Fighting for the Future: Why Matthew Tejada Isn’t Giving Up

Matthew Tejada, Senior Vice President at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), didn’t arrive at the front lines of climate, health, and justice by accident. He grew up moving between three different communities: a low-income community of color on the outskirts of Fort Worth shadowed by a power plant, a wealthier and whiter suburb across the lake, and his predominantly Hispanic family’s home in northern New Mexico. “It was like moving between three completely different realities,” he recalls. “And those differences in quality of life were eye-opening.”

That awareness would eventually become his compass. Over time, through service with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Peace Corps, and through advocacy in Houston, one of the country’s most environmentally burdened cities, Tejada found his voice, and his mission. “Working on environment, health, and justice allowed me to stand at this huge intersection where all the issues I care about converge.”

But the challenges he faces today are not small ones, and they are certainly not new.

“The legal and regulatory systems we built in the 1970s weren’t made to address climate change,” says Tejada. “They were already outdated for the threats they were originally designed for, let alone the crisis we face now.”

He places equal blame on the political deterioration of the last 30 to 40 years, the influence of the oil and gas industry, and a communications gap in the climate movement itself. “We’ve failed to make the climate crisis feel personal, to connect it to people’s everyday lives. And that has kept it abstract—too easy to ignore, too easy to weaponize.”

Climate change is no longer a distant concern, he says, it’s on every doorstep. “Fires, floods, freezes, and their associated costs: it’s here. And that might finally make the crisis real to everyone.”

NRDC, and similar climate-focused organizations across the country, play a unique role by connecting grassroots movements to larger decision-making bodies. With more than 3 million members and online activists, 700 scientists, lawyers, and other environmental specialists, NRDC is uniquely positioned to confront the climate crisis, protect the planet's wildlife and wild places, and ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. “We have deep policy, legal, and scientific expertise, but it’s not enough to work in silos. The stakes are too high. We must build bigger tents, link arms across issues, and get comfortable being uncomfortable.”

So how does someone stay motivated in the face of such enormous challenges?

For Tejada, it’s nature. It’s the people he loves. It’s being around young people, teaching, mentoring, listening. “This is the fight of our lives. I’m a born fighter. And I’m going to swing as hard as I can, as long as I have to—until we win.”

To hear more from Matthew Tejada, and other public health leaders, tune in to the Bloomberg American Health Summit live on September 30 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. Click here to learn more.