Laura M. Esquivel joined Earthjustice’s Policy and Legislation department in April 2023 and covers issues pertaining to oil and gas development on public lands/oceans and in the Arctic. A longtime fighter for civil rights, she sees the intersection of climate change and environmental justice as one of the most important challenges we face.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, Laura served as the Vice President for Federal Policy and Advocacy at Hispanic Federation where she worked on a wide range of civil rights issues impacting Latino/e communities, including a just rebuilding for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Laura was appointed twice by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to serve in Senate-confirmed positions, including five years as a board member of the Maryland Civil Rights Commission and three years on the Maryland Legal Services Corporation. She earned a master’s in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a master’s in political science from CA State University, Los Angeles. Laura has been called “La Madre of the Latino LGBT Movement” and is featured in the documentary UNIDAD on PBS. Although she has lived in the D.C. area for the past 20 years, her forever home will always be Los Angeles, CA.