Described his early childhood in a segregated Liberty, TX, his early involvement with environmental issues, his trajectory to becoming an environmental lawyer, and finally, his work as a Democratic elected official.

Guadalupe "Lupe" Mendez was born in 1976 in Jalisco, Mexico and came of age in Galveston. On the island, he spent his early years in the Mexican American Magnolia Homes and the African American Palm Terrace, two public housing projects that were destroyed during Hurricane Ike. Mendez attended Catholic schools and had to overcome the lack of bilingual education programs. He eventually relocated to Houston to attend the University of St. Thomas, where he as participated in several ethnic and cross-racial literary endeavors including Nuestra Palabra, the Word Around Town, and Tintero Projects. Mendez talks about how the Latina/o community is the silent minority in Galveston, the political machine on the island, and how hurricanes have shaped the social, political, and economic landscape of Galveston. He also discusses the goal and purpose of Nuestra Palabra and Tinero Projects in providing a space for Latina/o poets and writers, how the World Around Town brings together ethnically diverse poets to present in several communities throughout Houston, his dedication to bilingual education, and the struggle for Mexican American Studies in K-12.