Friends of the Desert Mountains is proud to announce Edeli Reyes Gonzalez will serve as Friends’ new Translation Specialist. Edeli’s experience as a bilingual environmental scientist, and her enthusiasm for serving her community, will allow Friends to increase their services and outreach efforts to all corners of the Coachella Valley.

Edeli comes to our team with extensive knowledge of the changes happening in our natural environment. As a student at UC Santa Cruz, Edeli studied how to implement more cost-effective restoration projects in coastal grasslands. She then went on to implement hands-on restoration and vegetation assessments to help preserve areas like the Younger Lagoon Natural Reserve and the Fort Ord Natural Reserve as an intern for UC Santa Cruz. She has also worked with UC Davis and UC Riverside in studying invasive species throughout the state of California.

At Friends, Edeli will be working with our Environmental Education team and our Outreach team to increase our outreach and education efforts to Spanish-speaking residents and visitors in the Coachella Valley. As a Mexican immigrant who grew up in the Coachella Valley, we recognize that Edeli shares many lived experiences with our underserved communities in the area and will help us build a bridge to the outdoors for many of those who lack the resources to enjoy our outdoor recreational opportunities.

We are especially excited to have Edeli join us as we increase our educational efforts in the community to make sure we are all doing our best to take care of our wildlife and natural lands.