Redlands climate volunteer finds bipartisan common ground in Washington

When Redlands climate volunteer Rain Mendoza traveled to Washington, D.C., this summer to advocate for environmental priorities, they found something encouraging: common ground across political lines.

“I noticed a lot of bipartisan support,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza, who has volunteered with the Redlands chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby for the past year and a half, joined hundreds of volunteers at the organization’s 2026 Summer Conference, “The Path to Clean Energy Runs Through D.C.”

The conference was followed by a Lobby Day, where participants met with lawmakers and their staff. According to CCL, the goal was to encourage “respectful dialogue, civic engagement, and working across differences to advance climate and clean energy solutions.”

More than 750 grassroots volunteers attended the conference July 27, and more than 400 meetings took place during Lobby Day. Community Forward Redlands spoke with Mendoza by phone while they were traveling in Mexico in August.

“I am very invested and have deep roots in Redlands, three-plus generations there, and I want to treat it well,” they said.

Mendoza enjoys hiking and spending time in nature, and one of their main concerns going to Washington was funding for the U.S. Forest Service.

“I’ve been lobbying in Sacramento, so I felt I could do it in D.C. So, I volunteered to go,” they said. “That is why I wanted to go, because we wouldn’t have anybody else going this year.”

Mendoza met people from across the United States during the conference.

Keynote speaker Jigar Shah, former director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, spoke about accelerating clean energy development to strengthen the economy. Other presentations focused on policy reform, climate advocacy and building bridges across the political spectrum.

“I wanted to talk about why we should fund our Forest Service,” Mendoza said.

They attended a breakout session called “Why Healthy Forests Matter.”

“It was very relevant for what I was there for,” Mendoza said. “I live on a hillside, so it’s a very high fire risk.”

The Green Fire in Yucaipa broke out the night before the conference.

“I am very protective of that land,” Mendoza, an avid hiker, said of local forests.

Mendoza said fellow CCL member Craig Preston helped them prepare for the trip and navigate conversations with lawmakers from across the political spectrum.

“Craig Preston was the person who stood out the most during this lobby trip,” Mendoza said. “He was supportive of me going to D.C. and guided me in how to prepare and what to expect. As a long-time volunteer, he had an important role during my meeting with Jay Obernolte’s office with his experience and conservative affiliation.”

Mendoza met with staff from Rep. Jay Obernolte’s office as well as staffers for California Reps. Laura Friedman and Judy Chu.

“I was very, very optimistic meeting with Jay Obernolte’s office,” Mendoza said. “Our ask this summer was to fund the National Forest Service in the 2027 appropriation [bill] and enact climate reform, because we need a rural energy grid and energy reliability to accommodate our growing energy needs and bring more energy projects on.”

Mendoza said they came away from the meeting confident that Obernolte would support Forest Service funding.

Obernolte, a Republican, has previously supported bipartisan legislation related to forest management and wildfire prevention. He worked with Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado on an amendment to the Fix Our Forests Act that would expand the use of satellite technology for wildfire detection, monitoring and mitigation. The House passed the broader legislation with bipartisan support.

Obernolte’s office did not respond to a request for comment on his position on Forest Service funding or areas of bipartisan agreement on forest management and energy policy.

For Mendoza, the experience reinforced the idea that environmental and energy issues do not necessarily fall neatly along partisan lines.

“CCL has really cracked the code on bipartisan communication across divides we think we have,” Mendoza said. “We are all people and we all have things we value, and there are so many similarities in what we value.”

“Everybody wants to have reliable energy, clean air and beautiful places to be out in nature and lower energy costs,” they said. “It was really inspiring.”

They added, “I don’t think political parties came up much at all in my time there. It didn’t seem relevant.”

“There was a lot of respect,” they said.

Mendoza is ready to attend next year’s CCL conference and Lobby Day.

“I hope I can have one or two people join as well,” they said.

For Mendoza, traveling across the country to speak directly with congressional offices was also an opportunity to participate in the democratic process.

“We’re bringing all of the voices, and actually traveling to D.C. in person, putting that effort and time to go there to speak our minds in person,” Mendoza said.

“As we reflect on 250 years of American democracy, this experience is a reminder that progress doesn’t happen by standing on the sidelines,” Christine O’Hagen, leader of the Redlands CCL chapter, said in a news release.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots advocacy organization that works on climate policy. Supporters are organized in more than 350 chapters across the United States.