Finding Your Place in the Climate Movement

By Jess Wilber, Community Engagement Associate 

This April, former Vice President Al Gore and an all-star lineup of thought leaders, experts, and organizers will come together in New York City for a Climate Reality Leadership Corps training unlike any other. If you want to learn what climate change means for you and get the know-how and tools to make a real difference, we encourage you to apply today.  

While we’re excited for what this training has in store, we know it may be hard to envision how an event like this can impact your climate journey. That’s why today, we want to introduce you to two outstanding Climate Reality Leaders who are using their training experience to pave the way for a sustainable tomorrow and celebrate the coalition of dedicated leaders they work with.     

Tom Hirasuna planned to retire after a long career in food and biological engineering, but instead adopted climate advocacy as his new “day job.”  

“I studied and worked with petroleum-based products during my school years, but I never thought much about how they were produced. I had been hearing Al Gore speak about climate change for years and remembered watching ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ but the severity of the problem never really sunk in until I watched the sequel,” Tom told Climate Reality. “At that point, I realized very little progress was being made. I was drawn to Climate Reality because the organization’s approaches are so grounded in the latest science and solutions.” 

When the 2018 IPCC report was released, Laura Faulk realized that there would only be about 10 years left to tackle the climate crisis. She was reminded of her own experience watching “An Inconvenient Truth,” when she and a group of other parents from her children’s pre-school were all at once filled with a desire to do what they could to protect their futures. Honoring that past desire, she took her children to see Vice President Gore deliver his signature Truth in 10 presentation at an event in New York City.  

“I was so impressed by what seemingly ordinary people could accomplish through the Climate Reality Leadership Corps,” she recalled. “I never thought I could be like the incredible leaders he highlighted. But my kids were getting older, and I had nothing to lose, so I jumped right in.”  

The two met during the 2019 Atlanta training, where they were fortunately seated alongside a crew of other New Yorkers. Their mentor, Hudson Valley & Catskills New York chapter chair Tim Guinee, encouraged them to get more involved in his chapter’s work. He even invited them to the New York State Coalition’s annual retreat two weeks after the training.  

Laura and Tom bonded over the life-changing experience of meeting so many other dedicated climate activists and were encouraged to get more folks from their local communities involved. This was especially important for Tom, who attended meetings virtually to avoid a three-hour commute.  

Tom went on to found and co-chair the Finger Lakes Greater Region New York chapter and take on a leadership role in the NYS Coalition. Meanwhile, Laura started the Capital Region New York chapter. The chapter formed a strong federal policy working group, whose efforts culminated in the development of The First Day Scorecard. The scorecard tracked progress on a subset of the commitments made in the Biden Administration’s climate plan for a clean energy revolution and environmental justice. It was used to educate the public about climate actions taken during the first 100 days of the Biden Administration and to hold the administration accountable for its promises. 

The NYS volunteer coalition grew stronger, incorporating new leadership and forming working groups focused on everything from letter writing to delivering educational presentations. But it was their legislative advocacy working group that really started to make waves in early 2021.  

Adopting the core goals and structure of Climate Reality’s Our Climate Moment: From Acts to Action campaign, the team began coordinating lobby meetings with every New York congressional and senate office in support of Build Back Better. Laura facilitated the working group and supported chapters in scheduling meetings with their federal representatives.  

A core group of people from the NYS Coalition participated in meetings across the state to demonstrate the breadth of their network, ensuring their legislators could no longer ignore the call for federal climate action that was growing across the state. 

“It just made sense to focus on federal and state-wide legislative advocacy, even if it wasn’t something we had experience with,” Tom reflected. “Some of us had never lobbied before. But it felt like we had such a short window of time to enact substantial climate legislation, and the political will that was forming made it easy to get involved.”  

Laura agreed, noting that legislative advocacy felt like the most impactful project she could focus her time and energy on. 

At last year’s Power Up: From Acts to Action virtual leadership training, the duo received the Green Ring Award. The highest honor that a Climate Reality Leader can receive from the organization, the award is offered to volunteers who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to their roles as climate communicators and activists.  

“[The Green Ring Award] is not something I thought I’d ever receive,” Laura admitted. “I’ve been so in awe of past recipients and have the utmost respect for their work. This recognition isn’t just for [me and Tom], it’s a recognition for the whole NYS Coalition. And it was so gratifying for myself and for the exceptional people I work with to be honored.”  

When asked what winning the Green Ring Award meant to him, Tom simply stated that he didn’t feel his own work was that outstanding. He reiterated the incredible hard work and dedication of the whole coalition, explaining that every leader within its ranks was more than deserving of the award.  

“There are so many people who deserved it, but our recognition was still so energizing for the whole team at a time when they needed something to celebrate,” he said.  

But the Green Ring Award was far from the only major win the NYS Coalition saw in 2023.  

The team led hundreds of chapter members across the state to build popular support for key state legislation, including the All Electric Buildings Act. Passed in early May, the law will help New Yorkers take a huge bite out of carbon pollution, create a healthier and more sustainable home, and save money on clean technologies.  

In September, members from all seven of the coalition’s chapters mobilized for the March to End all Fossil Fuels, helping to make it the largest climate mobilization in the United States since the start of the pandemic. 

In 2024, Laura, Tom, and the rest of the volunteers in the NYS Coalition will be lobbying in support of the NY HEAT Act, which will facilitate the transition from fracked gas to clean heating technologies while protecting consumers. They’ll also be focused on voter registration efforts to ensure civic participation. And of course, they’ll continue to help individuals, business owners, state and local policymakers, educators, and community leaders learn about the funding opportunities and other incentives available through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).    

As Laura and Tom have expressed, the success of the climate movement depends on everyone doing what they can to act, no matter how small or insignificant those contributions may seem. Their number one piece of advice to aspiring climate activists is to find an encouraging network of peers. These folks can help you identify your strengths, set tangible goals, create boundaries for your work, uplift your victories, and support you through periods of burnout.  

Climate Reality chapters can offer this sense of community, along with tangible ways to inspire climate action that are right for you. 

For Laura and Tom, that support network is the NYS Coalition. And we want to take a moment to recognize the many other current and former coalition leaders who have worked alongside them. If you’re attending our New York City Leadership Training this April, you’ll likely have the privilege of meeting many of the folks mentioned below. As you put faces to names, know that you’ll be in good hands with this team. Together, we’ll be able to reach true net zero by 2050. 

Special thanks to Lauren Brois, Linda Burke, René Carver, Marcy Cleveland, Sally Courtright, Faith Cummings, Linda Curtis, Anne Erling, Paul Fisk, Tim Guinee, Anshul Gupta, Janet Harkham, Juliana Haliti, Philip Khan, Paul Kiesler, Marianne Krasny, Barbara Luka, David Mason, Maura McNulty, Lisa Mertz, Eve Morgenstern, Teresa Niedda, Samrat Pathania, Thomas Polton, Deepa Prasad, Francesca Rheannon, Deanee Rios, Cate Rogers, Suzie Ross, Lynn Saxton, Harriet Shugarman, Diane Stefani, and Paula Welling. 

If you are ready to take climate action in your community like Laura, Tom, and their coalition teammates, be sure to join Climate Reality in New York City this April 12-14 for our latest Climate Reality Leadership Corps training to gain the tools, knowledge, and network you need to help support a healthy, sustainable future for generations to come.