Environmental Justice Representative
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO)

Juliana Pino is the Policy Director at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO). At LVEJO, Juliana analyzes, researches, and advocates for environmental justice, climate justice, and economic justice in local, state, and federal environmental policy. LVEJO campaigns cross many areas, including energy, food, water, air, land use, brownfields, toxics, transportation, workforce development, and others. Her work focuses on: advancing justice and community self-determination in regulatory and policy arenas; creating just transition with meaningful collaborative and participatory management of shared environmental resources; and centering frontline community leaders as generators of transformative policy ideas and governance models. As an organizer, strategist, negotiator, and facilitator, Juliana aims to subvert, mitigate, and challenge patterns of systemic violence committed by institutions and individuals against marginalized people in society, pushing imaginations and transforming practices to center community visions and expertise in crafting a new future. She is committed to facilitating and cultivating processes that promote social justice and public health, has experience in multi-party negotiation and mediation, and works to build robust decision-making frameworks that center the perspectives of those most affected by both broader structural oppression and the specific policies being deliberated.

In 2017, Juliana was recognized in Midwest Energy News 40 Under 40 for her work in the transition to a clean energy economy as lead negotiator for low-income programs in the 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act. In 2018, she was named one of Grist’s 50 Fixers for her work in making the world a more just and sustainable place for all and received the President William Clinton Award from People for Community Recovery for her commitment to ensuring communities of color surviving environmental racism understand their conditions and lead policy change. In 2019, she was named an inaugural Rachel’s Network Catalyst Award winner for women of color making an environmental impact in communities across the country and received the Illinois Legislative Green Caucus Karen May Environmental Leadership Award presented by leaders of the Caucus to one environmental advocate for her deep role in development of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (2021). In 2020, she was named a Climate Changemaker by Elevate Energy for community leadership in bringing visions for environmental justice, equity, and climate solutions to life.  Juliana has also been recognized as an important advisory voice to government, participating by

appointment and proxy in the last two Chicago mayoral transitions and last Illinois gubernatorial transition—most recently being named Co-Chair of the Environmental Justice Subcommittee for Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson.

 Juliana serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Environmental Council and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. Juliana is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment (MS, Environmental Policy and Planning; Environmental Justice), the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy (MPP, Public Policy Analysis), and the University of Chicago (AB, East Asian Languages and Civilizations). Prior to joining LVEJO, Juliana contributed to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Great Lakes Commission, and the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce, among others. Juliana is a former asylum seeker and proud queer person powered by her wonderful spouse, toddler, and broader community. She is invested in anti-racism and anti-oppression struggles and is a big fan of animals.