I am a community builder, and I’m a CEC Climate Steward.
Monica Vitor Caceres tabling at CEC’s 2026 Plastic-Free Expo to share her Plastic-Free Revolution campaign.
“You don’t need all the answers or the perfect solution to start making a difference,” Monica said. “The Climate Stewards course taught me to pay attention to the world around me, notice what could be done differently, and collaborate with others to find more sustainable ways forward.”
About Monica
Monica Vitor Caceres has long understood the science behind protecting our planet. Since 2018, she has worked to protect endangered species, beginning with sharks in Peru and continuing today with salmonids in the United States. With a degree in marine biology and experience as a Teacher’s Assistant for environmental studies at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC), she was already a steward of the world around her. But she wanted to help more people better understand their role in protecting it.
Monica dove into the Climate Stewards course and realized that making a difference didn’t need to begin with a clear-cut scientific answer. It could be as simple as noticing something that doesn’t make sense in your workplace, school, or neighborhood and asking “What can I do?”
The answer to that question became Plastic Free Revolution, Monica’s Stewardship Project to bring reusable containers back into everyday use at SBCC. She was inspired by a contradiction she saw on campus: Despite SBCC’s sustainability efforts, black trash bags were overflowing with single-use containers every day.
Monica originally developed Plastic Free Revolution as a project for an SBCC sustainability class in 2025, where she conducted a test pilot and collaborated with two fellow women in STEM. Drawing on strategies Monica learned through the Climate Stewards course, they decided to relaunch the project with the goal of turning it into a lasting campus initiative. Monica surveyed students to gauge interest in a Green Container program and began building support for a broader campuswide effort.
The Associated Student Government has since given the initiative its full backing. The team is now preparing to bring its proposal to the SBCC Board of Trustees, with plans to expand its work to address single-use packaging more broadly through partnerships with organizations like Sway. Monica is also bringing her passion for environmental education into the broader Santa Barbara community, tabling at events like CEC’s Plastic-Free Expo to share resources and connect with others who want to make a difference.
Monica is continuing that journey at Cal Poly Humboldt, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in natural resources and building a career rooted in environmental education and community action.
