Staff & Board

Ernesto is the Organizing Director for Californians For Justice (CFJ), overseeing the base building, leadership development, coalition work, and campaign strategy in Fresno and statewide. His journey began in 2006 at California State University Fresno with the student activist group Movimiento Estudiantil (Ch)Xicanx(o/a) de Aztlan (MEChA). Here he was introduced to, grounded, and involved in radical, transformative grassroots movements happening around prison abolition, police brutality, indigenous and immigrant rights, to name a few, with small nonprofits and autonomous collectives/groups.

Graduating with a Bachelors in Psychology and Sociology in 2008, he organized with CFJ (the first time around!). After that, he was editor of a local progressive newspaper in 2014. In the fall of 2015, Ernesto returned to organizing with the East Bay Asian Youth Center and he went on to organize with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte in 2020.

Ernesto does this work out of love for his community and believes change begins with young people and every movement and issue must center the most marginalized, always.

He likes to unwind by laughing, eating good food, experimenting with his indoor garden, being outside, listening to and playing music, and just being; being in the moment, being with himself, being around good energy and vibes.