Welcome back to our blog series of Q&As with our staff. As our team has grown in recent years, this is a chance to get to know some of our stories and quirks. Caring for creation and equipping others to do likewise is so much more meaningful — and fun — when done as a team!
Photo caption: A Rocha USA Church Engagement Coordinator Marliz Arteaga.
What drew you to A Rocha?
A Rocha felt like home right away. It’s one of the few places where faith, science, community, and action genuinely walk together. I didn’t have to choose between being a scientist, a person of faith, or a community practitioner — all of that was already part of A Rocha’s DNA.
When did the connection between faith and environmental work first “click” for you?
Honestly, it clicked early — growing up in the Amazon, creation was never abstract. But the deeper “aha” moment came when I realized that caring for rivers, forests, and people wasn’t just good practice or ethics — it was worship, obedience, and love in action.
Marliz Arteaga (L) and Verónica Godoy (R) planting trees in Central Texas.
What training/background do you bring to this work?
I’m an environmental engineer by training, with a master’s in sustainable development and a PhD in interdisciplinary ecology. But just as importantly, I bring years of participatory, community-based work in the Amazon, transdisciplinary research, and experience bridging science, policy, faith, and lived experience.
What are some ways you see A Rocha’s work bringing life to your local ecosystems?
By restoring habitats, yes — but also by restoring relationships. A Rocha brings life by helping people belong to their place again, steward it wisely, and care for it as part of their faith and daily lives.
What keeps you going when faced with all our overwhelming ecological problems?
Faith, community, and small wins. I believe God is still at work renewing creation — and we’re invited to participate, not carry the burden alone.
One of Marliz’s primary tasks is equipping churches around Austin, Texas, to plant trees in under-canopied neighborhoods, so that all may benefit from the air quality, shade, and mental health that trees provide. Click here to learn more about our Renuevos de Esperanza and Branches of Faith programs!