Alex Ortiz (he/him/his) will serve as the Lone Star Chapter’s lead coordinator on both our Texas Living Waters project, focused on water supply and flood control, and our Sustainable Management and Resilient Texas Waters project, focused on water quality standards, discharge permits and the impacts of oil and gas development on water supply and quality. After several years without a dedicated water staff person, the Lone Star Chapter is excited to have Alex join team Texas!
Alex is originally from the Rio Grande Valley city of McAllen, TX, but he grew up all over South and Central Texas. Growing up in various natural landscapes of Texas gave Alex an appreciation for both the differences and similarities across the state from the Coastal Plains to the Hill Country. Alex has a BA in Linguistics from New York University and a JD from Tulane University Law School where he also received a Certificate in Environmental Law. His studies at Tulane focused heavily on the intersection of the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act. Prior to joining the Sierra Club, he also volunteered with Healthy Gulf to work on Louisiana and Gulf of Mexico water quality issues, founded Eco-SCI, a nonprofit aimed at educating students on how to participate in both federal and state rulemaking processes, and taught a legal studies pre-college seminar at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.