Born in 1995 in Inland Empire, California, and daughter of Peruvian roots, Andrea Vidaurre has turned her commitment to environmental justice into a movement with national impact. Recognized in 2024 with the Goldman Environmental Prize—considered the “Green Nobel Prize”—and named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2025, Andrea represents the strength of a new generation of leaders who not only denounce problems but also build solutions.
A graduate in Global Studies from the University of California, Riverside, Andrea grew up surrounded by the reality she now fights against: a densely populated region, with a majority of working-class Latino families, which suffers from some of the highest levels of air pollution in the country. The rise of warehousing, freight transportation, and logistics centers turned the Inland Empire into the heart of fast commerce in the United States… but also into what experts call a “diesel death zone” due to high rates of asthma, respiratory disease, and premature death.
To address this crisis, Andrea co-founded the People’s Collective for Environmental Justice, an organization that fights to protect the health of communities most affected by truck and train emissions. In her role as policy analyst and coordinator, she has led campaigns that achieved historic advances: In 2023, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved two unprecedented regulations—the In-Use Locomotive Standard and the Advanced Clean Fleet Standard—establishing the first emissions regulation for trains in the United States and a plan for all truck sales to be zero-emission starting in 2036.
These changes did not happen overnight. Since 2018, Andrea has pushed for legislative processes, participated in technical workshops, organized citizen caravans to Sacramento, and coordinated “toxic tours” so that legislators and authorities can see firsthand the impact of pollution on their community. Her ability to unite unions, neighbors, scientists, and environmental justice organizations was key to moving these measures forward, even in the face of resistance from large industries.
Beyond the laws, Andrea defends a simple but powerful principle: the right of all people to breathe clean air. Her work, as highlighted by Time, brings visibility to the inequalities endured by marginalized communities and turns their struggle into a collective call: “We just want to be able to breathe.”
The legacy Andrea is building will not only transform air quality in California but also pave the way for other states and countries to adopt stricter policies against emissions. At just 29 years old, she is already a global leader in how community activism can change laws, save lives, and open the door to a more just and sustainable future.