Joshua Piedra understands firsthand the importance of tracking local government actions. He began his career as a community organizer, working in political and labor organizing, policy development and advocating for change. Piedra’s mission is clear: to lift community voices and ensure that those most affected by policies have a vocal opinion in shaping them.
“I’ve been an organizer by trade, so I’ve done a little bit of everything — political, grassroots, you name it, I’ve probably done it,” Piedra said.
These experiences have ultimately led him to his current role as the program director for the San Diego Documenters, which he joined in October 2023.
San Diego Documenters is an inewsource program that trains and pays community members to take notes at government meetings. Their coverage includes meetings such as city councils, environment committees and even community planning groups. As the program’s director, Piedra’s primary objective is to create community-powered news that enhances the lives of San Diegans.
“We’ve estimated about 650 public agencies exist in San Diego County, and they’re dealing with about $18 billion, give or take,” Piedra said.
Public meetings are organized by local governments to connect with the public, share information about community issues and gather feedback. These forums provide a space for representatives to update residents on their activities, developments and plans that impact the community.
“Public meetings are intended to be spaces for civic engagement, but they often go unnoticed or feel inaccessible to residents,” Piedra said.
San Diego Documenters is addressing this gap by empowering local community members to document the proceedings and resolutions of these meetings, while also making community involvement in governance more transparent and approachable.
The growth of the San Diego Documenters
Under Piedra’s leadership, the program has grown exponentially over a year and a half.
“This program started off with one library, a year ago. One library, one college,” he said.
Early on, Piedra saw an opportunity to partner with libraries, including in Coronado and National City. This allowed the program to recruit community members quickly and consistently.
From there, Piedra developed the idea to collaborate with schools to engage young people who are eager to learn. He contacted San Diego City College, and San Diego State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, to launch training sessions. The Documenters program has also partnered with Carlsbad High School, making it the first Documenters program in the country to collaborate with a high school.
“I think if it wasn’t for the way that Josh approaches the program, we wouldn’t have been able to grow as quickly as we have,” said Isaac A. Brambila, the San Diego Documenters program coordinator.
Piedra’s leadership style is not just about setting goals but also having a clear understanding of why those goals matter and how to achieve them, Brambila said. His ability to think strategically and execute plans effectively has been vital to the program’s success.
That’s rooted in his years of community organizing. Those skills now shape how Piedra scales the Documenters program, with a focus on inclusion, accessibility and long-term impact.
“He’ll have a clear idea of what he wants to do and how he’s going to achieve it,” Brambila said.
Piedra and his team at San Diego Documenters have trained 335 community members to document local government meetings and partnered with nine news organizations in a year and a half. This number stands out, as similar programs have trained around 100 members in their first year.
“We’ve done that many because of what we know works,” Piedra said. “We’re meeting people where they’re at. We’re going into the community, listening to everyday folks. And I’m very proud of our method of doing that because, at the end of the day, I tell people, ‘This program is yours.’”
Community involvement matters
“Our government is not a dictatorship,” Piedra said. “It’s supposed to be serving the people. I’m not necessarily a political pessimist, but I am cautious of the government, because, given my experience, it hasn’t always been friendly to my communities.”
Piedra’s caution comes from his experiences growing up, when he said he saw the system fail or simply ignore the needs of those who are most vulnerable. He uses these experiences to advocate for better outcomes and ensure marginalized voices are heard.
Piedra was raised in a predominantly working-class immigrant family in San Diego and moved between different neighborhoods. Life was challenging.
“I was always angry as a kid and I didn’t realize why I was angry,” he said.
His time in college helped him to better understand the systemic issues affecting communities. It gave him the language to describe problems he had always sensed but couldn’t fully explain, he said.
Piedra pointed to Barrio Logan as an example, a neighborhood with some of the highest asthma rates in children in California. People who live in lower-income neighborhoods often encounter more pollutants and have fewer resources to address their challenges.
“This isn’t by chance,” Piedra said. “Intentional redlining and zoning has put poorer folks in terrible conditions.”
Gaining this clarity has shaped how he communicates what’s at stake and why it deserves attention.
“I went to college and I learned, ‘Oh, that’s why my community doesn’t have the resources it needs,’” Piedra said.
Going to college and studying political science gave him a different understanding of how systems work.
“It was a way for me to learn about how systems exist, in a language that I can express,” he said. “I always knew there was a problem. I just didn’t know how it worked.”
He emphasized the importance of attending local government meetings, listening, taking notes and participating.
“Whether it’s the arts or planning a street in your neighborhood, you should be involved in saying what that looks like, because it’s your community,” Piedra said. “I can tell you all you want about corruption, about public meetings, about why it’s important.
“It doesn’t matter until you see it yourself.”
Piedra’s dedication to this cause extends beyond the meetings themselves. It’s about empowering people to understand their role in shaping their communities.
“He would find a way to be an advocate for people, somewhere, somehow,” Brambila said. “That’s his passion, that’s what drives him.”
Daniela Luna attends San Diego State University and is a student Documenter.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.