George B. Sánchez-Tello

George B. Sánchez-Tello comes from families that lived with the land in both New Mexico and Guatemala. Born and raised in Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley, he hiked the San Gabriel Mountains with Boy Scout Troop 104, earning the rank of Eagle in 1997. George now lives in East Los Angeles with his wife, a teacher, and daughter, Quetzal. Sánchez-Tello earned his master’s degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge, in 2012, where his thesis looked at the social use of Son Jarocho among Chicanas and Chicanos in the Los Angeles area. While completing his master’s degree, The Wilderness Society hired Sánchez-Tello to create the San Gabriel Mountains Forever Leadership Academy, the community organizer training component of the San Gabriel Mountains Forever coalition. To date, the Leadership Academy has graduated over 70 people and executed over 35 projects connecting Los Angeles residents to their public spaces. He recently wrote about the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument for Land + People as well as Brooklyn & Boyle. You can follow his work and contact him via twitter: @SanchezTello.