After moving home to Seaside, Calif., following his cancer diagnosis, Robert Daniels, Jr. found a new sense of purpose in the soil of Havana-Soliz Park. He recruited friends to help him salvage their childhood park. They spent months pulling weeds, planting native species and establishing a community garden.
Tony Hass — farmer, rancher, county commissioner — stands beneath the sign with the name of his ranch in front of his home a few miles east of Trinidad, Colo. Hass has been speaking out and taking action to make mental health a priority in his rural community where pride often gets in the way of talking about mental health issues. “The old cowboy way is you suck it up and deal with it,” Hass said.
Eighty-two-year-old Joan Brophy Thomas is one of the dozens of volunteers for Love Our Central Coast in Seaside, Calif., an interfaith group that used to have just two big service days annually. Because of Covid-19, they ramped up operations and regularly convened in 2020 to pack and deliver food to the homeless twice a week.
JJ Inman poses for a portrait at the World War II Aviation Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2019. The World War II fighter pilot was interviewed for a series featuring surviving World War II veterans in Colorado Springs. He passed away at the age of 98 on May 7, 2021.
Dr. Curtis Jansen poses for a portrait at CEJ Dentistry in Monterey, Calif. In 2018, Jansen partnered with Dentistry4Vets, a non-profit organization that provides dental care to veterans at no cost.
Christina Martinez poses for a portrait in Monterey, Calif., on July 16, 2020. Martinez is an Indigenous food blogger who is combining her background in fine dining with using local - and native - ingredients in her recipes.
Betsy Intravia, a nurse at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, prepares to go into a patient’s room in the ICU on July 20, 2020. Among the data points that allow California counties to advance reopening is availability of PPE.
Prospector Jason Roy, 40, looks out toward a ridge near the summit of Mount Antero. Roy and his partner Ian Schimpfle are "rising stars" on North America’s highest gem field.
Author Alka Joshi poses for a portrait in Pacific Grove, Calif., on September 15, 2020.
World War II veteran and woodworker Bill Vanaman poses for a portrait in his shop in the basement of his Colorado Springs home on December 3, 2019.
Jeremy Turner, poses for a portrait during his shift working as an ice shoveler on Fisherman’s Wharf 2 in Monterey, Calif., on April 17, 2020. Turner was working as a carpenter in Southern California when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He went without work until mid-April when he got a job as an ice shoveler. He was featured in a series about essential workers during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Michael Turner, who was born and raised in Monterey, Calif., stands on a hill at Presidio Park, overlooking Monterey Bay. The red, while and blue bokeh around him represents the freedom or lack thereof—of the diverse people of Monterey County.
Ted Balestreri, co-founder and CEO of The Cannery Row Co., stands on Cannery Row in Monterey, Calif., on May 20, 2020.
Patrick Dunne poses for a portrait outside of his home in Salinas, Calif., on July 20, 2020. For years, 75-year-old Dunne had started his day every day by waking up and walking the streets of Salinas getting 10,000 steps in before going to work at Palma School. He ate healthy, exercised and had no underlying conditions that make Covid-19 dangerous for so many, yet ended up in the hospital for four days after his diagnosis.
Ray Wineman sits outside of his RV in the Roberts Lake homeless encampment in Seaside, Calif., on July 15, 2021. Wineman was one of the many in the encampment that was relocated to a lot in Fort Ord during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Juan Martinez posed for a portrait at Patriot Park in Greenfield, Calif., on Sept. 28, 2020. Martinez is part of a group of residents in South County that are demanding to be notified by the county when pesticides are applied near schools
Adriana Molina holds a photo of her departed father Pedro Molina, with her mom Maria at their home near Castroville, Calif., on Nov 13, 2020. They believe Pedro was infected with Covid-19 in August while working in agriculture fields in Monterey County.