Meet Your Organizers
Cheo
Baltimore City and County
Eliseo Magos González (also known as Cheo) joined Maryland LCV in 2021 after almost five years as a community organizer at CASA. As part of his work in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Eliseo supports and coordinates two community comités, bringing together residents and community leaders to learn about environmental justice issues, identify concerns affecting their neighborhoods, and take collective action. Eliseo has been deeply involved in advocating for cleaner transportation, including the transition from diesel to electric school buses. He works with families and community members to raise awareness about the health impacts of diesel pollution, advocate for long-term school bus electrification plans, and encourage local leaders and school officials to invest in healthier transportation for students. Contact him here: emagos@mdlcv.org
Morena
Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties
Morena Zelaya joined Maryland LCV in 2022 as the Organizing Manager for Chispa Maryland, after ten years as an organizer at CASA. Morena has deep experience building community power and advancing climate and environmental justice across Maryland’s two biggest counties–Montgomery and Prince George’s. Before immigrating to the United States in 2010, Morena was a psychologist, which shaped her commitment to helping parents and children build confidence, find their voice, and create positive change in their communities. She has helped establish and lead three committees in Prince George’s County and two committees in Montgomery County, working closely with community members to create meaningful and lasting change through advocacy and education – change that is instrumental in bringing about widespread implementation of electric school buses. Contact her here: mzelaya@mdlcv.org.
The benefits of electric school buses
Because there are zero tailpipe emissions, there is a reduction in student exposure to harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides, which contribute to respiratory and heart disease.
The disproportionate impact of diesel exhaust pollution mean that communities that have been historically disadvantaged are more likely to suffer from vehicle-based air pollution due to racist lending, transit, housing and zoning policies that concentrated Black and Brown communities closer to highways and other pollution sources.
The nameplate range of current electric school bus models is from 100 to 300 miles, enough to reliably cover most routes in operation. They also are built to work in all types of climates, from the winter cold of Colorado and Vermont to the desert heat of Arizona. Some routes also allow for regenerative braking, which recharges the battery and can extend range even further.
When paired with financing, for which there are multiple options, this funding presents a remarkable opportunity for school districts to make the most of the fuel and maintenance savings that electric school buses offer. Furthermore, market experts anticipate declining electric school bus costs over time.
When paired with financing, for which there are multiple options, this funding presents a remarkable opportunity for school districts to make the most of the fuel and maintenance savings that electric school buses offer. Furthermore, market experts anticipate declining electric school bus costs over time.
Electric school bus investments support manufacturing jobs across the supply chain throughout the United States, and major electric school bus manufacturers have announced plans for hundreds of new manufacturing jobs combined in the coming years.
Electric school buses produce the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emissions of any school bus type, even when accounting for emissions generated in the production of the electricity used to power the buses.