This Indian American ‘Water Warrior’ Is Saving San Francisco Bay

This incident made young Sejal passionate about animal care. What really cemented her commitment to environmental justice was a quarry and asphalt plant next to her school.

Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, in an Indian family, Sejal’s home was all about restoring and recycling, in the true desi spirit of thrift and hard work. But outside her home, a large and dirty quarry covered her world with perpetual powder, and made her realise the significance of public health: “We lived near a quarry. When I would come out of school, everything used to be covered in brownish dust. My brother had asthma, my parents and I ended up having cancer. The company exposed us to such risk and pollution in the name of profits – it was impossible to accept. Right from high school, I was looking to stop pollution in neighbourhoods and that journey led me to Baykeeper.”

Sejal Choksi-Chugh is the Baykeeper and Executive Director of the non-profit organisation San Francisco (SF) Baykeeper which works to stop pollution of the SF Bay. A cancer survivor, not to be left powerless in front of big corporations, and with a strong calling to protect communities from environmental damage, Sejal went on to earn degrees in public health and a Masters in environmental law from UC Berkeley.