Identity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement

Empowered by the Columbus climate strike, Kira Jones, a Green 2.0 Summer Fellow and recent graduate of Ohio State University, has developed a passion for diversifying the environmental legal field. But with the rise of digital activism, she has struggled with engaging with in-person environmental activism. In this blog, Kira shares her story with environmental advocacy as a college student and how she would encourage other young environmentalists to build a climate action community.

Maura is a real-life Black woman superhero! While her day-to-day work includes public engagement and communications at the Philadelphia Water Department, she also serves as PWD’s superhero mascot, Water Woman. A proud Philadelphia native, Maura holds a custom degree in Sustainable Product Development from Drexel University and is passionate about advocating for environmental justice and equity in her local community.

Jessica Leung is a program manager for Early Talent Diversity Programs at World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The global conservation nonprofit is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat the climate crisis. In this blog, Jessica shares how WWF’s new internship program helps elevate underrepresented students into conservation careers.  

The Legacy of Apartheid and Water Access in South African Schools By Chyna Brodie, Green 2.0 Winter Fellow With an upbringing shaped by her parents’ love of travel, finding an opportunity to experience that same worldliness for herself was always a priority for Chyna. While pursuing environmental advocacy, climate justice, and student government in college,…

Liz Gilchrist sits as the Greenpeace Fund Board Chair and has served across Greenpeace USA's various boards for the past 17 years. In this blog piece, she reflects on her career and how Greenpeace has worked internally to advance diversity and racial justice, most recently marked by the appointment of Ebony Twilley as sole Executive Director of the organization.

Diane Regas is the president and CEO of Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. In this blog, Diane discusses the recent opening of the Chiloquin Elementary schoolyard and how a new pilot program is leading the way for more community schoolyards around the country.

In this blog, Angel and Edwin discuss how Puerto Rico’s recent bankruptcy, hurricanes, earthquakes, and socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have provided a unique opportunity to comprehensively incorporate these issues into the formulation of a new economic model that prioritizes sustainable economic growth, climate change, natural disaster risks, and public health issues: the blue economy.

Who is Leading the Way to a Better Future? By Cynthia Hoyle In this blog Cynthia Hoyle, Sierra Club Board Member, shares her journey to a leadership role in the environmental movement and how it ties into advancing racial equity. She also explores the importance of diverse organizations and what the appointment of Sierra Club’s new…

In the film Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust, intergenerational women from Native American, Japanese American, and rancher communities form an unexpected alliance to defend their land and water. In this blog we hear from Ann Kaneko, Director and Producer of Manzanar, Diverted, and Impact Producer Jin Yoo-Kim on how they centered community and consent in their filmmaking process

Yesenia Rivera is the Executive Director of Energy Allies. As ED, Yesenia centers climate-impacted communities in clean energy projects, policy advocacy, and education. Yesenia has been a community organizer from the start, working alongside climate-impacted communities. Her first-hand experiences of energy insecurity mobilized her to advocate for eliminating barriers to solar for all. In this post, Yesenia shares how her grounding in community activism has informed the brand and programmatic transformation of the NGO she leads to create true allyship with local climate-impacted communities.