The County of Santa Barbara Sustainability Division collaborated with Children & Family Resource Services in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Promotores Network to conduct culturally relevant outreach and education in Spanish and Mixteco. Promotores are trained, trusted community health workers who strengthen community health and wellbeing through needs assessment, education, navigation, referral, and support. The Division coordinated with additional County departments and the Tri-County Regional Energy Network to aggregate outreach funds to first orient and then deploy the bilingual Promotores in community engagement regarding a variety of sustainability topics including climate change resilience, organic waste collection, environmental justice, housing, and electric vehicles. The collaboration continues to expand to include different topics and organizations. This presentation will discuss the Promotores outreach and education model, best practices and lessons learned in working with Promotores and non-English speaking community members, and the impact of this experience on agencies, Promotores, and the community.
Speakers
Garrett Wong is the Climate Program Manager in the Sustainability Division of the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department. Garrett leads the County’s One Climate Initiative, the development of the 2030 Climate Action Plan, and the Santa Barbara County Regional Climate Collaborative.
Zoe Carlson is a Senior Planner in the Long Range Planning Division of the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department. Zoe has a Bachelor of Science in Earth Systems Science and Policy and a Master of Environmental Science and Management. She has nearly two decades of work experience including environmental planning, permitting, water resource management, stakeholder engagement, grant writing, and grant management.
Namino Glantz, Ph.D., is an applied medical anthropologist dedicated to health equity. She has lived/worked long-term in the U.S., including the Navajo Nation, and Chiapas, Mexico. As Manager, Health Linkages, Santa Barbara County Education Office in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Promotores Network, Namino supports approximately 50 community health workers/promotores who are involved in around 20 health and equity projects.