The South Texas Environmental Justice Network was formed at the start of 2020 and includes numerous organizations, campaigns, individuals, and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribal leadership from the South Texas region that challenge the status quo and corporate power to build a future aligned in values, principles, and praxis that centers on the social and environmental health of local Native and BIPOC communities living in reciprocal relationships with our shared natural home.
Our network seeks to end the environmental, social, and economic injustices borne on the Latinx and Indigenous communities of South Texas. We aim to do this by building a community amongst regional advocates and empowering historically marginalized voices to speak up and be heard. By doing so, we want to radically change the oppressive systems that have harmed our communities and extracted wealth from the people and land of South Texas.
MEET OUR TEAM
Bekah Hinojosa, Co-Founder | bekah@sotxejn.org
Bekah Hinojosa is an artist and community organizer from the Rio Grande Valley, based in Brownsville, TX. She is multigenerational from this region, and her family has lived in the Rio Grande Valley region since before Texas’s statehood. She holds a B.S. in Geography and Geology from the University of North Texas. For over seven years, she was the Sierra Club’s organizer and campaigner for the Gulf Coast region of Texas, focusing on community organizing and addressing issues caused by major polluters. While at the Sierra Club, she received the Behind the Scenes Hero Award. In 2022, Bekah was recognized as one of Grist’s 50 Fixers for the year. She is also a co-founder of South Texas Environmental Justice Network and Another Gulf Is Possible.
Christopher Basaldú, PhD. Co-Founder | christopher@sotxejn.org
Dr. Basaldú is Esto’k Gna (human being) a member of the Carrizo Comecrudo Nation and lives in Brownsville, Texas, and grew up in Brownsville and Corpus Christi, Texas. Dr. Basaldú is one of the founding members of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. As a tribal member, Dr. Basaldú struggles alongside tribal leadership to protect sacred sites and to restore life-ways and to promote environmental and social justice in South Texas. Dr. Basaldú earned the degree of Ars Baccalaureate from Harvard University in the Study of Religion, and the degrees of Master of Arts in American Indian Studies, and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology from the University of Arizona.
Josette Angelique Hinojosa, Co-Founder| josette@sotxejn.org
Josette is a dedicated mother of two and an honored member of the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas. Her first experience in advocacy work was around the need to support disability rights of her oldest daughter, who, at the time, needed more assistance within the school setting. She realized she could use her voice to call for meetings with the district and the Texas School for the Blind for assistance with resources and education for her daughter, the staff, and herself. Soon after, she ran her campaign for the Brownsville Independent School Board to redirect the focus back to the children and staff. That entire experience prompted her to reflect on everything she once believed to be true. Most recently, Josette ran for The Brownsville Navigation District in hopes of overturning the disastrous and morally corrupt decision-making of the Port. These experiences are a reminder to uplift and support the current movement work being done locally to create a higher level of political consciousness.
Paloma Martinez, Digital Weaver | huilotl2005@gmail.com
Paloma is a passionate advocate for her community and the land she calls home, the beautiful Rio Grande Valley. Always the optimist, she loves to learn and teach others and can mostly be found exploring or on an adventure. She loves nature and is on a journey to discover her identity in relation to the land. She is welcoming to anyone with good energy.
Valeria Caballero, Just Recovery Outreach Coordinator | valeria@sotxejn.org
Valeria holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master’s in Sustainability, Society and the Environment from Kiel University. She’s a first generation immigrant from Mexico who is passionate about working towards a more just future and planting the seeds of change. She was an Environmental Justice Youth Fellow for the South Texas Environmental Justice Network the summer of 2025, and has interned seasonally for the National Park Service. She’s passionate about regaining access to our food systems and dreams of food forests in the Rio Grande Valley.
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