or what a watershed is. 

Recognizing that no one else was stepping up to fill this void motivated me to dedicate myself and my organization to create those opportunities.

For many, our programs are people’s first positive connections to environmental work and I’m also proud that our organization offers people a chance to connect and build community amongst one another. That aspect had been both very impactful for our organization as a whole as well as deeply rewarding on a personal level.

Your organization hosts an event called La Academia de Defensores, which is described as an “adult training program that builds the capacity of participants around watershed-related issues through workshops and hands-on activities.” Tell us more about it.

The idea for La Academia de Defensores came about as I was talking to my co-founder, Herlindo Morales, about the challenges in engaging Spanish-speaking communities including barriers to participation, the content of programs, as well as funding concerns. We looked at similar programs like the Anne Arundel Watershed Stewards Academy for inspiration, but also wanted to create a program that was tailored to the needs of the community that recognized and respected the value of their time by paying them. How we frame it is that opportunities to build capacity help us achieve our outcomes with the hope that it will bring more people into the work that we do. Whether it's with us, whether it's in their community, or elsewhere with another organization, ultimately, that's the goal.

Can you tell us a little more about how the program works?

La Academia has 12 workshops that pair theoretical concepts related to the environment with real-world experiences. Our participants identify a project or an issue in their community and La Academia prepares them to develop a solution. Through the experience, our participants learn about community organization, developing partnerships, project management and budgeting. So while the program does have measurable outcomes for our funders for reporting purposes, it also serves to build capacity at the community level for problem solving in general. 

We've heard from people who've been with us that their experience has been life changing because they feel confident now in engaging their community and in problem solving. I believe that if more people had the opportunity to spend time in nature, experiencing its beauty and the physical and mental benefits it provides, many would embrace it and think about how to stay engaged for the long term. However, the reality is that access to nature isn’t always possible for everyone. This program aims to bridge that gap by making these experiences more accessible to a broader range of people.

How do you see, or how would you like to see, the role of community engagement in Bay watershed restoration and protection?

It's essential to recognize systemic challenges within environmental organizations. Established environmental groups often follow rigid models that resist innovation. While these structures provide stability, they can limit opportunities for new approaches or partnerships. For example, when we started Defensores de la Cuenca, we aimed to be adaptable and responsive to community needs rather than constrained by traditional models of success. As an organization, our desire for the future is having more people that work with us. In fact, we have hired three of La Academia participants to be on staff. What we're trying to do is create more opportunities for people to earn money and create more green jobs. How we get people into this space, especially marginalized communities, is first and foremost acknowledging the reality that people have bills to pay, they need to put food on the table and provide for themselves or their loved ones. That's always going to come first. So the more opportunities that we have for people to earn money in this space, the more opportunities that we will have to invite diverse audiences and keep them engaged. 

A lot of the work that I've seen from other organizations is largely volunteer based, which is wonderful. I think that if people have the capacity, the time and the means to devote a Saturday or half a day during the week, or use their personal time off to plant trees or remove invasives is wonderful. However, that is not a luxury that many people can take, especially when no one's paying them. 

I would like to see more emphasis on creating jobs within the labor sector that focus on clean water and clean air. There’s significant potential for employment opportunities tied to Bay restoration, but relying solely on volunteer structures isn’t sustainable, especially for achieving and maintaining long-term goals. We need to recognize the limitations many people face, and prioritize paid roles that make Bay restoration efforts accessible, impactful and enduring.

What advice would you offer to someone who’s interested in participating in Bay watershed efforts, especially in areas like building community resilience?

My advice for those interested in Bay watershed efforts, particularly in environmental justice and community resilience, is to consider how these issues can be framed in ways that resonate broadly—especially through an economic lens. 

Environmental justice inherently involves issues like redlining, heat islands and public health disparities, such as higher rates of asthma or diabetes in marginalized communities. These are compelling reasons to act. However, many decision-makers are more persuaded by dollars-and-cents arguments. For example, it's much cheaper to invest in a community’s climate resiliency than it is to rebuild from an extreme weather event that devastates an area. Improving green infrastructure goes beyond just reducing the costs associated with extreme weather recovery, it also has a positive impact on healthcare expenses and energy use. 

These types of arguments can help build broader support for environmental justice initiatives. Ultimately, my advice is to remain passionate, flexible and willing to communicate the value of this work in diverse terms—whether that's through economic, social or environmental benefits. Building partnerships and challenging conventional thinking within and outside the nonprofit sector will be critical to advancing these efforts effectively.