Today we’d like to introduce you to Li- Ya Mar.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I wear many different hats. Growing up, I always knew I wanted to help making change happen in the world, but I didn’t really know what it looked like and what it meant. Now, I know. I want to always be of service to the world. I’m an educator, a climate organizer, a yoga teacher, and an immigrant in the U.S. I came to the U.S. in 2010 as a graduate student. I really didn’t know anything about this country and the society, except for what I saw in the movies. The past 12 years have brought tremendous growth, and the most important thing I’ve learned from the growth is that I can be many things and we all have many paths. We can be as dynamic as we want and still serve our communities and our world.
I currently teach at UT-Arlington, where I work with many first-generation college students and students from historically marginalized communities. I love working with them. From students’ feedback, I think I’m really good at communicating ideas and helping them to connect the dots between receiving higher education and finding their place in the world . My students inspire me every day. Many of them have overcome so many hurdles to be in college, where every day they’ve been challenged by the fact that our society doesn’t guarantee enough support for them to thrive. I’m talking about healthcare, public transit, democracy, and the environment that helps them reach their dreams. Many of my students work multiple jobs to support themselves and family. My job is to make learning a little bit more accessible for them. I think about my job as bridging cultures and communities with deep conversations and genuine interaction. Many of them also understand the perilous moment we are in this country, and I always encourage them to think about the role they can play to make the future a bit brighter, and one of the ways is to keep their joy while being acutely aware of civil engagements.
I am also a climate activist, currently serving as the chair of the Climate Reality Project Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter. Growing up in Taiwan, where 70% of the land is mountains, I’ve always had a deep connection with the environment. I feel better when I walk in the woods, or just simply sitting outside. But I did not become active in the Climate Movement until 2017 after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, where I lived at the time. During the weeks I volunteered at a hurricane shelter, I saw so many people of color in need of refuge and help as the result of the massive flooding. I realized that the BIPOC communities are always most impacted by the warming of our planet. Trees got cut down in their neighborhoods first; their electricity and internet gets cut off first when the grids are overwhelmed. Most chemical and coal power plants, and waste dumping sites in the country are in the BIPOC neighborhoods. But they play very little part in polluting and the warming of our climate. When we look at the world’s most polluting companies (oil, coal, gas, and financial), very few of the leadership are from the BIPOC communities; they always value profits over the wellbeing of Black and Brown people. We need to address the climate crisis if we care about justice because climate justice is racial justice. Individual efforts are no longer sufficient in the face of the existential crisis of Climate Change. We need to organize and involve as many people as possible to make clean water and clean air a reality for every community. That’s why I’m here to empower, educate, and organize.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It took me a couple years to realize that this is perfectly what I’m supposed to do. Being a multi-dimensional individual is exactly what I’ve always wanted. This has allowed me to explore and always have a beginner’s mind. I’ve got to work with many very different people, get to know their stories, and see the world differently from how I grew up. For example, I got to work with the Houston Police Department and other partners in the City of Houston in 2018 to develop the first Mandarin Curriculum for Law Enforcement in the nation, which was featured in the Houston Public Media and the Houston Chronicle. I’ve got to know the relationship between law enforcements and the communities they serve. Listening to the stakeholders allowed me to find common grounds to work on, and helped improved their relationship. This “career/lifestyle” also gives me so much freedom and flexibility to educate myself and look and think deeply on the issues I care about, and then volunteer to be a part of the change. And of course, it is very lonely and not easy to be a climate activist in Texas. The political landscape is simply not friendly for any climate initiatives, but it doesn’t mean nothing can be done. We got a lot of things done here in Dallas- Fort Worth. And building the friendship and community among the people I volunteer with is the most precious and rewarding experience.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m going to focus on my volunteer work as a climate organizer. As the chair of the Climate Reality Project Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter, I’m proud of the work we have done and we are currently doing. We are a group completely powered by volunteers, 100 percent. The Climate Reality Project is a national 501c(3) non-profit organization, with many local chapters working on local and state climate issues with solution-drive narratives. Our mission is to normalize conversation on the climate crisis at every sector of our society and help build public support for bold environmental policies at every levels of our government.
Here in Dallas, we come to any groups of any settings (churches, schools, friend circles, community meetings, businesses, etc) to discuss how Climate Change is impacting us and the solutions we already have! The goal is to normalize conversations about climate, and to ask people go beyond the bad or weird weather, and start talking about the reasons of weird weather, which is climate change. When more people start talking about it, our policy makers will follow.
In the past two years, we have also worked with the City of Dallas to develop its first climate action plan (CECAP) and then helped secure funding for implementing it. Currently, several of our members are on the City of Dallas Environmental Commission to make sure its climate action plan can be justly and properly implemented. During the last Texas Legislature in 2021, we worked with several local advocacy groups to mobilize North Texans and successfully blocked some bills that would terribly hurt our communities and democracy . Last year in April for Earth Day, we put up the “Dallas Dreams” mural near the Dallas Farmers Market. It reflects our vision of the Dallas skylines powered by renewable energy sources (Hello, sunshine and wind!) Our group organizes and meets with our U.S. Congressional District Representatives, urging them to allocate investments for renewable energy infrastructures. So, we do a lot of things! Sometimes we protest; sometimes we make art. We provide a space for sharing ideas of advocacy and emotions of climate grief and victories alike. We listen, and we talk. And since we are all volunteers, everyone has the agency to make positive impact and contribute to the movement with their superpowers.
My own mindset is always “Something has to be done about the climate, and what can we do to get it done?” I live this mindset and mission every day, and hope to inspire more folks to join the climate movement, because, let’s be real, we need to take care of one another, and we need to take care of our home.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I owe a lot to my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and mentors I had there for my scholarship and continuous support so I had the opportunity to come to the U.S and finish my degree. I’m so grateful for my graduate school advisor, Fred. He always said, “We can only do our best; nothing more, nothing less.” I keep it in my mind every day.
My work in the climate movement wouldn’t be possible without the flood evacuees I met during Hurricane Harvey. They motivated me to join the climate movement. Everyone at the Climate Reality Project and our DFW Chapter inspires me every day with their energy and makes my “volunteer job” so much more joyful, especially Roger, Pradeep, Alex, Simon, Olinka, Maureen, Maddie, and so many more. My friend Jessica, Rebecca, Edward, Alice, and Kels have been my loudest cheerleaders. I love them for that.
I’m eternally grateful for my mother, for being okay with me living so far away from her and encouraging me to walk my own path, and for my brother for taking care of my mother. Lastly, my husband, Jeff, who is also in the climate movement with me. He fully understands my aspiration and my will to always be of service to the world. He is clear-eyed and always offers me invaluable insights and critiques. And he cooks when I’m too busy to, and keeps our electric vehicle fully charged so I can be everywhere I need to. He’s the real MVP.
Contact Info:
- Email: climaterealitydfw@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.climaterealitydfw.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatereality_dfw/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/crp_dfw
- Other: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/climatejustice
Image Credits
Yi-Chin Lee
Danielle Simone
Keren Carrión
