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Facilitator Bio:

Manjari Majumdar (she/her)

Manjari is a Los Angeles-based storyteller with a background in political and relational organizing. Her communications journey started when she was a web assistant for her work study as a freshman at Carleton College, and at the Minnesota Governor's Office that same year. It continued at the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, where she served as Deputy Training Director for the 2020 election. After graduating with degrees in Political Science and Cinema & Media Studies, Manjari moved west to build a communications department with a team of two other comms professionals at Oregon AFSCME Council 75. She ran digi comms and video production for a year at the union before joining FFCA. Now, Manjari draws from her experience in politics and labor to craft narratives that energize the diverse group of activists and supporters FFCA is made up of. She grounds her work in racial and labor justice, and is a trained facilitator in discussions about privilege and oppression.

In her free time, Manjari loves to sit down.

Speaker Bios:

Bre'Asia Caldwell (she/her)

Bre'Asia Caldwell (she/her) is a 17-year-old junior student at Castlemont High School. Originally hailing from Louisiana, she moved to California in 2019. Passionate about amplifying important causes, she serves as a coordinator for Youth Vs Apocalypse, a collective of visionary young individuals who utilize their voices to advocate for a brighter tomorrow and foster impactful change. She has engaged in advocacy work with Fossil Free California for close to four years, demanding a better future for her generation. Over the past two years, she has organized educational trips for middle and high school students across California to attend CTA meetings in Los Angeles, advocating for support for divestment legislation. In addition, she has been involved in liaising with Asm. Tina McKinnor's team to garner co-authorship for divestment legislation.

Jenn Biehn (she/they)

Jenn Biehn (she/they), an active Fossil Free CA (FFCA) volunteer, was an instructor and administrator at City College of San Francisco from 1977-2011. She mentored and engaged collaborative and inclusive leadership skills and created and taught Women Leaders at Work. As a retiree, she is working with FFCA to divest her CalSTRS pension from fossil fuels. Jenn helped initiate Collaborating for Climate Justice - one of FFCA’s vibrant volunteer teams. She leads workshops and trains new facilitators in Transforming White Privilege on the Path to Racial Equity within FFCA as well as with Neighbors for Racial Justice in Oakland. Beginning with the Environmental Community at the University of Washington in 1970, Jenn centers her life around co-creating communities of belonging. Jenn’s spiritual practice includes embracing nature through cross country skiing and backpacking in the High Sierra. She accompanies younger spiritual seekers on side-by-side solo wilderness retreats, supporting them to overcome their fears of the wild. She delights in teaching T’ai Chi Chih - Joy through Movement.

Jenn’s two page description of Collaborative Leadership - What is it and How do we cultivate it? has been included in many classes and workshops.

Luis Angel Martinez (he/him)

Luis is FFCA's Campaigns Organizer and an experienced organizer grounded in social and environmental justice principles. Spending his childhood in Wilmington, CA–a community surrounded by five refineries peppered with oil wells, and neighbored by the Port of Los Angeles–Luis has friends and family with compromised health due to poor air quality caused by the fossil fuel industry. Moved by his loved ones, Luis has been involved in local Los Angeles and Wilmington environmental justice organizing since the age of 15; he came up as a grassroots organizer at Communities for a Better Environment (CBE). Now at Fossil Free California, he uses his experience to mobilize frontline communities in pushing for fossil fuel setbacks, divestment, and phaseout at the local and state level.

Luis graduated from California State University of Los Angeles with a Masters Degree in Philosophy. Luis credits his philosophy studies with helping him bolster his social and environmental justice values. He also enjoys playing jazz standards on the piano, collecting vinyl records, and visiting local LA bookstores that engage in political organizing.

Denisha Jordan (she/her)

Denisha is a proud member of UTLA with 22 years experience teaching and organizing. She believes strongly in union advocacy and extends her work as a state and national union delegate advocating for social, racial, and climate justice issues. She remains committed to equity, and a safe, healthy environment for students, educators, and our communities. Denisha also serves on UTLA’s expanding bargaining team where she elevates issues that impact our communities that include healthy green spaces, and climate justice.