ABOUT US

The Basics

Brightline is an environmental justice non-profit that works to empower communities and create sustainable environments. We work to promote sustainable policies that allow low-income residents to remain and work in developing urban communities, focusing on local hiring policies and access to environmental benefits such as solar and energy efficiency.  Our team of community-oriented lawyers connects communities most in need to critical policymaking levers at the local and state level, which can be then modeled nationwide.

Brightline was founded on November 22, 2005 and received tax-exempt status as an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) designated public charity on November 8, 2006.

Our Story

Brightline Defense Project began operation in 2006 as a traditional legal aid organization, but a chance 2007 City Hall meeting with community leader Espanola Jackson (pictured above) led the organization on a path to becoming a strong voice in the advocacy movement to bring environmental justice and quality-of-life improvements to San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point community. A high-profile campaign to close San Francisco's Potrero Power Plant without building new dirty power plants among the city's southeast sector low-income communities of color built Brightline's capacity to promote renewable energy programs in San Francisco and beyond. Subsequent efforts to develop green-collar job opportunities for those historically burdened by power plant pollution led to Brightline's leadership role in working with Supervisor John Avalos and other community advocates to craft San Francisco's local hiring policy for construction, now celebrated as the most successful of its kind in the country.

The evolution from environmental justice activism, to clean energy support, to green job promotion, to local hiring policy development has elevated Brightline’s reputation as a capable advocate for underserved and underrepresented communities.

Our Mission

Brightline’s mandate is simple: empowering communities, sustainable environments. Our mission is to promote sustainability and opportunity in traditionally underserved communities through public policy advocacy and partnerships. Our focus is on three pathways to protect and empower communities in need: advancing environmental justice, ensuring job creation and retention, and advocating for the development of fair, affordable, and sustainable housing.

OUR TEAM

Eddie Ahn, Executive Director

Eddie Ahn has been engaged in policy and legal advocacy since 2009. Prior to being a nonprofit attorney, he was an AmeriCorps member, teaching public speaking and arts workshops in Oakland’s Chinatown. While working toward his law degree, he continued to teach art and public speaking workshops for youth and worked for the Assembly Judiciary Committee in Sacramento. His workforce development expertise and analysis of federal constitutional law has also assisted multiple municipalities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. In December 2021, Eddie was inducted into the State of California’s Clean Energy Hall of Fame for his work in equity and clean energy.

In addition to his work for Brightline, Eddie serves on three commissions for local and state government agencies related to environmental policymaking. In 2017, Eddie was appointed to the SF Commission on the Environment, which sets policy for the SF Department of Environment and advises the City and County on environmental matters. In 2018, he was appointed to the SF Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), a state planning and regulatory agency with regional authority over the Bay Area. In June 2020, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which plans and finances transit in the nine Bay Area counties. In 2022, he was elected by his peers to serve as President of the SF Commission on the Environment. He has also served on the boards of Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) and Mission Housing Development Corporation.

Eddie has received his J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of the Law and his B.A. from Brown University. He is also a member of the California State Bar.

More about Eddie’s Brightline work can be found here.

Cecilia Mejia, Program Coordinator

Cecilia Mejia coordinates Brightline’s Construction on Ramp Program and the Brightline Air Quality Monitoring Program. Cecilia is a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley where she majored in Conservation and Resource Studies. At UC Berkeley, Cecilia was the earth week associate at the Student Environmental Resource Center and a research associate for a zero waste research lab to help develop a zero waste guide for the university. Cecilia is interested in the intersection of environmental justice and gender as well as equitable environmental restoration. She hopes to develop her community building skills on a deeper level to empower communities that are affected by environmental injustices.

Sarah Xu, Policy Associate

Sarah Xu is a Brightline policy associate working on environmental and local issues. Some of Sarah’s projects include planning for California’s offshore wind future and data analysis for the Brightline Air Quality Monitoring Program. Sarah graduated from the University of California, Berkeley where she majored in Environmental Economics and Policy. Sarah hopes to continue building her skills and knowledge on environmental policy to help make the world a more equitable and sustainable place.

Trinity Vang, Air Quality Organizer and Policy Researcher

Trinity Vang supports the administration of the Brightline Air Quality Monitoring Program and conducts policy research around offshore wind. Her passion for environmental justice stems from seeing her community's struggle for basic needs in her hometown of Fresno, California. She previously interned with Brightinline as a Policy Fellow in 2020. After graduating from the University of San Francisco, she worked with California Common Cause to ensure federal, state, and local redistricting processes included the voices of disenfranchised communities. She aspires to learn from community members and to utilize policy to empower environmental justice communities

Dilini Lankachandra, Policy Counsel

Dilini Lankachandra supports Brightline as policy counsel after serving as Brightline’s legal fellow from 2015-2016. She also works as staff attorney for A Better Balance in the Defending Local Democracy Project. Throughout law school, she worked for the Green-Collar Communities Clinic (GC3) at the East Bay Community Law Center. She has continued to work at GC3 as a legislative advocate promoting worker cooperatives as a vehicle for community-based economic growth. Her workforce development expertise has specifically benefited multiple municipal jurisdictions in New Jersey.   

Dilini has received her J.D. from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and her B.A. from Columbia University.  She is also a member of the New York and California State Bars.

Peter Ton, Legal Advisor

Peter supports Brightline as outside legal counsel. He is a shareholder at Ton Law P.C. where his practice is devoted to environmental counseling and litigation relating to hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, water quality, air quality, endangered species, and environmental health & safety compliance. He represents private and public sector clients in state and federal court, and before administrative bodies. Peter also has an active pro bono practice focused on issues of equity. 

Peter received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his B.A. from U.C. Berkeley. He is a member of the Executive Committee for the Environment Law Section of the California Lawyers Association and is the former chair of Environmental Law Section of the Alameda County Bar Association. Peter currently serves on the board of GRID Alternatives Bay Area, a nonprofit whose work focuses on ensuring an inclusive and just clean energy transition.

Daniela Cortes, Climate Data & Policy Analyst

Daniela is an MPH Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and holds a B.A in International Studies. She is supporting Brightline’s work as a Climate Data and Policy Analyst throughout Summer 2022. From 2019-2021, Daniela served as Program Coordinator for Brightline, leading its programs in air quality monitoring, job training, and youth leadership. Currently, Daniela also works at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness as a Graduate Research Assistant and at Clarity as a Project Manager Intern. Working at the intersection of policy, public health, and climate science, she hopes to protect the health of people and the planet.

Emily Shambaugh, Climate Data & Policy Analyst

Emily is an MPH Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. She received her B.S. at Georgetown University in Global Health and Biotechnology. Emily is furthering Brightline's mission as a Climate Data and Policy Analyst for the Summer of 2022. She is passionate about furthering climate-oriented goals through scientifically-informed policymaking that reflects the values and concerns of the most affected groups.

Rungsiri Upradit, College Corps Fellow

Rungsiri is studying Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is passionate about doing work that will uplift and empower the community in the areas of housing sustainability, the environment, and public health. Rungsiri was previously a Public Health & Technology fellow at Fung Fellowship at UC Berkeley, where she was able to work toward addressing real-world challenges, engage with communities, and develop solutions with help from industry and community partners. She looks forward to working at Brightline as a College Corps Fellow and learning about the intersection of policy, community-building, and environmental justice.

Zoe Antonoff, Policy Fellow

Zoe Antonoff is a rising senior at the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Environmental Studies and Political Economy. Zoe has engaged with many sustainability oriented groups on campus and is getting more involved with organizations like the Citizens Climate Lobby and Student Environmental Resource Center. She is passionate about the way policy can address environmental, climate, and economic injustices on all scales of governance. Zoe is enthusiastic to begin working with Brightline as a policy fellow this fall!

Nora Ong, Policy Fellow

Nora is a senior at Brown University majoring in Environmental Studies and Public Policy. She is involved in the environmental community at Brown by serving as an undergraduate peer advisor and a teaching assistant for an introductory ENVS course. Outside of academics, Nora is the captain of the varsity sailing team at Brown, which is top-ranked nationally. She is particularly interested in combating climate change through environmental policy, and is excited to research offshore wind and other avenues of clean energy while at Brightline this fall.

Carolina Correa, Communications Fellow

Caro Correa is a Brightline Defense Communications Fellow and previous 2020 Summer Policy Fellow. She is a recent graduate from Brown University, where she studied Environmental Injustice and Hispanic Studies. During her undergrad, she lead the only Latinx Literary and Art Magazine at Brown and served on the Diversity and Inclusion Board for the Hispanic Studies Department. Caro is passionate about environmental equity and justice and hopes to serve communities through a just energy transition.

OUR BOARD