What We Stand For
Fenceline Watch is dedicated to the eradication of toxic multigenerational harm on communities living along the fenceline of industry, primarily along the Texas Gulf Coast.
As people living in Houston, Texas, surrounded by fossil fuel infrastructure:
We rise in response to the rapid oil and gas expansion in the midst of a global climate crisis.
We advocate to eliminate disparities of environmentally vulnerable communities and seek to increase effective access to justice- including redress, remedy, and inclusion in the decision-making process.
We will establish a counterbalance to an industry that has leveraged systemic inequities to skirt environmental oversight, expand, and harm our most vulnerable.
We strive towards a future not dependent on extraction, and support opportunities for healthy, safe, and productive lives.
We work in the spirit of cooperation and intersectionality by embracing innovative movement-building strategies.
We are dedicated to equitably meeting the developmental and environmental needs of future generations.
Together, in solidarity, we will succeed in our collective survival.
We Are Watching the Fenceline.
Our Team
Yvette Arellano
FOUNDER / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Yvette Arellano (they/them) is a Mexican-American Gulf Coast organizer and emerging leader from Houston dedicated to environmental and racial justice. With over a decade of experience advocating for immigrant, reproductive, food access, and environmental justice, Yvette decided to found a community-based environmental justice effort in Magnolia Park, located in Houston's East End.
Shiv Srivastava
POLICY DIRECTOR
Shiv Srivastava (he/him) is an organizer and policy researcher based in Houston, Texas. He has a political strategy and opposition research background, having worked on campaigns for local city and state elected officials. As a fellow in the Mickey Leland Internship Program at the Hobby School for Public Affairs under the Obama administration, he interned for United States Representative Lloyd Doggett of the 35th Congressional District in Washington, D.C. As part of Fenceline Watch, he has contributed to efforts related to language justice for Limited English Proficient populations under Title VI. He leads local and federal policy efforts, connecting our advocacy to local and national priorities.
Rosario Alexander Villarreal
POLICY ASSOCIATE
Rosario (she/her/ella) is a policy analyst based in Houston, Texas. Rosario has worked toward social justice with an intersectional lens to include marginalized communities of color throughout her career, including at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Momentum Alliance, Next100, and TNTP. She is also a former bilingual educator, teaching in public and charter school settings in the Rio Grande Valley, Houston, and NYC. The Obama administration recognized her as a Champion of Change for her work with immigrant and emerging bilingual students.
Brandon Alexander Villarreal
COMMUNICATIONS LEAD
Brandon Alexander Villarreal (he/him) is a multimedia communications professional and artist who has worked as a video & podcast producer for Houston Public Media and Columbia University School of Professional Studies. Brandon spent two years in the Dominican Republic as a Peace Corps volunteer, where he co-led an environmental youth group.