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Khalil was born in Santa Cruz as a son of first generation immigrants. For the Egyptian and Filipino growing up in San Francisco and the Santa Cruz Mountains, the woods were an escape from the racism and oppression he encountered as a teenager.
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LEJ promotes ecological health, environmental stewardship, and community development in Southeast San Francisco by creating urban greening, eco-literacy, community stewardship, and workforce development opportunities that directly engage and support local residents in securing a healthier future.
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The son of first-generation immigrants, Khalil says his happiest memories include hikes in the woods with friends. The redwoods were a grounding force, especially during the difficult teenage years. When he moved to San Francisco, he saw that some communities lacked the urban parks and green spaces he’d found so comforting. He felt something needed to change. “If peace is found on common ground, equity is found on public lands,” he says. -
Located on the western shoreline of the San Francisco Bay, this park provides a variety of recreational opportunities from windsurfing, fishing, bird watching, walking, and simply relaxing. Candlestick Point SRA was the first California State Park unit developed to bring state park values into the urban setting. From historic wetlands to landfill to landscaped park, Candlestick Point demonstrates major land use changes of the San Francisco Bay.
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During his LEJ tenure, Khalil has restored wetlands, planned native plants, and built an ecology center at Heron’s Head Park, creating a hub for environmental and cultural education in Bayview Hunters Point.
In his tenure, he estimates, he’s planted more than 10,000 natives with the help of community volunteers. “It all boils down to putting your hands on the land and remembering how we’re all connected,” he says. -
The Bay Nature’s 2019 Local Hero Awards brought together 240 members of the Bay Nature community to honor local conservation heroes. The annual gala provides funding for Bay Nature, an independent non profit publication and website that connect people in the San Francisco Bay Area to our natural world and motivates people to solve problems with nature in mind -
As one of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s (BCDC) EJ Advisor, Khalil works with BCDC staff and brings his extensive experience serving socially vulnerable, underrepresented, indigenous, and EJ populations by providing independent analyses, recommendations, and other input. -
In 2019 BVHPCA regrouped, reorganized, and renewed their commitment to environmental justice advocacy by launching several programs such as a community-owned co-op grocery store; a Southeast Community Council - training for environmental justice advocacy and organizing; a Community Toxic Index, documenting neighborhood sites under environmental agency oversight; a text hotline to report Muni issues; and an online library regarding the Navy’s toxic waste dump at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.
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The $3.75 million funding touches on critical aspects of San Francisco’s diverse economy, focusing on advancing equity and shared prosperity for all by investing in African American small businesses, entrepreneurs and communities. COVID-19 has further shed light on these inequities and has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities
