Abuelas en Acción: A Multicultural Podcast for Our Common Good
Abuelas en Acción (Grandmothers in Action) are Latinx mothers and grandmothers, Climate Comadres, who strive for a more compassionate and equitable world. Our conversations cross generations with guests, leaders in our communities, who have a passion for justice. Their stories and work all started with a vision and will infuse you with hope for your own communities. Subscribe to hear a new, 30 minute interview each week on topics– racial, social and environmental justice and physical/emotional/spiritual wellbeing–-that will touch your soul and challenge the leader in you to change the world. Hosts: Marie Dahlstrom, Dr. Rosemary Celaya-Alston and Consuelo Saragoza spent their careers promoting social justice for our common good…and will never stop! “Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.” Dolores Huerta
Abuelas en Acción: A Multicultural Podcast for Our Common Good
Transportation Justice for all Oregonians
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Our guest this session is Indi Namkoong, Transportation Equity Coordinator for Verde in Portland, Oregon. Be inspired by Indi’s powerful vision for transportation justice — one that ensures the benefits and burdens of our transportation systems are shared equitably across all neighborhoods.
Indi also provides an update on the recent stopgap transportation bill passed during Oregon’s special legislative session, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges that remain for the future of transportation in our state.
Don’t miss this insightful conversation about building a more just, sustainable, and connected Oregon!
Consuelo Saragoza: Welcome, Indy! We’re thrilled to have you with us.
Indi Namkoong: Thank you so much for having me, Marie, Rosemary, Consuelo. I’m really excited to be here.
Consuelo: Before we dive in, congratulations on receiving the Alice Award!
Indi: Yes, thank you! I received one of the ALICE Awards last week. It was a real honor and very unexpected.
Consuelo: It’s well deserved. These awards recognize people who’ve made significant contributions to transportation and climate justice.
Indi: Thank you.
Consuelo: Tell us a bit about your journey—what brought you here?
Indi: I live in Portland now, but I grew up in Eugene, Oregon. I’ve always been interested in challenging the status quo. I started organizing in high school by forming an ACLU student group. We advocated for student privacy and policy reform. I guess I’ve always been like this—driven to stir the pot.
I studied public policy, planning, and management at the University of Oregon. My first big step into environmental justice came through an internship with the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District. I did fieldwork and a research project on racial equity in conservation. At the time, board members had to own 10 contiguous acres of land to run—an exclusionary requirement that disproportionately shut out communities of color.
Consuelo: That’s a powerful insight.
Indi: I was supported by staff and board members to dig into the history of land ownership and its impact on housing, transportation, and public health. That experience taught me how colonization and land fragmentation were used to destroy cultural connections and concentrate power. It also showed me how freeway development displaced Black communities and reinforced car dependency.
Rosemary: You should teach a course!
Indi: Actually, we’ve run two rounds of the Transportation Justice Leadership Institute at Verde. It’s based on this history—how land, housing, transportation, and power are connected.
Marie: We want to sign up!
Consuelo: Coming from public health, I see how these issues affect health disparities. Many people don’t know the history of places like Cully or North Portland.
Indi: Exactly. For example, the Multnomah Athletic Club area used to be Japanese farmland. That land was taken away. These stories matter.
Consuelo: Was there a person or moment that really shaped your path?
Indi: Yes. The support I received from staff and the board chair at the conservation district was crucial. As a young woman of color, having respected leaders back my work meant everything. Our findings influenced their long-range business plan and even helped change state policy in 2023—removing the land ownership requirement for urban districts like Portland.
Rosemary: That’s incredible. It shows how much we don’t know and how we’re kept out of decision-making.
Indi: Transportation justice means analyzing burdens, benefits, and power. Right now, age, wage, race, and neighborhood determine how much pollution and cost we bear. Oregon is the second most polluted state, and Multnomah County is the worst. Hundreds of excess deaths occur annually due to air pollution.
Marie: I had no idea.
Indi: It’s cumulative and invisible. Heart disease, lung cancer—they build up over time. We need to name the root causes: deliberate policies that segregated communities and boosted the auto industry. This wasn’t accidental—it was planned.
Consuelo: How do we explain this to communities?
Indi: Justice means fair distribution of burdens and benefits—and shared decision-making. In Cully, we were annexed in the ’80s and promised sidewalks and sewers. We got sewers, but 60% of streets still lack sidewalks. We’re near high-crash corridors and underserved by transit. Transportation costs are tied to housing. I sold my car because I couldn’t afford both rent and payments.
Marie: What does this mean for us as a country?
Indi: It means we must recognize that inequity was built—and can be rebuilt. We’re up against entrenched power, but we can envision something better. At Verde, we’re working to shift decision-making power and build a future where our communities thrive.