Consumer Watchdog worked with a broad coalition of environmental justice orgs on a huge mobilization in advance of the Global Climate Summit hosted by CA Gov. Jerry Brown in September of 2018. The problem: while Jerry Brown had traveled the world lecturing on responding to the climate crisis, his own actions in California had the opposite effect — an increase in drilling and leniency on utilities, even as wildfires caused by PG&E raged around Sacramento. The week of smokey air gave unique urgency to our events aimed at changing the course of California’s energy policy before Brown left office—his last chance to act on his words.
As Creative Director, this action enabled maximum use of my abilities, from designing and executing a street art campaign, to creating a buzzed-about TV spot, to covering protests and press conferences and posting edits from the location, all while interfacing with different advocacy groups.
Project: Brown’s Last Chance
“Governor Brown, how could you be so cruel and heartless?”
The Brown’s Last Chance campaign made headlines with the release of an ad that I created (with my niece!) for Consumer Watchdog, which aired in the Bay Area market on primetime cable during Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2018 Global Climate Summit. There was even a billboard of her in San Francisco.
Greenpeace shared our video, among many other environmental partners.
Billboard in San Francisco for Global Climate Summit week, October 2018
SF Chronicle feature on our ad and billboard.
Presente.org shared our billboard for Climate Action Week..
The Governor said he was "personally offended" by our street art campaign outside the Capitol, but I thought he looked cute as a Pooh bear.
This hijacking of PG&E's logo highlights their culpability for the ongoing wildfires.
Knowing the materials and methods of street art postering is a valuable skill unto itself.
Jack Daniels branding suggesting that Jerry Brown is drunk on oil contributions.
Shepard Fairey lent us some of his images for the week, as the issue has long been close to him.
Shepard posted a photo I shared of his art outside the Capitol to his network, resulting in the most traffic we received that week.
This sit-in outside Gov. Brown's office was the first action staged by the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led environmentalist direct action coalition.
Bilingual speakers offer first-hand accounts of working in areas with environmental hazards and their health effects.
At the end of the day, I was the only photographer to return to the Capitol to photograph the arrests of the activists who were participating in civil disobedience.
A press conference in support of a bill that would bailout homeowners who were devastated by wildfires caused by utilities. (Note the Frankie Goes to Hollywood-style shirt.)
We busted this state senator going to a fundraiser of oil donors after cutting short the hearing on wildfire victim relief. The video was soon legendary on Capitol Hill.
I was responsible for procuring and assembling the Mevo livestream system and accessories for web coverage of this week, like this press conference "Don't Submit to Trump."
We didn't just put our protest art on the streets outside the Capitol—we worked the halls inside the Capitol, leaving posters in lawmakers' boxes.
This Creature From the Black Lagoon parody was so popular, we had to race to print more copies to keep up with lawmakers' demands.
With new posters up in the Capitol every day, we made significant impact by the end of the week.
I designed our Browns Last Chance shirts to resemble the Golden State Warriors logo, who had just won the NBA Finals. This got the attention of press as well as the Lt. Governor.