We would like to tell you about our friend, Chris.
Chris Esponda is an Indigenous organizer originally from the Chiapas region of Mexico, who came to the US at the age of 5. He is a digital equity advocate dedicated to connecting under-resourced communities with access to digital tools. He refurbishes and donates computers to families from Chiapas, to Pine Ridge North Dakota, to here in the Pacific Northwest, keeping electronic waste out of landfills and helping young people build the skills they need for the future.
This year, Chris was awarded the 19th annual Bullitt Prize, a $100,000 award given to emerging leaders in environmental justice who are building stronger, more equitable communities. The selection committee was moved by his story, his ties to his Mayan culture, and his resilience as he continues this work even while healing from a traumatic brain injury caused by a random hate crime in 2022.
With the support of this prize, Chris plans to expand the Chiapas Education Project, the grassroots organization he founded in 2023. The project has already refurbished 350 computers and diverted more than 2,500 pounds of waste. It trains youth in computer repair, reduces the cost of technology for families, and deepens community connections. Even the shipping process reflects care for the Earth, as the computers are wrapped in gently used clothing to cut plastic use. He has also helped ensure that communities have the protection and air conditioning they need to keep their technology safe and working well.
Chris’s vision is to build permanent hubs for learning, repair, and ceremony – places where people fix machines, strengthen relationships, and support each other and the land.
Chris and his organization have been close partners with CAF over the past three years. Chris has opened trainings and celebrations for us with song and drumming, and we have collected many laptops for him to take to Chiapas, Pine Ridge, and for the local community. We have brought our families together to celebrate with Pasadas and piñatas, walked together for immigration justice in the Fremont Solstice Parade, and CAF has been a constant support of his work to protect immigrants, indigenous families, and our LGBTQ communities, showing up for prayer walks and events he has organized.
We admire Chris’s fortitude, incredible perseverance, and his constant march to make a better world for young people by giving them access to technology so we can all move forward into a more just world together. Chris, our hummingbird warrior friend, fiercely strengthens our web of interdependence.
CAF is honored to be his partner. His work reflects the kind of community we are trying to build – one rooted in service, justice, and deep love for people and place. We celebrate him, we support him, and we are excited to continue walking beside him in the years ahead.
Read more about him and his recognition here!
