Sal was first introduced to Planting Justice during his senior year art class at Fremont High School in East Oakland, California, where he grew up. PJ’s education team established a garden of 8 raised beds at the school in 2010, and it was in this garden, that Sal first planted seeds, saw food grow naturally, and tasted his first fresh snap pea! Instantly grasping the importance of others having that same experience, that same year Sal and his very close friend Julio Madrigal received the opportunity to attend Ashoka’s Youth Ventures, where Sal and Julio received mentorship from Haleh Zandi and Gavin Raders to help create and launch “Eat Grub” – a program that aimed to enhance access to gardens and revolutionize urban backyards by transforming them into community gardens.
In April of 2011, after graduating from high school, Haleh and Gavin offered Sal a position at their young organization, and Sal became a member of our Transform Your Yard team, where he started as an Ecological Landscaper. Throughout the years Sal took on more responsibilities which then earned him the title of TYY Trainer, which included the opportunity to obtain his permaculture certification at Quail Springs, where he learned a lot of the permaculture concepts, practices, and history from teachers and mentors such as Warren Brush, Brad Lancaster, Art Ludwig, Sasha Rabin, Jan Smith, Paloma Luz, Dani Branca, and many others.
Upon Sal’s return to Planting Justice after obtaining his Permaculture Certification, Sal had the opportunity to shadow PJ’s Permaculture Designers Andrew Chahrour, May Nguyen, and Or Rabinowiz, where he was able to train, and soon after took on the role of a Permaculture Designer for the TYY program, where Sal attended consultations for potential clients, provided guidance, and ideas on how to harvest rainwater, recycle greywater, implement drip irrigation systems and empower individuals to grow their own foods in their front or backyards. Sal held the role of Permaculture Designer for five years. After being able to transform hundreds of yards, Sal was invited to join the Administration team at Planting Justice, where he served as Assistant to the Co-Directors Gavin and Haleh.
While Sal assisted the Co-Directors, Sal chose to seek higher education in the field of Sociology. Sal obtained his Associates in Arts for Transfer in Sociology with honors and an Associate in Arts in Social Behavioral Science from Merritt Community College. Sal used his AAT in Sociology to transfer to California State University East Bay, where Sal obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Upon Sal’s graduation, Sal had the opportunity to join Gavin Raders as PJ’s Co-Director.
