Exploring Climate Impact and Private Equity with Amanda Mendoza

Dr. Amy Cabrera Rasmussen chats with Amanda Mendoza, currently senior research and campaign coordinator at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP), a nonprofit watchdog examining private equity’s impacts across climate and energy, workers and jobs, housing, healthcare, and detention and surveillance. 

Mendoza explains private equity in clear terms: as multi-trillion-dollar investment firms funded largely by institutional investors like public pension funds and focused on extracting profit over a handful of years. 

The two go on to examine her unique dual research-and-campaign role, including leading the Private Equity Climate Risks Consortium to build public-facing data and scorecards on private equity ownership of fossil fuel assets, information not readily disclosed. 

Mendoza shares her nontraditional path from community college and political science through an internship-turned-research-analyst job, a COVID layoff, and climate justice work inspired by Standing Rock. 

We also learn about how the efforts by Mendoza and her colleagues to unionize PESP are helping to reduce burnout and improve work conditions.

Throughout, the two discuss building community, leveraging the support of one's professors, and how doing internships can be an important pathway toward one's good work career.

Transcript

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Welcome to the Good Work podcast. I am Dr. Amy Cabrera Rasmussen. I'm an educator, scholar, and writer. The thing I love most is supporting folks seeking to use their unique ingenuity, lived experience, skills, and knowledge to make a real difference in the world today. And the Good Work podcast is here to provide inspiration, practical tips, and opportunities to do good work that, importantly, is also good for you.

Welcome and Guest Intro 

My guest today is Amanda Mendoza.

Amanda is a researcher, project manager, data expert, and a powerful communicator. Most centrally, she investigates private equity's role in the energy sector and its associated impacts on people and the planet, and she builds campaigns to help hold the industry accountable. She has been long active in her community and on her campus, as well as on environmental issues, and has undergraduate and master's degrees in political science.

All of this and more provide her with experience and knowledge that she brings to bear on her research efforts. Currently, she is the senior research and campaign coordinator on the climate and energy team at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit watchdog organization focused on the private equity and funds industry.

The project examines private equity's impacts on significant policy issues, ranging from the aforementioned climate and energy to workers and jobs, housing, healthcare, and detention and surveillance. Amanda is an organizer at heart, and she is proud to have unionized her workplace, and serves as the union's co-chair as well as on its bargaining team.

Amanda lives in Long Beach, California with her daughter and partner and enjoys a good movie, getting outside for a hike, and building community. Welcome, Amanda. 

Amanda Mendoza: Thanks, Amy. Thank you so much for inviting me to be on this. This is a really great project, and I'm just honored to be a part of it, and hopefully someone can learn from my experience or my mistakes or any of my journey.

So glad to share it. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Thank you so much. Did I get everything right on your, sort of your resume and your bio? Anything I missed that you wanna make sure we mention? 

Amanda Mendoza: No. I mean, I think you covered it, and it probably made me sound a lot better than I am, but so I 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: appreciate 

Amanda Mendoza: that. 

A Typical Week at PESP

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Not possible. 

So I wanna start, and I always like to start by just, you know, demystifying things a little bit for people because a lot of folks might not know what it's like to be, doing the work that you're doing. So I'm wondering if you could just walk us through a little bit, if there is such a thing as, like, a typical day or a typical week, in the work that you're doing these days.

Amanda Mendoza: I think with my role as a senior campaign and research coordinator, just like it sounds, I sort of have two things going on in my day-to-day, which was perfect for me, 'cause it's a job that got to combine the research skills and experience I learned through my education at Cal State Long Beach and through previous jobs as a research analyst, and my climate activism.

So I was very lucky to be able to find this position which got to kinda join my experience with my passions. And every day, it's not exactly the same, but every week is pretty similar. So we've got- Mm-hmm ... the team meetings. We've got the organization-wide meetings to make sure we're checking in on our projects, and coordinating things.

Lots of project management going on there to make sure, our campaigns are moving, checking in on the goals. And then sort of the nitty-gritty is the research side. So I get to manage a big project. It's called the Private Equity Climate Risks Consortium, and it's a consortium of, folks on my team at PESP, as well as folks from a few other organizations within the climate movement.

It's really exciting. we're building public-facing data on private equity ownership of - fossil fuels across the globe. no one else does this work. This is, pretty, pretty behind-the-veil kind of information. Private equity firms, they are not held to the same disclosure requirements as bigger companies and banks.

so we're doing the work of, of uncovering that and then working to build campaigns to hold them accountable. so that's a lot of, data analysis, of building new databases, and analyzing that data, writing reports. and a big part of it is connecting with frontline communities who are actively engaging in various fights, against the fossil fuel industry.

And so we get to connect with them as well. so my weeks are Probably half meetings, coordinating- Yeah ... meeting with, frontline community members, and making sure that we can show up and support them with our research and with our organizing abilities. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yeah

Amanda Mendoza: if, like, to help orient folks. 

Private Equity Explained

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: I would love to get a couple more specifics, for folks who maybe don't even know what private equity is. How do you explain that to somebody who maybe is like, "Why should I care about what's going on in private equity?" Why is that a leverage point or an area that's worthy of so much focus by your organization?

Amanda Mendoza: So there's been so much great work done in climate finance campaigning, against banks, and sort of, demystifying who's actually investing in these projects around the world, and moving them forward sort of despite community pushback, despite, the calls to transition to a clean economy, and address climate issues.

And private equity, I learned very quickly that it's, it's like a multi-trillion dollar part of the economy that's been growing very rapidly over the course of the past, like, 40 years or so. and basically they are big investment firms.

They fundraise money from institutional investors, mainly public pension funds. So there's lots of CalSTRS, lots of CalPERS investments in these private equity funds. And what the private equity company does is use that big pool of money to invest in various companies across the economy.

Their role is to sort of pull profit out of those companies, make them more efficient, make them more profitable, and sell them off in sort of five to seven years in order to make a profit and give their investors a return on their investment. So- Okay ... it's tricky. It's really, like, finance world stuff, and it's, it hasn't been talked about a lot, and I think- Yeah

I'm really proud to be part of PESP that has gone from even when I started four and a half years ago, what is private equity, to sort of like, okay, we know private equity is bad, and this is what they're doing. So, like, we've helped move the needle, it just in a really short time, and been able to sort of, contribute our private equity research into many of the great sort of labor, environmental, and other spaces that have already been doing great work.

So we're just, like, another tool in the tool chest of some of these great movements and, and proud to be a part of it. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: I think, one of the things you mentioned here that's really, important in a lot of this work is just being able to even know the basic facts about what's going on, to be aware that these sorts of entities are out there and the role that they're playing in investing in, things that we often think of as, policy matters.

But the market is really driving a lot of this as well. yeah, and then I love how you sort of think of it as a bigger, one part of a bigger, effort that's sort of working in that, in that vein. 

Research Meets Campaigning 

What I think is interesting about the role that you have though is, which is something that you mentioned, and maybe you could just say a little more about this, that you sort of wear two different hats.

I always like to think about connections, and so I'm wondering- like how does- You know, they could be potentially two different jobs, but are there any benefits to the same person leading a team that's coordinating both of those things? Where do you see them connecting with one another in a beneficial way?

Amanda Mendoza: You mean the research and the campaigning sides? 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yes. 

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah, so it's, I think it's super beneficial because sort of nobody knows the work that I'm leading on on the research sides better than me. And so I'm able to communicate sort of the outcomes and, have a really thorough understanding of the research when community groups engage us or when we are participating in sort of a broader coalition.

At the beginning it was more of this, like we're part of a broader coalition and different community groups are raising different campaigns that they're working on and we're like, "Oh, wait a minute, that's actually backed by private equity. You guys have been campaigning against the company, but we have this other entity that is financing that company-" Right

That could be a really great target, the private equity itself and also its investors, the pension funds. so we sort of opened up a new avenue, on another way that we can campaign and work together to sort of help force the transition that, that we all want, the clean energy transition that's good for, for our, economy and for our future.

And being able to do both, it's a lot. And I think many- Mm ... many organizations split it up. Yeah ... but we are small, so I think we were forced to sort of wear a lot of hats. and it also works in the other way to, like if, a coalition is, is bringing up an issue, like we can do additional research that they might not have available, they might not have expertise.

Sort of a different side of the private equity work that we're seeing now with the data center build-out and the big AI boom is we're starting to see private equity firms buying up public energy utilities and- Mm ... buying up, data center and building data center companies. And the power plants.

So it's kind of all connected having these private owners of critical energy needs, being used for AI and data centers instead of for, you know, turning people's lights on and stuff. So we're trying to make lots of connections. It's a lot of work. It's challenging- Yeah ... to be able to do both, and I think we've experimented with splitting it up.

But overall, it tends to just work better if, like, the research expert is also involved in the campaigning- Yeah ... side of the work, as long as they have the skills to do both. Some people aren't- Right ... sort of built to be more of a public facing, 'cause that's a different skill, and that's a different kind of energy.

It can be extremely draining to have to interface with so many people all the time. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yeah. 

Amanda Mendoza: and to be an effective campaigner. and yeah, a lot of the times it's not the same skills you need to be, like a meticulous, like, researcher. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yeah. Well, I, I feel like there's some concept for that, that I'm, I'm blanking on the title of right now, but it's something like being a purple squirrel, where you're just, like, you're something very rare.

And I think what's lovely about hearing your story is sort of how, you know, maybe somebody can imagine themselves in the kind of role that you're in, but also maybe they could see themselves in one or the other- Mm-hmm ... if that exists somewhere else. And so that gives them a bit of a glimpse of, you know, the possibilities, the range of things that are out there, but also how they can potentially come together in a really- Yeah

Um, powerful way. 

So I know you mentioned that you, had taken on... You had a different role, sort of a smaller role, at, at the project before you're taking on the role that you're in now. but I was wondering if you could just, like, take us back a little bit and talk a little bit about the path and sort of how you found yourself in the place that you are.

Origin Story and Climate Awakening 

I always love an origin story- ... and I'm particularly interested in hearing, or if you're willing to share a bit about how you came to work on, issues of climate and energy in particular. Like, how did that become something that's so important to you? and then, you know, if you wanna take us through a little bit of your story too, we would love to hear it.

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I'm always like, "How far back do I go?" But, I think I start with, sort of my love for the natural worlds and growing up and having the privilege to go on road trips and tent camping with my parents, and hiking, and just really fell in love with that, and, think about all the time how we're just, like, another part of nature, and we're all connected.

Mm-hmm. and I think I sort of took that through with me as I finally got into college, community college. I will say I did not take education very seriously in high school. I was more, you know, involved in, like, social stuff, and I didn't have, parents that went to college, so I also didn't have that- Mm

Sort of same expectation, I think, that a lot of my peers did, which is like, you go to high school, you go to college, you do this, and you go to grad school. Um, I had a little bit more, freedom and an opportunity to find that path on my own, which I'm really grateful for, and I had a lot of support from my, from my family in doing that.

I will say I always worked various jobs. I worked in the service industry for a long time. But, all that saying, when I finally got to college, community college, which I love, and I got into my political science classes, I was like, "Oh, social justice stuff." Yeah. Like, that is the first thing that really woke me up.

Like, I've always been a passionate person, cared about others, cared about community building and the environment, and I think that that just started to- coalesce into- Yeah ... sort of my passion and, and what I decided I wanted to, to really pursue. and it really woke me up in 2016. A lot of folks got woken up around that time with the election. 

It was while I was in grad school at the time. I had done some other jobs, and I was like, "There's no way I can be happy sort of doing this job that wasn't important to me." And I had the privilege and opportunity to go back to school and sort of refocus myself, to find something that I was passionate about.

And sort of through the election, that's when I really was like, "Okay, it's time to, like, really take this, this seriously, you know, and really refocus what I wanna do." At the same time was the protest at Standing Rock, in 2016, the, the Indigenous-led resistance against the pipeline being built on their land.

This was all happening at the same time, and I felt compelled to go. I was like, "I, I can go. I have the support to go. I h- had a break from school right now." and so I went, with a friend of mine, and that really sort of cemented everything for me. It was such a life-changing experience being able to stand in solidarity with, the Indigenous folks and, and broader environmental, movement that was there.

And I brought that with me for the rest of my life, and back- Yeah ... with me to finish out, my grad school program and, be able to find a job working in climate justice. So that was my ultimate goal. It wasn't a traditional path. I did a lot of trying other things along the way because, you can't always afford to just keep going after the one dream job.

There's a lot of other things that come first sometimes. but I learned lessons at all of those other jobs as well that, you know, ultimately helped me be more successful in my role now. 

First Break Into the Field

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: So take us to, your first, like, job that was sort of substantive related to either policy work or, like, climate and energy work.

But I think these days there's so many different paths that folks are taking. but I think one moment that seems to be something that recurs a lot, especially with many of the students and recent grads that I work with, is that moment when they get to change from maybe a service job or an office administrative job to something that's substantive, something that's in the field.

They're not sort of on the side anymore. It's on the path, but they do struggle sometimes because they, you know, they may not have the experience that those job advertisements ask for, or they don't know how to get their foot in the door. I'm wondering if you can just take us back to how you got your first substantive role, and tell us a little bit about that.

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. No, absolutely. It was, I mean, the reason why I got my, my last job before this one was through my connections and relationships at Cal State Long Beach. I was a graduate, assistant for a professor in the political science department. I, I did that a bunch of times, and I loved it so much and kept in contact with a lot of the folks that I worked with.

And I had graduated. I had moved to Austin, Texas, just for personal reasons, and I was applying to jobs, like, I think I applied to, like, 50 jobs or something, and I just, I didn't have the experience in the field. I had experience working, yeah, at a professional role in customer service and at, like, the service industry side.

And through my connections with one of the professors, I had come back to visit and stopped by campus and he was just like, "How are you doing?" I was like, "I'm having a really hard time finding a job, so I'm still a waitress, you know?" I'm working two serving jobs seven days a week in Texas, 'cause it doesn't pay anything, and applying for everything, even remotely related to my field at that point.

Yeah. Was basically nonprofit sector. Like, I'm there for it. Mm. and, you know, he was like, "Well, you know, I do... I know someone who works at a geopolitical research and analysis firm, and they might be looking for interns." And I was kind of like, "Okay." But, like, also wasn't really what I wanted to do. Yeah

But I'm really glad I, I didn't ignore the opportunity. I, I submitted my application. I got an interview, I think probably 'cause of the good connection I had. Yeah ... and then I ultimately got the internship, which turned into, like, a two and a half to three year job as a research analyst. And it wasn't, you know, the subjects, it wasn't an energy in the way that I work now- Mm

Which is what I wanted to do, but it really honed my research skills, and it helped me to be, Yeah, professionalize it all because even writing for college and writing a paper is different than sort of writing an analysis that would be published or that- Right ... you know, a client would want for some, for something, a project that they're doing.

So that helped sort of give me the professional experience I needed in order to get to where I am now because in order to get to where I am now, I needed a like, three years of research experience, you know, working full time. Mm-hmm. And so I needed to get there, and I was grumbling about it a little bit, but I'm super grateful for the experience.

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yeah ... 

Amanda Mendoza: I learned a lot along the way, and I honed my skills, and then when it was time for me to shift again, which wasn't exactly my idea, it was COVID, I got laid off. 

I just took that as an opportunity for my redirection, and I said, "Okay, this time I'm not going to settle into something else. I'm gonna really make sure that, I am aiming for the career that I want." 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: I love that, and I love a few of the themes that came out I think are really good tips, which is, you know, a lot of folks don't have their own networks.

They don't have, spaces that they're gonna be interacting with professionals that are in their future field. 

Amanda Mendoza: Mm-hmm. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: And I always say to students, you know, "Think of your professors as part of your network." Yeah. And I love that that really, comes through in your story because, you know, we have our own networks, our own professional networks- Mm-hmm

but we also have past students. We have colleagues in other campuses. There's places that we can, you know, use- Yeah ... those relationships in a positive way to help you, to get your foot in the door. and I love, too, that you were open to a role that, you know, it wasn't exactly straight down the line what you were looking for, but you knew it was something that could help to give you that experience that you knew you needed for when you were able to find something, that was more, down the line of what you were hoping for.

Yeah, I think that those are really good, starting point lessons for folks to keep in mind. 

Proudest Projects and Partnerships 

So as you've sort of made your way through your career and you've built this expertise, and these relationships now in your current, role in the current organization, I'm wondering, do you have any particular project that it just has the strongest meaning for you, or anything that you're especially proud of that you've collaborated with folks on, in recent years?

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. it's probably that project that I mentioned, is the Private Equity Climate Risks Consortium, because that just allows me to work with some really amazing folks that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to work with, 

But, like, working with this group is like building a community with experts on other sides of the issues. So we work with Global Energy Monitor, and, they are just totally experts on the fossil fuel assets themselves. And we work with this other organization called Americans for Financial Reform, and they are so good on, like, the policy work and really moving the needle at that level.

And so we've all been able to work together to create sort of our private equity climate risk scorecard, which is, like I said, it's research that's never been done before, and it's a really good tool for investors to see sort of, oh, like, we're invested in this private equity firm, but they got a D on this scorecard.

Why? And we get to be the ones to get that information in their hands and be available to speak to them about it if, if they want to, which sometimes they don't want to. But a lot of the times we try anyways, 'cause we're trying to really, make a difference there. And outside of my, , professional work in the organization, I'm super proud of being part of a union.

Um, we organized our workplace, at PESP. I'm so honored and grateful to work with so many amazing organizers. Like, the idea of organizing the union was so easy, 'cause I work with so many great activists that they were like, "Yeah, let's do it." and you know, it, it's hard. It's never easy to sort of make sure everyone's on the same page and build something that's gonna work for as many people as possible.

But I think we really built a really great contract, and it's really helped sort of anchor the organization. and yeah, I'm really proud of that. And I think, you know, we can't ignore organizing the nonprofit sector too. Like, we do good work, but we need to make sure we're also models, in treating, you know, our workers right and, being part of the labor movement in that way.

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: I'm so grateful that you mentioned that story because, you know, that's one of the big themes of this, podcast and of the larger project that I've been working on is, is the good work has to be good for you. Yeah ... it has to be that way because we want it to be living up to the values that maybe we're espousing as part of the organizations or the entities- Mm-hmm

…that we're working for. But also, it's just a practical thing too. Like, it has to be sustainable for oneself. It has to, you can't be feeling like the, the terms of your work are unhealthy for you. and I think, you know, one of the points that I always mention too is that I think personally good work has to be necessarily collaborative.

Amanda Mendoza: Mm-hmm. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Because as much as each of us can bring to our own organization, I think that that collaboration has to be there because we have to have the ability to, like, do teamwork, you know, help each other out. But also, you know, some of the changes that folks are attempting to make through their work, it may not be something that's possible in, you know, one person's career Mm

Why Unionizing Mattered 

So- I was going to ask you, you know, what are s- what is something that you do to make sure that your, good work is also good for you? Do you think you could, maybe explain a little bit more to folks about what, Like, why was it so important to you and your colleagues to bring a, to bring your workplace, into a union setting?

Like, why is that something that maybe is changing or making the work better for you all, do you think? 

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. so when I started at PESP, we were a team of eight, and the organization had only been around for, like, three, years, I think. it was brand new. It was very collaborative. It was extremely collaborative, very startup-y, not so much of internal structure.

you know, very passionate people dedicated to the work. And, you know, because of that, burnout is real. Like- Mm-hmm ... if you show up, you're working in, in industries and in spaces with communities who are impacted by things like the climate or a crumbling sort of healthcare hospital structure, workers who are being treated poorly, like, this is the things that we are trying to address at our job every day.

Mm-hmm. and many folks, like I said, came out of the labor movement, which doesn't have a great work culture in the sense that folks, tend to not balance their lives very well 'cause they're so passionate about it. It's like- Mm-hmm ... we have to do this work, we have to make this change, and I think we all start sort of running on this wheel faster and faster, and then we're not taking care of ourselves.

And so when the organization, we doubled in size and within a year of me working there, and there still sort of wasn't that- capacity for building up the internal structure on how the organization is gonna work. And, you know, I was scared 'cause I was like, "We're bringing on a whole lot of people," and I feel like, you know, my corporate experience actually helped me see the importance of the internal structures- Mm-hmm

And processes in place because I know I get more anxious if I don't know what's going on. and so my fear is like, well, we don't wanna hire, you know, 10 more people and then have a bunch of people not know what's going on. That can just create , that can create anxiety, and like being in a group full of like really compassionate, empathetic people, it's like a anxiety nightmare.

Yeah ... so, you know, we ended up hiring a bunch of these people, my, my amazing coworkers, and then a few months later it was like, okay, maybe it's on us to sort of work to organize, to make sure, to protect the organization, to protect ourselves, to make sure that we have good, you know, home/work/life balance.

Like I said, we work in like really intense, topics every day. Mm-hmm. and a lot of us bring that home with us. We work from home, but then we, you know, log off from work, but that stuff doesn't go away. Thinking about the climate crisis- Right ... and these issues that people are facing every day doesn't go away.

Yeah ... but we, what we could do is, sort of put some guardrails up, making sure, you know, we're not working 12 hours a day, making sure we have, appropriate deadlines and timelines for things, appropriate amount of time off, time off so we can rest and recuperate. We were able to win, you know, a break over the holidays for an organizational closure.

We were able to win unlimited sick time, so that's not something you need to fight for all the time. You know, you're getting your work done. You can flex your time to make sure that you can still go to your doctor's appointments, and, things like that. And, one of our teams at PESP works with labor unions and labor organizing, and we needed to, like I said, make sure that we're a model.

We're working hard to protect workers' rights. We did the work ourselves internally to make sure that we have a strong contract and one that we can use as a model as we're going to help others do the same.

Outsider Perspective and Imposter Syndrome

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Thank you so much for sharing that. I feel like it gives people just a much more concrete sense of the difference that something like that can make and sort of the, the, yeah, just the very granular and very specific things. I think it makes a big difference because a lot of folks are probably thinking to themselves as they're listening to this, "I may not have that at my work," you know?

And so this is something, that's a really wonderful example. 

All right, to shift gears a little bit, I wanna ask you, do you ever feel like you're an outsider or unconventional member of your field in any way. and if you do, you know, we have a lot of talk about imposter syndrome and things like this, and I think, most folks that I know feel that way at least some of the time.

I know I do.

But I think something I've started to think about a lot more, in recent years, but it's something that I always thought about, was that, each step you sort of take outside of something or ways in which you're not the norm, it can sometimes give you an unexpected edge or, it can give you- Mm-hmm

I don't know what the right word is. Leverage maybe. It can give you, a perspective, that maybe is a little bit different than the norm. And so I'm wondering if you have any ways that maybe your outsider status or unconventionality- ... if that's a word, um, it might make you feel, like it might actually give you a little bit of, utility.

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. I will say I've felt like an outsider, probably every step of the way up until my current career. Mm. And then in my current career, I felt like an outsider in sort of the opposite way. And I'll, I'll just explain a little bit. So, like, through- Please ... yeah, through grad school, you know, like I said, my parents didn't go to college.

I was the first to go. I, like, got inspired to do grad school kind of on my own. I didn't have a lot of friends that did it either. and you know, so I definitely felt like an outsider in that space, and, struggled with imposter syndrome, because I didn't feel like an academic. And even in the program at Cal State Long Beach, it was, like, there's very few women.

And so already you kind of feel like there's a little bit of, I don't know, a spotlight on you, or something like that. And then sort of through, through my working career, working at the, geopolitical firm, it's like I was, like, this activist, lefty, tattooed woman in a space with a lot of, a lot of men who are in the intelligence agency.

And it wasn't people that I would generally be around or have a lot in common with. and so imposter syndrome was very strong there as well. I feel the fear and do it anyways, take up the space- Yeah

And keep going. And just, like, have humility through it all. Yeah. Like, you know I'm gonna make mistakes. I'm not gonna say things perfectly. but I am confident in sort of my abilities to, even if I might not be the expert on the thing, I'm going to work hard enough to do a good job. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yeah. 

Amanda Mendoza: And eventually I will be.

And, like, I know that about myself. I'm gonna show up. I'm gonna do the work. I'm, I'm not really okay with doing a poor job at things. So even- Yeah ... if I'm not the best, I know that I'll get there, at least get there to where it's, you know, good enough. And- Yeah, I don't know. I just kinda keep going. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yeah. I think that there's a, there's a little bit of that, like, fighting spirit that comes from not feeling like you fit in, and it does make you push yourself, in certain ways that are good.

And sometimes, you know, you don't wanna feel like you have to prove yourself, but I think, um, feeling that sense of, "I know I'm capable," I think that helps to be able to push back. And I think, again, as you build your experience, You start to see moments where, you know, that, that effort or that perspective or that unconventionality, it sort of...

…it starts to pay dividends a little bit. Because maybe in a meeting you bring something up that other people didn't think of. And, you know, part of it is you have to take up that space a little bit, but once you feel that you can- I feel like we're able to... Those of us who are kind of square pegs in round holes, it's like we can sort of, you know, we can sort of get some leverage from that.

Career and Community Building 

If you were talking to somebody who was just starting their career out today, you know, maybe they have similar interests as you. Mm-hmm

They sort of see themselves possibly following a path like yours, you know, working on behalf of the public good, putting their skills and knowledge to- toward those efforts. I don't know. Do you have any tips or any suggestions, anything that they should be doing just to, to get that ball rolling, in that field?

Amanda Mendoza: I would first and foremost uplift what you sort of pointed out about my story, is like take advantage of the relationships with the great people around you- Yeah ... and really work to build that community of support, because it's a whole lot harder to do it on your own. Yeah ... you know, meet with your professors.

You know, go to, office hours. Get to know them. You know, see if, if that's like a good person that could maybe mentor you in the space. I would say, do the internships. That is just the best time and kind of the only time that I could afford to do an internship was when I was in, in school still, Yeah

Because, we have... There are so many great opportunities I got to try a few different things that, you know, through the end of it it was a great experience, and I learned, you know what?

That's not for me. And I wouldn't have known that- Mm-hmm ... if I didn't have the opportunity to do the internship. Yeah ... so do the internships. Build those connections, community. I kind of hate the word networking because it makes it feel so corporate, but, yeah, I just shift it towards community. And sort of if you- Yeah

…get the opportunity in the future like I feel like I have now, you know, open that door wider to let those behind you, to pull them up with you. Yeah ... be a resource. I'm always happy to be a resource to others. and, you know, send jobs or introduce people. just have the conversation, because it's worth it.

I know it's scary, but, It makes it so much better to go through all of- Yeah ... sort of the job search and the job itself when you have sort of your people around you. And it's amazing how many people are your people when you're working to build a community in a space. even if you're totally different or you guys, like, wouldn't be friends outside of work or in some other scenario, being able to build community with folks, show up as you are, and allow them to show up as they are and still realize you kind of are in this together, it really goes a long way.

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: I love that. there are so many people who are your people. Yeah. You just have to give it a chance. It's true. 

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. It's true. 

Rapid Fire Closing Questions

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: All right, I have a few quick questions to close- Okay ... if you're okay with that. All right, so just whatever comes to mind. 

Amanda Mendoza: Okay. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Okay. So the first question I have is, is there- what's the most unusual job or the most unusual work that you feel like you might have done? 

Amanda Mendoza: Unusual job. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Define that as you see fit. 

Amanda Mendoza: It's probably one of my first jobs. I worked in a dental office. I was like an office assistant, and I was a teenager.

I sterilized equipment and helped with the back, sort of filing and all that kind of stuff, and I learned quickly that I don't want to be in the dental industry. It's tough stuff, and I'm simply not built for that. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yes. Well, part of why I ask this question of everyone who comes on the podcast is because I feel like we all learn, even from jobs or from roles that we might have had that are unusual, we learn something from it, even if it is just that that's not for us.

Amanda Mendoza: Not for me.

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Um, yeah. But you know, there could be some skill that you picked up there that could still be applicable today, probably, you know- Probably ... being able to be around people in- who are uncomfortable. You're probably, Yeah ... able to do things like that more easily than if you had not done that job.

Amanda Mendoza: I, I was a teenager, and it showed me responsibility, showing up on time- Yeah ... committing to something. Yeah ... at the very least it started to show me those things. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yes, yes, and helping people. Yeah. That was part of the story as well. All right. Do you think you have any unique skills or mindsets that you might think of as, like, your little secret superpower?

Like something you're good at doing that people say, like, "Oh, that's Amanda. She always does it this way"? Or maybe you don't tell anybody, but it's just something you do behind the scenes. 

Amanda Mendoza: I think I'm good at reading sort of the energy in the space. and I learned that people tend to do a better job when they're having more fun.

Mm. And so I don't know if I intentionally do it, but it's definitely something that I do now that I'm thinking about it, is just try to raise the energy in the room or in the project or with whatever the thing. It's like, okay- Yeah ... we're doing this thing together. Let's have a good time at least or try to while we're- Yeah

…figuring this out and, not avoiding, weird conflict stuff. It's like let's just move through it- Yeah ... and be on the same team and also try to have fun because- Yes ... life's so much better that way. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: All right. My last two questions for you I have are, one is- Is there a career that got away?

Something that you think or you know you could have done as well as what you're doing, or that you wish you would've done. Is there something, or maybe there's like an, you know, future act that you're thinking of at some point in your life? 

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. I'd say it's never too late. I think I'm, I'm happy. I worked really hard to get where I am and to do what I'm doing.

and every time I, publish something or I get a quote in, like, The Guardian, I'm like, "Oh my God," , "is this real life? I'm really doing this." It's so exciting, and just getting to work with the people that I do. but I do think I still have, like, teaching is hanging out in some- Yeah ... sort of way in my mind, or, serving some sort of public office in some sort of way.

And so I think I earlier on, was sort of trying to decide between the three paths, and- Yeah ... I am here now, and I love it, but I still feel like there could be something in the future- Yeah ... down either of those paths, depending on how much energy- Love it ... I have left. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Yes, yes. That's, was always a factor.

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: All right. My last, last question is, is there anyone who's inspiring you at the moment, someone you work with or someone in your movement, I- wherever, even just somebody that you might recommend people should check out? 

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. There's so much great work being done right now, and, as far as in the climate movement, I really can't put names to it because I feel like the movement- Yeah ... does a very good job at sort of letting the movement lead. But- Yeah ... I'm excited about the work being done around organizing to sort of halt the data center build-out.

And- Yeah ... I can't even point to one organization because there's so many doing that and, and many of them are simply community members who are raising it- Right ... and realizing that it's an issue, and it's kinda tied to so many bigger things within the climate movement and sort of the future. so I'm sorry I didn't name any, but I'm excited- 

No, that's perfect

…that it is, like, coalescing together into part of the- Yeah ... wider climate movement, and involving a lot of people that otherwise probably wouldn't be a part of it because they didn't think it was connected, and now we're kinda making those connections. So I'm just excited to see what- Yeah ... comes of that and to, like, be able to support that work.

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Well, I love that, and that's something that, you know, I'm seeing lots of news coverage of, you know, in different communities- Mm-hmm ... and pockets around the country as that's becoming a bigger issue. And I love that you raised that up because now maybe people if they hadn't seen that already, they'll start to look for stories about that or start to find, you know, social media accounts from some of those organizations and see the sort of work that's being done.

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. 

Where to Follow and Final Thanks

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Okay.

Well, What's next for you or is there anything that folks can do to learn more about you or the organization's work? where should they check things out? 

Amanda Mendoza: Yeah. I mean, if you wanna connect with me to talk about work, I'm on LinkedIn, and I'm always happy to connect with folks.

I'm also on, Beach Nexus through Cal State Long Beach. Always helpi- happy to connect with folks and just see if I can be a resource or any s- lend any advice to people who want to do anything remotely close to what I'm doing, 'cause I know it's a struggle. and for the work, we're at pestakeholder.org.

and you can see the work that we're doing in climate, and energy, and in the labor sector, and in healthcare, and in housing. if you wanna check out more or are part of an organization who wants to see if private equity is involved in your campaign, we're always happy to sort- to lend support and research and, and see how we could help.

Yeah. 

Amy Cabrera Rasmussen: Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. It was such a pleasure to speak with you and to learn from you. and I know one of my big goals is for people to, you know, have more options in front of them, but also to learn from the inspiring folks out there. So thank you so much. 

Amanda Mendoza: Thank you.

Thanks for letting me be part of it. It's an honor.