
Vic Barrett
Democracy Organizer
Alliance for Climate Education
Madison, WI USA
“Now is a really good time to think about your community and what it needs, and work to make that happen. If there is as good a time as any, it’s right now.”
Alliance for Climate Education
Madison, WI USA
“Now is a really good time to think about your community and what it needs, and work to make that happen. If there is as good a time as any, it’s right now.”
Democracy Organizer
I make sure young people get the information they need to fight against the climate crisis.
Some days involve a lot of emailing and admin meetings while other days are spent on brainstorming and action. I really enjoy the brainstorming meetings in which I meet with my colleagues to discuss what's going on in the world currently and how we can best serve our young audience. I work to engage our youth fellows in different actions. I'll collect videos of our fellows speaking about climate change then post those videos to social media in order to uplift their voices.
Here's the first step for high school students
I recommend volunteering with environmental justice organizations as soon as you can. I started getting involved and volunteering my time in high school, which really helped me gain the experience needed to get a full-time organizing role in this sector. Check out local chapters of organizations that already exist. If you're specifically wanting to organize, it's a good idea to start by educating your own community. That way you're building something yourself that you can organize around.
"Climate change isn't real."