Hosted by HECHO Advisory Board Members, Maria Stillman Farrington and Rebecca Chavez-Houck, join HECHO at Salt Lake Community College’s South City campus for a conversation with Dr. Daniel Mendoza, a professor in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah on the ways in which environmental studies can support strong policy measures to clean up our air and keep our communities healthy.
Dr. Mendoza’s air quality research has underscored the disparities that Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities experience as a result of our changing climate. His studies have influenced policy leading to effective legislation like HB0344, Student Asthma Relief Amendments co-sponsored by HECHO Advisory Board Member and State Representative Mark Archuleta Wheatley that increased access to asthma relief medicine for students in Utah. The intersection of environmental studies, justice, and policy are increasingly important as we seek to ensure that BIPOC community members have access to clean air, clean water, and nature to enjoy. Research like Dr. Mendoza’s can strengthen policy seeking to make this possible.
Guest Speakers:
Honorable Rebecca Chavez-Houck - HECHO Advisory Board Member
Representative Mark Wheatley - Utah State Representative and HECHO Advisory Board Member
Maria Farrington - HECHO Advisory Board Member
Dr. Daniel Mendoza - A Professor in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah
Featured Cocktail: Horchata White Russian
About Cocktails & Conservation:
HECHO’s Cocktails & Conservation education series unites community members to learn about important public lands and conservation issues with a cocktail in hand.
Meet our Speakers
Hosted by Honorable Rebecca Chavez-Houck, HECHO Advisory Board Member
A Utah native, Rebecca Chavez-Houck holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication and a Master of Public Administration (MPA), both from the University of Utah. She represented Salt Lake City’s District 24 (Downtown, Capitol Hill, Guadalupe & the Avenues neighborhoods) in the Utah House of Representatives from 2008-18, focusing primarily on public policy related to health and human services as well as voter engagement and access. Her leadership appointments included: House Minority Whip (2014-16) and House Minority Assistant Whip (2012-14). She now provides leadership coaching and community engagement consulting through her public affairs firm, Aspira Public Affairs, LLC.
Hosted by Maria Stillman Farrington, HECHO Advisory Board Member
Maria Stillman Farrington has worked in the non-profit social services at the executive level with equity in education as a main focus. Her last position was as the CEO of Holy Cross Ministries. There she was able to address immigration issues with a staff of five lawyers. Services also included those given to Spanish speaking families with emphasis on pre- and post-natal care. Maria has engaged with the state of Utah legislature for the past 30 years on various issues. Besides her work with HECHO, she is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Salt Lake Community College, and on the Board of Girl Scouts of Utah. She was married to Bob Farrington and has two grown sons and four grandsons which she considers ‘icing on the cake’. She continues to explore the outdoors hiking, camping and visiting as many National parks as possible. Her 2022 goal is to walk the Camino de Santiago from Proto, Portugal to Santiago Spain, it will be her second Camino.
Representative Mark Wheatley, Utah State Representative and HECHO Advisory Board Member
Representative Mark Wheatley is serving his seventh term as a member of the Utah House of Representatives. Since 2004, he has been serving the constituents of District 35 which encompasses South Salt Lake and Murray, Utah. Rep. Wheatley’s legislative assignments include the Higher Education Appropriations Standing Committee; Business and Labor Committee, Judiciary Committee; Administrative Rules Committee and the Native American Liaison Committee. A graduate of Westminster College with a degree in Human Resource Management, Mark was named 2007 Alumni of the Year by Westminster College for his work and involvement in serving his community. Mark has 15 years of experience working for Salt Lake Community College serving as an administrator for several educational programs.
Dr. Daniel Mendoza, Professor in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah
Dr. Daniel Mendoza is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and holds joint appointments as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Division, Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning, and the NEXUS research institute at the University of Utah. His research interests include quantifying and characterizing urban greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions for use in human exposure estimation and development. He also examines the health effects associated with acute and chronic pollutant exposure, particularly in vulnerable populations. By combining expertise in air pollution, health outcomes, and urban planning, his work aims to produce enactable scientific and policy solutions to address air quality concerns in a just and equitable manner. He is the co-director of the Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, serves as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Dark Sky Studies, and is an instructor in the Capstone Class on Dark Sky Studies at the University of Utah.