Fearless Women Leading Climate Action: Meet the Trailblazers
In honor of Women’s History Month, firecrown wants to highlight 9 incredible women advocating for environmental justice and sustainability in their communities, workspaces, and beyond.
Michelle Li
Founder of clever carbon
Michelle Li founded clever carbon, a company dedicated to helping people improve their carbon literacy and reduce their footprint. As a firm believer that what gets measured gets changed, Li created clever carbon to accelerate solutions and actions for a thriving net-zero planet as well as build a transparent and accountable carbon literate society.
She is also the founder of Women and Climate, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring climate action by creating a joyful and safe space for women to learn and talk about the climate. Li’s work has inspired countless individuals to take action towards a more sustainable future. Join us in celebrating Li’s dedication to sustainability and climate action! And don’t forget to take the carbon footprint quiz on clever carbon’s website.
Kristal Hansley
Founder & CEO of WeSolar, Inc
As the Founder & CEO of WeSolar, Inc, Kristal Hansley is the nation's first Black woman CEO in the community solar industry, providing affordable clean energy to inner-city communities that disproportionately lack access.
Under her leadership, WeSolar has built solar plants to be used on a local grid in Black communities where customers can either subscribe to blocks of electricity or purchase a portion of the solar panels. Her work has not only transformed communities, but also inspired countless individuals to take action towards a more sustainable future.
As an entrepreneur and advocate, Hansley has been an instrumental voice for diversity and inclusion in the environmental movement. She serves on the Steering Committee for the non-profit Baltimore People Climate Movement and the board of directors of Maryland Baptist Aged Home, Dads United Organization, and F.A.C.E. (Freedom Advocates Celebrating Ex-Offenders). Check out WeSolar to learn more.
Wawa Gatheru
Founder of Black Girl Environmentalist
As the recipient of the Rhodes, Truman, and Udall Scholarships, amongst numerous other accolades, Wawa Gatheru is a leading voice for intersectional environmentalism.
Gatheru is an instrumental force driving diversity and inclusion in the environmental movement, recognizing that climate change disproportionately affects marginalized communities and exacerbates social and economic inequalities. She is the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, a nonprofit committed to addressing the pathway and retention problem in environmental science and advocacy for Black girls, Black women and Black non-binary people. She has also worked with numerous organizations, including the Sunrise Movement, to advance climate justice policies and has been a strong advocate for the implementation of a Green New Deal.
Her contributions to the environmental movement and climate justice are invaluable. Learn more about her at Wawa Gatheru and Black Girl Environmentalist and join her in the fight for a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Carissa Patrone Maikuri
Program Coordinator at Drawdown Lift
As a Program Coordinator at Drawdown Lift, Maikuri leads partnership engagement and communications efforts to advance climate solutions that promote human well-being, strengthen resilience, and alleviate poverty, particularly in rural communities in Africa and South Asia.
Prior to joining Project Drawdown, she worked to embed equity and justice in the sustainability efforts of businesses and organizations in Michigan. And as a former TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Teacher in Telpaneca, Nicaragua, she had the opportunity to lean into her passion for community-led development that does not perpetuate harm.
Maikuri holds a Master of Public Administration degree with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. She is also a certified climate change and health professional from the Yale School of Public Health and a trained Spanish interpreter. Join us in recognizing Maikuri’s exceptional contributions to the intersection of climate, community, and equity!
Razan Al Mubarak
President of the IUCN
Razan Al Mubarak is the newly elected President of the IUCN and the first president from West Asia. Over the last 20 years, Al Mubarak played a vital role in guiding the UAE towards sustainability and spearheaded environmental protection and species conservation initiatives globally.
She has diverse experience leading the largest environmental regulatory agency in the Middle East, an international philanthropic organization supporting species conservation, and an NGO focused on citizen engagement.
As the Managing Director of the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, Al Mubarak was responsible for all environmental regulation and sustainable development promotion in the emirate. She also founded the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, which has supported thousands of conservation projects in over 160 countries, benefiting over 1,300 different species and subspecies. Al Mubarak's work earned her recognition as one of the top 100 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum in 2018.
Jacqueline Patterson
Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program
As the Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, Jacqueline Patterson has been a leading voice in the fight for environmental justice, working to address issues like climate change, water pollution, and energy justice. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership in which she connects communities with the resources to actualize visions.
Patterson is also an advocate and activist who has worked for 16 years with Women of Color United, a network of individuals and organizations that focuses on issues specific to women of color globally. WOCU conducts education, builds capacity, and advances policies to address the co-factors, drivers, and contexts that result in VAW and HIV&AIDS in Women of Color worldwide.
Vandana Shiva
Founder of the Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology
As the founder of the Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology in India, Shiva is a leading figure in the Ecofeminist movement, advocating for the inseparable connection between feminism and ecology. All while promoting biodiversity conservation, organic farming, farmer's rights, and seed-saving through the Indian NGO.
Shiva has been recognized for her work with numerous awards and honors, including the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize") in 1993, the Sydney Peace Prize in 2010, and the Fukuoka Grand Prize for her contributions to preserving the environment and protecting biodiversity in 2012. She continues to be a prominent voice in the global environmental movement, advocating for ecological justice and a more sustainable future for all.
Catherine Coleman Flowers
Founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
Catherine Coleman Flowers is a leading environmental activist and advocate for climate justice. She founded the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and has been working to address the dire situation of wastewater and sewage treatment in rural America. Her book, "Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret," draws attention to the unacceptable conditions faced by rural communities and has earned her numerous accolades, including a MacArthur Genius Grant and the Gandhi Peace Prize.
Flower’s dedication to environmental justice reminds us that we cannot tackle the climate crisis without also addressing the social and economic inequalities that underlie it. Her work has been instrumental in bringing attention to the struggles of marginalized communities and advocating for policies that center their needs.
To learn more about Flowers and her work, visit her website at https://www.catherinecolemanflowers.com/. We are fortunate to have leaders like Flowers working on the frontlines of the environmental justice movement, and we must continue to support and amplify their voices in our collective efforts to create a more just and sustainable world.
Xiye Bastida
Co-founder of the Re-Earth Initiative
Born in Mexico and raised as part of the Otomi-Toltec Indigenous community, Xiye Bastida has been an active climate justice activist for several years. She is a co-founder of the Re-Earth Initiative, an international youth-led organization that focuses on highlighting the intersectionality of the climate crisis. This is a crucial perspective that recognizes how climate change disproportionately affects marginalized communities, including Indigenous peoples and people of color.
Bastida is also an organizer with Fridays For Future, the global youth-led movement that advocates for urgent action to address the climate crisis. Her leadership in organizing climate strikes has been instrumental in bringing attention to the urgent need for action.
Her work earned her the 2018 UN Spirit Award, which recognizes young people who are making a positive impact on their communities and the world, as well as a place in Time Magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People in the World.
If you want to learn more about Bastida and her work, check out her website at https://www.xiyebeara.com/.
