Sawsan Abdurrahman
Growing up as a daughter of immigrants who fled political persecution, Sawsan learned the importance of advocacy work from a young age and throughout her life, watching and working with family to organize for a democracy in their home country Libya. She also grew up spending extensive time outdoors camping and hiking with family, gardening with her mother. She brings to the team a background in community grassroots organizing, union/labor organizing, climate science, and civic engagement. At the University of Arizona, she received a BS in Geography and Urban Regional Development, with emphasis on community and natural resource management.
Presentations from Facing Race 2022
Clean and Green Campaign
Chispa Arizona’s Clean & Green Campaign will work with regional leaders, community-based organizations, and community residents to secure resources that prioritize the investments our community and environment need most related to EV public transit & infrastructure, urban green spaces, and complete streets.
What problems are the campaign addressing?
The Phoenix metro area is now the fastest growing in the country. The Phoenix Metro Area air quality is now the fifth most polluted in the country. The National Weather Service recorded 53 days in 2020 with temperatures above 110℉, more than ever before. Over the past five years, heat has been linked to more than 1,500 deaths in Arizona.
What are the solutions?
By investing in EV public transit and infrastructure, we can work to improve our air quality by having less vehicle emissions on our roads. By investing in urban green spaces, greenways, cool corridors, and more complete streets, we will not only mitigate the urban heat island effect, but also provide more transit equity and options for our most-impacted communities.
The goals of the Clean & Green Campaign are to improve our region's air quality through 100% free & electric public transportation by 2035 and reduce the urban heat island effect by increasing 20% of tree shade canopies and investing in complete streets in South & West Phoenix by 2030.
Speakers: Sawsan Abdurrahman, David (DJ) Portugal