Fighting to clear the air: Laura Moreno, Friends of Calwa

With the wind blowing through her hair as she rode on the back of a Harley Davidson with her husband, Laura Moreno was amazed by the feeling and the view of life.

Captivated by the view of the forest, mountains, and trees, along with the sweet smell of pine, this was Moreno’s most fond memory with her husband at the Sturgis motorcycle rally.

Having spent most of her life in Calwa, Fresno, Laura Moreno made a promise to herself before moving away from her beloved little city. 

“I always, always, said to myself that I would come back to where I grew up to give back to my community,” she said.

After serving as a grocery store manager at Save Mart for 32 years, Moreno retired two years ago and dedicated her time to her community.

Back in 2009, Moreno started as a volunteer, and since then, she has made her way up to becoming the Executive Director for Calwa and Friends, leading the organization. 

“My biggest goal is to help change things in the community,” said Moreno. “I want to be able to say, ‘hey, I changed that or we changed that as a community’.” 

Some of the programs and events consist of food drives, diaper distributions, after-school programs, and much more. 

Aside from Moreno’s past projects and events, she has now pushed herself and her community to stand up for the Calwa community. Due to the worsening air quality and increased industrial transits, the air conditions in Calwa have deteriorated. 

Going against Caltrans has been a challenge for the Calwa community; nonetheless, Moreno continues to speak out for her beloved Calwa. 

“Calwa has a lot of industrial, and because of the bad air, we are going to war against Caltrans expanding freeways and widening freeways,” said Moreno. 

Over the years, Moreno has kept her grandchildren close to her community. During most of her events, she mentioned feeling blessed to see her grandchildren support her by attending and volunteering in the organized events she coordinates.

Milena Alvarez, 22, serves as the Office Assistant and Community Organizer for Friends of Calwa. Alvarez graduated from Roosevelt High School in Calwa back in 2019. After completing high school, she was offered a job with Friends of Calwa. 

Alvarez has been working with Moreno for a little over a year, during which she has grown and developed a strong connection with her.

“I’ve been working with Laura for a little over a year. Aside from work, I would say Laura is very giving and helpful,” said Alvarez. “She’s a good listener and has a great way of making you feel involved.”

A cherished moment that Alvarez is always appreciative of is the lunches and deep conversations she has had with Moreno.

“A more cherished memory, I would say, has to be the times when we’ve taken lunch together and had the chance to just sit and talk about things other than work,” said Alvarez. “Whether it was school-related or personal, I appreciate our conversations, pep talks, and any advice she’s given me.” 

Over the past few months, Moreno and Friends of Calwa have stood together to take on a new challenge: the expansion of Highway 99.

The new development of the highway will add a few more lanes to the freeway and involve the rebuilding of the highway with newer concrete pavement.

As mentioned in the Fresno Bee, the expansion of Highway 99 is expected to commence in late 2024 and continue through 2029.