What we stand for…
As people living in the Houston, Texas surrounded by fossil fuel infrastructure, we rise in response to the rapid oil and gas expansion in the midst of a global climate crisis. Fenceline Watch is dedicated to the eradication of toxic multigenerational harm on communities living along the fenceline of industry.
We believe a functional revolution is necessary to achieve equitable living conditions for low-resourced fenceline communities of color.
We advocate to eliminate disparities of environmentally vulnerable communities and seek to increase effective access to justice- including redress, remedy, and inclusion in the decision-making process.
We will establish a counterbalance to an industry that has leveraged systemic inequities to skirt environmental oversight, expand, and harm our most vulnerable.
We strive towards a future not dependent on extraction, and support opportunities for healthy, safe, and productive lives.
We work in the spirit of cooperation and intersectionality by embracing innovative movement-building strategies.
We are dedicated to equitably meeting the developmental and environmental needs of future generations.
Together, in solidarity, we will succeed in our collective survival.
We are watching the fenceline
Policy Director
Shiv Srivastava (He/Him) is an organizer and policy researcher based in Houston, Texas. He has a political strategy and opposition research background, having worked on campaigns for local city and state elected officials. As a fellow in the Mickey Leland Internship Program at the Hobby School for Public Affairs under the Obama administration, he served as an intern for United States Representative for the 35th Congressional District Lloyd Doggett in Washington, D.C. In 2010 Shiv published a thesis that examined South Asian voter participation in the Greater Houston area and the impacts it would portend for the region and the political future of the state of Texas. Before joining Fenceline Watch, Shiv was a freelance writer in television and digital spaces. As part of Fenceline Watch, he has contributed to efforts related to language justice for Limited English Proficient populations under Title VI. He leads local and federal policy efforts, connecting our advocacy to local and national priorities.
As a lifelong resident of Houston and the Gulf Coast, he has seen the impacts of the industry firsthand in his family and friends. Shiv believes that those most vulnerable in society should be afforded the greatest protections and be served by those willing to fight the hard fights. Shiv believes that the narrative often presented to communities between a clean, safe environment or economic security is a false choice; his vision is of a just transition for workers and communities away from oil and gas through increased civic and political participation achieved through narrative building, education, and increased public transparency.
Founder/ Executive Director
Yvette Arellano (they/them) is a Mexican-American Gulf Coast organizer and emerging leader from Houston dedicated to environmental and racial justice. With over a decade of experience advocating for immigrant, reproductive, food access, and environmental justice, Yvette decided to found a community-based environmental justice effort in Magnolia Park, located in Houston's East End. Fenceline Watch is dedicated to eradicating toxic multigenerational harm to communities living along the fenceline of industry.
In 2015, they led the campaign against H.R. 702, which opened the floodgates to U.S. crude oil exports. They were instrumental in the publication Double Jeopardy in Houston, Air Toxics and Health in the Houston Community of Manchester, and Plastic and Health: The Hidden Cost of a Plastic Planet. This report highlights the disproportionate toxic impact of the petrochemical industry on communities living on the fenceline. Throughout their work, Yvette emphasizes that access to clean water, air, land, and food is a fundamental human right best pursued through vigorous intersectional thinking and organizing. They understand the importance of a multipronged approach that embraces various advocacy methods, including: community involvement, policy development, litigation, research, direct actions, coalition building, and crisis response. Having experienced health impacts and seeing their implications on the fenceline they understand the importance of breaking the silos of social justice efforts.
Currently, Yvette is leading efforts in Houston, home of the largest petrochemical complex in the nation, to help the city's most vulnerable communities against the petrochemical expansion fueled by plastic production.
Yvette also serves as a co-chair for the Backbone Campaign and is a board member for the Center for International Environmental Law, Greenlatinos & as the secretary of SuperNeighborhood 65&82 in Houston, TX.