San Diego County Proclaims October 27, 2026 “San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air Day”

Posted October 30, 2026

SAN DIEGO, CA – On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors honored San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air (SDPCA) with a proclamation declaring that day San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air Day throughout the county.

Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre presented the proclamation at the Board’s meeting at the County Administration Building. Two SDPCA members addressed the Board: Mary Lou Lindegren, MD, MPH, an organizer of the Heat and Human Health Summit, and Chioma Ugwonali, a second-year medical student at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

In an Instagram post about the proclamation, Supervisor Aguirre wrote that communities across South County face serious air pollution from industrial activity, freeways, and the Tijuana River sewage crisis, and called SDPCA “a leading voice in the fight for environmental health and justice.”

Remarks to the Board

Dr. Lindegren thanked the Board for its support:

“We want to thank the Board of Supervisors for their support for our work with patients affected by the Tijuana River sewage crisis and also our Heat and Human Health Summit as well for children in [the] San Diego community.”

— Mary Lou Lindegren, MD, MPH, SDPCA member

Ms. Ugwonali spoke about her work this past summer with high school students from across the region:

“This past summer I had the privilege of working with several youth, mostly high schoolers, from City Heights, Chula Vista, San Ysidro, [and] Imperial Beach on environmental health and medicine and public health. Something that I learned through the experiences is that, while talent is equal, opportunity is not. It is such a privilege to be here today to be part of this celebration and to remind all of us that the air we breathe, the water we drink, [and] the food that we grow in our soil impacts our ability to grow and thrive, especially for our youth.”

— Chioma Ugwonali, SDPCA member and MS 2, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Thank You

We thank Chair Lawson-Remer and Chair Pro Tem Aguirre for this honor and for recognizing our commitment to protecting children’s health through cleaner air and stronger environmental policies. We also thank Supervisor Aguirre’s office for sharing photos and video from the presentation. The recognition belongs to all of our members, who volunteer their time to advocate for clean air.