Vanessa Thomas

Vanessa Beltran serves as the Environmental Justice Research Manager and Policy Advisor at Climate Justice Alliance where she leads research and policy analysis in support of the organization's member-led environmental and climate justice campaigns. Drawing from her organizing and academic experiences, she drives CJA's federal policy work across a portfolio that includes public health, energy production, and regulatory compliance. She has contributed to numerous initiatives and databases that advanced CJA’s priorities. A dedicated social justice advocate committed to ensuring frontline voices shape policy, Beltran's advocacy is grounded in her experience living and organizing in environmental justice communities. Beltran holds a B.S. in Environmental Policy, Institutions, and Behavior from Rutgers University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, a George H. Cook Scholar, a Matthew Leydt Society Inductee and with Academic Honors from the Human Ecology Department.

The Climate Justice Alliance formed in 2013 to create a new center of gravity in the climate movement by uniting frontline communities, organizations, and networks. Our translocal organizing strategy is building a just transition, away from extractive systems, and towards resilient, regenerative and equitable economies. Today, CJA is a growing member alliance of nearly 100 frontline communities, organizations, and supporting networks in the climate justice movement. CJA’s policy work is guided by members engaged in local, state and national work on a wide range of issues from racial justice, housing justice, energy democracy, food sovereignty, resiliency hubs and more. Our policy team bridges the gap between local frontline expertise and the halls of power, ensuring that communities most impacted by climate change are the ones driving the legislative agenda.