Ana Montes
Ana M. Montes has been a Social Justice Advocate for over 20 years and has served as the Organizing Director for The Utility Reform Network (TURN) since 2008. At TURN Ana manages TURN’s statewide consumer education, training and leadership development and advocacy projects and is responsible for resolving utility complaints for California consumers. She also developed and manages statewide projects that work with community based organizations and leaders to generate a unified voice on key telecom and energy policy issues impacting diverse, low–income communities in California.
She worked for 12 years as the as Director of Technology and Consumer Education at Latino Issues Forum. In that role she created an innovative model for bringing technology to low income and minority communities in urban and rural communities, led leadership development and community civic engagement projects in limited English proficient (LEP) communities and managed statewide consumer education projects geared towards Latino and Asian Communities. This work has been replicated by the California Public Utilities Commission and serves as a model of best practices on how to reach low-income LEP communities. She has testified on Digital Divide Issues in Sacramento and Washington D.C. and has given presentations at numerous conferences and forums.
Ana has served on the board of directors of several community based organizations, El Concilio of San Mateo County, Accion Latina, the California Community Technology Policy Group and served on served on Consumers Union Hear Us Now advisory Board and the National Hispanic Media Coalition and served as t National Anchor on Universal Lifeline Telephone issues for the Media Action Grassroots Network. She was appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission ULTS Trust Administrative Committee and the California Teleconnect Fund. She is also a graduate of the California-based Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), an institute that trains Latina women to run for political office.
Presentations from Facing Race 2018
Reclaiming Power: Building a More Racially Just Energy System
Workshop attendees will participate in an interactive game that explores the intersections of race, climate, economics, and the extractive energy system. In this workshop, participants will learn strategies for challenging regulatory and legislative barriers towards energy equity and justice and how to deal with utility companies that exacerbate inequity. Participants will also explore ideas and create solutions to build a more racially just, resilient community and develop strategies for a more equitable economy that puts people and the planet first.
The interactive activity is built from experiential activities and ideas led by grassroots racial justice organization, POWER, in Philadelphia and TURN — The Utility Reform Network in California. The activity will follow a short presentation that shares lessons from CA and PA and sets an operational framework and shared analysis in which the workshop will operate. Following the activity, participants will debrief and share out insights, lessons, and takeaways.
Speakers: Gabriela Sandoval, Anthony Giancatarino, Ana Montes