Publication Date

Spring 2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

Advisor

Liliana Castrellón; María Ledesma; Anne Faria; Kenneth Yeager

Abstract

This dissertation examines how community-led resistance in Hollister, California, challenged environmental injustice and infrastructure governance through grassroots civic action. Focusing on the Hollister Guardians, a coalition of primarily Latinx residents who organized in response to concerns about the city’s sewer system, this qualitative case study introduces the Critical Just Sustainability Policy Praxis (CJSPP) framework, developed by integrating Critical Policy Analysis and the Just Sustainability Paradigm with a praxis-oriented focus on community action. Using critical document analysis of city council meeting minutes, local media coverage, and community-authored texts mainly from 2023 to 2025, the study explores how policy discourse, institutional decision-making, and claims of expertise shaped whose concerns were legitimized or marginalized. Findings demonstrate how community knowledge, civic learning, and grassroots organizing challenged dominant policy narratives and expanded opportunities for more equitable, participatory, and accountable environmental governance.

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