CCW YOUTH COHORT PROGRAM 2025

Overview
The purpose of this youth cohort is to grow interest in Communities for Clean Water (CCW) as an organization and its various campaigns and activities, promoting a clean environment for our communities from pollution and nuclear radiation. It is meant for young people aged 14-25 to learn and develop an understanding of settler and nuclear colonialism in New Mexico, and to learn real world and grassroots organizing tactics.

This program will take place from July 1 - August 14, with 6 weekly meetings every Thursday at 5pm (with the exception of the first meeting on July 1). We will also have one in-person meeting on July 14.

We are looking for 3-4 young people for this cohort.

By the end of the program, each participant will receive a $550 stipend.

We will offer opportunities for youth cohort members to stay engaged with ongoing campaigns and become members of CCW, so stay tuned!

Program structure
The cohort will meet once a week to engage with presentations given by the CCW youth representative, Joaquin Romero, and other members of CCW. A majority of these meetings will be over Zoom, with one or two meetings in person (in Northern New Mexico), including a Wellness Retreat hosted by co-founding member of CCW Elder Kathy Sanchez.

Zoom meetings will be 90 minutes, and in-person meetings may be all day.

During the program, participants will be asked to work on and present an individual project involving engagement with their own communities regarding issues which overlap with CCW concepts, or Los Alamos National Laboratory, and using the skills and applied knowledge from this program to do so. 

Each participant will receive a packet with instructions for this project. 

  • Week 1 (July 1): Introduction - Meeting the participants; introducing CCW, its founding as a coalition of organizations and brief overviews of each; and a presentation of CCW’s organizing principles (i.e. how to organize a campaign, how to ethically involve a community in action, etc.)

  • Week 2 (July 10): Presentation -  History of colonization and settler colonialism in New Mexico; the politics of natural resources and water under U.S. law (reading material provided)

  • July 14 In-Person Retreat - Restoring and Healing Our Sacred Relations Tour near LANL - all day.

  • Week 3 (July 17): Modern day issues - Tritium campaign, a case study and lessons learned; ongoing campaign regarding LANL plutonium production; tie ins to conversations about ongoing colonialism 

  • Week 4 (July 24): Office hours - 15-20 minute individual meetings with each participant about their projects, next steps

  • Week 5 (TBD): Potential Wellness Retreat 

  • Week 6 (August 14): Youth presentations to CCW

CCW Youth Representatives

We believe in safe, clean water for communities today and for future generations. A priority is preparing future leaders with the skills and resources to affect change.

Our current CCW Youth Mentor Representative is Joaquin Romero, from Mora, NM. He is focused on organizing a CCW youth cohort for building out continued involvement of youth CCW members.

History of CCW Youth Council and Memberships

The Communities for Clean Water Youth Council operated between 2013 and 2016 as a self-governed youth organization that enabled young people to become community leaders for clean water. We provided the Youth Council with mentorship and financial and technical support.

Youth Council members engaged their peers, as well as the larger community, in a dialogue about LANL-related water impacts. By participating in the Youth Council, young people strengthened their personal connection to water and grow empathy for all who depend on this life-giving resource. Through site visits, public presentations, the arts, and educational activities, they built leadership skills and ecoliteracy–a sense of deep responsibility for the well-being of communities and the planet.

Between 2017 and 2023, CCW worked with two Native Youth Leaders in a more in-depth approach by providing one-on-one mentorship and supporting them in developing projects and programs to reach out to their peers.