Jesus Alvarez (Fernandeño Tataviam)
Jesus Alvarez (Fernandeño Tataviam) is the President of the Tataviam Land Conservancy. Mr. Alvarez obtained a B.A. in Education in 1993 and spent his career after college working in early childhood education. He currently serves as a Financial Aid Representative for California State University Northridge. As a Lifelong resident of the San Fernando Valley, Jesus volunteers with various educational programs for the Tataviam Tribe and groups throughout the San Fernando Valley.
Jesus love of the land and enjoyment of the natural world led him to become a member of the TLC. Through its work, Jesus would like to increase understanding of California’s native flora and to preserve it for future generations by developing programs that promote the use of locally native and regionally appropriate plants throughout Tataviam homelands in projects as small as personal gardens or as large as regional commercial projects. California State University of Northridge Institute of Sustainability and Programs and Inclusion are collaborating with Jesus to have input in tribal representation of its grounds. He is a member of Mapping Los Angeles Landscape History Project and California Rare Fruit Growers. Jesus spends his weekends gardening, grafting, and practicing other horticultural techniques. It is common to be given a plant he has grown from seed or clippings.