Belinda Faustinos

Belinda joins the LA Waterkeeper team as a strategic advisor to focus on the advocacy needed to leverage funding opportunities for LA County multi-benefit projects under the moniker of WHAM (Measures W, H, A & M) and a River Ranger program for the San Gabriel River watershed, starting with a pilot for the East Fork of the San Gabriel River.   

She most recently served as the Executive Director of Nature for All, a coalition of 9 organizations that work to build a diverse base of support for ensuring that everyone in the Los Angeles area – no matter where they live – has equitable access to the wide range of benefits that nature can provide.  Over the last four years, she and the OurWaterLA coalition worked in the development, passage, and implementation of the first water quality, water supply, and community investment measure for LA County.  She also served as the executive coordinator of the OurWaterLA coalition. 

Before her work with Nature for All, she served as the Executive Officer of the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) for 10 years and as Deputy Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for over 17 years.  She retired in May of 2011 after 40 years as a California State employee.  In addition to her “day job” positions, Belinda also serves as Assembly Speaker Rendon appointee to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. She is an alternate California Coastal Commissioner appointed by former Pro Tem Steinberg.  Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar appointed her to the National Park System Advisory Board in 2010, and she was re-appointed in 2014 by Secretary Jewell.  As a member of the NPS Advisory Board, she Co-Chaired the American Latino Heritage Experts Panel and the Urban Committee. In late 2018 she joined the inaugural launch of the Parks California Board of Directors.  She also serves on the Regional Oversight Committee of the Safe Clean Water Program. 

Belinda’s personal interest in environmental issues started at a very early age growing up in Boyle Heights with a family who loved parks, camping, and the beach.  Her favorite places are where the mountains met the sea, so when it’s time to relax and recreate locally, her first choices are Catalina, Laguna, or Malibu.  She is very excited to work with LA Waterkeeper because she knows that advocacy for communities of color in the water space is a mutual priority.  She expects to put her energy into ensuring that water, parks, and transit resources benefit those communities in community-led ways and use nature-based solutions.