Alianza Cero Basura (ACB) Program Director Juan Salvador has been walking the walk ever since, well, he could walk. “My parents like to joke that I learned to walk at a meeting. My earliest memories are of lots of people in our house discussing how to achieve social goals.” Juan grew up in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, where his father was Regional Director of the National Indigenous Affairs Institute and his mother worked with Amnesty International, focusing on the many immigrants from Central America who found their way to Mexico. Working for the betterment of society is the family business. 

Life changed abruptly in 1994 when the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, generally known as the Zapatistas, declared war on the state of Chiapas. As the Zapatistas are comprised mainly of indigenous peoples, the newly-elected governor of Chiapas did not look favorably upon the work Juan’s father was doing and the family was forced to leave the state. Baja California Sur was the only state he had not been to before so in 1995 the family arrived in La Paz. 

Juan’s father went to work for SEMARNAT, the environmental protection agency, and the discussions at home shifted to how to achieve important environmental goals for the benefit of society. Notes Juan, “I was 17 years old when my father took that job as a delegado with SEMARNAT, so I have been involved with engaging the community and building coalitions to achieve sustainable development in Baja California Sur for over a quarter of a century now.” 

Juan attended the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur in La Paz where he obtained a BA in Environmental History and an MA in Sustainable Management of Coastal Zones and Social Sciences for Sustainable Development. Juan has dedicated his career to programs and institutions that focus on improving livelihoods through improved environmental systems, including Sociedad de Historia Natural Niparajá, The Nature Conservancy, the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP), and Productores Sustentables Sierra La Giganta. Throughout his career Juan has worked mainly with the two traditional economic groups of Baja California Sur, fishermen and ranchers. He has helped transform subsistence-living fishing cooperatives and turtle poachers into thriving marine conservationists, and he has helped economically-challenged ranchers keep their culture alive by creating commercially viable markets for their products while working to protect the wild spaces where their ranches have existed for generations. Juan’s success has been based on deep community engagement, and his ability to bring opposing sides to the table.  

Notes Juan, “Alianza Cero Basura is a project in which you can create an impact right away. This is an issue that affects absolutely everyone, no matter who you are, and I firmly believe that waste management for Todos Santos and Pescadero is a problem that can be solved.” Juan continues. “I’m very excited about this opportunity for many reasons, not the least of which is that I want my children to be proud of me. I want to show them that you can have a positive impact on the place that you live. I have lived Baja California Sur since 1995 and in Todos Santos since 2018. Leading the Alianza Cero Basura team and achieving our mission is one of the clearest ways that I can say thank you to an area that has been so welcoming.”