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WECAN Team
The WECAN International Team
Osprey Orielle Lake

OSPREY ORIELLE LAKE

Founder and Executive Director

Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, working nationally and internationally with grassroots and frontline women leaders, policy-makers, and diverse coalitions to build women's leadership, climate justice, resilient communities, and a just transition to a decentralized, democratized clean energy future. Osprey is the Co-Director of the Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegations, and actively leads WECAN International's projects — from various trainings and work to shift the narrative on climate justice using a feminist lens, to engagements at United Nations climate conferences — from frontline delegations, to campaigns such as the 'Women for Forests' program. Osprey was the visionary behind the International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit, which brought together 100 global women leaders to draft and implement a 'Women’s Climate Action Agenda', and co-founded the International Women’s Earth and Climate Initiative (IWECI), the precursor initiative of WECAN International. Osprey is honored to serve on the Executive Committee for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, and has been a core organizer of various International Rights of Nature Tribunals. She has served on the board of the Praxis Peace Institute and on the Steering Committee for The UN Women’s Major Group for the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Awards include National Women’s History Project Honoree, Taking The Lead To Save Our Planet, the Woman Of The Year Outstanding Achievement Award from the California Federation Of Business And Professional Women, and the Be the Dream Lifetime Achievement award. Osprey's writing has been featured in publications including The Guardian, Common Dreams, Earth Island Journal, The Ecologist, OpenDemocracy, and EcoWatch, and she is the author of the award-winning book,'Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature'.

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KATHERINE QUAID

Communications and Outreach Coordinator

Katherine Quaid (she/her) was born and raised in rural central Oregon and is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla. Her dedication to climate justice is tied to the lands of her ancestors and the many communities nationally and around the world that are fighting for a healthy future. She is passionate about sharing her voice for justice, and collaborating with frontline women across Turtle Island (USA) and globally in resistance movements and climate solutions as the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN). Katherine also oversees the WECAN Women Speak storytelling database. In her free time Katherine spends time in nature learning more about her ancestral lands, beading with her family, and learning new languages.

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ASHLEY GUARDADO

Program Associate

Ashley Guardado is a queer Latina, activist, organizer and poet from a large blended family with roots in New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Mexico. Because of her multicultural upbringing, intersectional movement building and justice work have always been an intrinsic part of her nature. Central to her work is the experience of directly witnessing the effects of environmental racism in her family and community in their hometown of Chester, Pennsylvania. As the first college graduate in her family, with an education from New York University and the City College of New York, her background in Social Work and International Relations have been integral in shaping her passions for organizing and resisting with intention and purpose through an equity lens. She has worked for organizations such as the Audre Lorde Project, Daytop Village, the United Nations, Amnesty International, and the Peoples Climate Movement. As the Program Associate for the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, she looks forward to collaborating with frontline women around the world united in resistance movements and climate solutions. In her freetime, you might find her in nature, moon-gazing, or spending time with loved ones as she navigates her personal journey of healing and transforming the generational wounds of assimilation.

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SOPHIA LOVATO

 Forest and Food Sovereignty Program Associate 

Sophia Lovato (she/her) was born and raised in Colorado and is a proud citizen of the Osage Nation. She has dedicated her education to study human-environmental connections through Ethnobotany, Psychology, and Global Environmental Sustainability in the belief that nourishing these connections will cultivate a sustainable future. As part of Sophia’s own healing and reconnecting journey, she has grown passionate in the fight for food security and food sovereignty, as food is medicine and a cornerstone of cultural identity. As WECAN’s Forest and Food Sovereignty Program Associate, Sophia is coordinating, researching, and supporting projects centering women’s leadership in all of their diversity in food sovereignty and security and forest protection. She brings with her Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge to advance sustainable agriculture and foster our relationship to the land.  

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SARWAT CHOWDHURY

Policy Coordinator

Sarwat grew up in Bangladesh and has worked on climate change, gender, and sustainable development for over 20 years across six continents. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park, a Sustainability Certificate from UCLA, an MA from Baylor University, and a BA from Berea College. Dr. Chowdhury is an experienced policy advisor, strategic planner, program manager, thought leader, and economist with demonstrated expertise in climate change adaptation and mitigation, climate justice, just transition, and renewable energy. She has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in academic journals and co-authored multiple reports for the World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, and UNFCCC on these matters. Sarwat participated in and co-organized UNDP side events at the 2012 Rio+20 Conference in Brazil and successive High-Level Political Forums (HLPFs) in NY. She has also presented at successive UNFCCC Climate COPs (Marrakech, Madrid, and Glasgow), the Climate Vulnerable Forum (Dhaka), World Circular Economy Forums (Yokohama and Helsinki), and other international conferences. As Policy Coordinator, Sarwat will support WECAN's policy strategies and interventions across all campaigns. Sarwat enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering in community activities.

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MARY LIZ ESTRADA

Research and Policy Associate

Mary-Elizabeth (Mary Liz) Estrada (She/Her) is a Latinx woman born and raised in Florida with ancestral roots from Cuba, Ireland, and Hungary. She received her M.A. in Global Sustainability with a concentration in Sustainability Policy from the University of South Florida and holds certificates in Spirituality and Agroecology from Florida International University. Mary Liz has worked for organizations such as the CLEO Institute and Florida Student Power, both of which have been rooted in intersectional climate and environmental justice. As the Research and Policy Associate for WECAN, she focuses on divestment from fossil fuels, eco-feminist policies, Indigenous and new economy principles, the global Just Transition movement, and supporting the work of frontline women and gender diverse leaders. To regenerate, she loves reading solarpunk books, doing yoga, puzzles, and watching live music. 

WYOLAH GARDEN

WYOLAH GARDEN

Administrative Coordinator

Wyolah has been involved with the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) since its inception and is the Administrative Coordinator, responsible for office management, volunteer services and all financial matters. She was the Managing Partner at tax accounting firm, Kreger and Garden for over 20 years and is currently an independent tax preparer/consultant. Wyolah has assisted numerous non-profits in gaining their non-profit status and filing their annual tax returns.

Program Coordinators

NEEMA NAMADAMU

NEEMA NAMADAMU

WECAN Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Neema Namadamu is a visionary peacemaker from Bukavu, South Kivu Province in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where she advocates for peace, women’s rights, rights for persons with disabilities, rights for Indigenous pygmy peoples, and Rights of Nature. She is Founder and Director of SAFECO, the Synergy of Congolese Women’s Associations and Maman Shujaa: Hero Women of the Congo, through which she has a established a media center for Congolese women to make their voices heard on the range of issues affecting their country. Neema also serves as WECAN International’s Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As WECAN DRC Coordinator, Neema leads workshops and trainings with local women to address deforestation, build women’s leadership, support Traditional Ecologic Knowledge, and protect the rich ecosystems of the Itombwe rainforest. In June of 2012 Neema was selected as one of three World Pulse journalists for their annual Live Tour of the U.S., where she spoke before the U.S. Department of State, the Clinton Global Initiative, and was interviewed by CNN.

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WANDA CULP

WECAN Coordinator in the Tongass Region, Alaska

Wanda “Kashudoha” Loescher Culp is an Indigenous Tlingit activist, advocate, and hunter, fisher and gatherer of wild foods, born and raised in Juneau, and living in Hoonah, Alaska. She is the mother of three children, and is recognized as a storyteller, cultural interpreter, playwright, and co-producer of the film Walking in Two Worlds. As of 2016, Wanda has united with WECAN as a Regional Coordinator, revitalizing initiatives to protect the Tongass Rainforest and the traditional rights and lifeways of the regions Indigenous peoples.

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CASEY CAMP-HORINEK

WECAN Program Coordinator and Board Member

Casey Camp-Horinek of the Ponca Nation is a community leader, long-time Native rights activist, Environmental Ambassador, actress, and WECAN Board Member and Senior Project Lead. As traditional Drumkeeper for the Ponca Pa-tha-ta, Woman’s Scalp Dance Society, Camp-Horinek helps maintain the cultural identity of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma for herself, her family and her community. She has been at the forefront of grassroots community efforts to educate and empower both Native and non-Native community members on environmental and civil rights issues. She has raised her voice and taken action in countless forums across the world. Casey also serves as WECAN's Special Programs Advisor, and is an honored member of the WECAN International Advisory Council and US Women’s Climate Justice Initiative.

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TAILY TERENA

WECAN Coordinator in Brazil

Taily Terena from the Terena nation in Brazil is an Indigenous rights and climate activist who coordinates WECAN programs in Brazil. a full bio coming soon!

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MONIQUE VERDIN

Indigenous Food Security & Sovereignty Program Coordinator

Monique Verdin is a daughter of southeast Louisiana’s Houma Nation.   The complex interconnectedness of environment, economics, culture, climate and change have inspired her to intimately document Houma relatives and their lifeways at the ends of the bayous, as they endure the realities of restoration and adaptation in the heart of America’s Mississippi River Delta. Monique is the subject/co-writer/co-producer of the award-winning documentary My Louisiana Love (2012). Her interdisciplinary work has been included in an assortment of environmentally inspired projects, including the multiplatform/ performance/ ecoexperience Cry You One (2012-2017) as well as the publication Unfathomable City : A New Orleans Atlas (2013). Monique is a member of the United Houma Nation Tribal Council; member of Another Gulf is Possible; and is director of The Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange; an experiential project engaged in building a community record through cultural happenings, strategic installations and as a digital archive, sharing stories, native seeds and local knowledge. Photo by Andy Cook, via Another Gulf Is Possible.

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HELENA GUALINGA

UNFCCC COP  Delegate and Steering Committee for Escazu Agreement

Helena Siren Gualinga is a youth social activist, of Kichwa-indigenous and Swedish origin. She is known for her advocacy for climate and environmental justice.  

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MICHELLE COOK

Co-Director Indigenous Women’s Divestment Delegations

Michelle Cook J.D. (Diné/Navajo) is the Founder of the Divest Invest Protect campaign and Co-Director of the Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegations. She is an indigenous human rights lawyer and a commissioner on the Navajo Human Rights Commission, and is currently a SJD candidate at the University of Arizona's Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program. She is writing her dissertation on financial institutions, indigenous people’s human rights, gender, and indigenous transnationalism. She has worked with the Water Protector Legal Collective, the on the ground legal team which provides legal services to those arrested at the Standing Rock encampment. She advocates for indigenous human rights internationally.

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FADOUA BROUR

WECAN Co-Coordinator for the Middle East/North African Region

Fadoua Brour is a climate change Activist from Morocco. She is National Coordinator of “Arab Youth Climate Movement” and President Founder of “Moroccan Youth Climate Movement” a non-profit organization that works to create a generation-wide movement to solve the Climate Crisis and promote the role of youth and women in the sustainable development process. Fadoua works on sustainable development and Climate Change issues across the MENA Region and Morocco in particular by organizing caravans, conferences, campaigns, Workshops and trainings in favor of Youth and women in order to build their capacities in terms of Sensitization, Mobilization and Leadership techniques and also the environmental advocacy process. Her aim is to drive formal and informal climate and environmental education, building the capacity of local populations to understand the effects of climate change on their communities and to take action.

SALLY A. RANNEY

SALLY A. RANNEY

Senior Advisor and Advisory Council WECAN

Co-Founder International Women’s Earth and Climate Initiative (IWECI) 

Sally is a Senior Advisor and Advisory Council member of WECAN, Co-Founder of IWECI, and Founder/ President of Earth Restoration Alliance. She has 30 years of professional national and international experience in land, water, energy, sustainability, and biodiversity policy and management. She is President of American Renewable Energy Institute (AREI), Sally served as Co-Director of the Institute's AREDAY Summit for three years and was instrumental in designing and building the Summit into one of the most respected renewable energy conferences in the U.S. She is CEO of Stillwater Preservation LLC, a wetlands- mitigation banking company and serves as an Advisor to P4P Energy, an innovative solar energy company. A former Resource Policy Analyst for The Wilderness Society, Sally was appointed by President Reagan to serve on the President’s Commission on American Outdoors. Sally worked on the Clinton transition team, and created a youth conservation corps, which informed the framework for AmeriCorps. Sally is currently on the Advisory Board for The iMatter Campaign, an international youth-led climate change action campaign and was a founding board member of the Grand Canyon Trust, Lighthawk, and the Natural Step USA. Co-founder and President of American Wildlands, Sally developed Corridors of Life, the first large GIS mapping project undertaken by a U.S. NGO. She is a Patron of Nature for the IUCN, a moderator, and co-founder of A Matter of Degree Media.

US Steering Committee
U.S. Women's Climate Justice Initiative Steering Committee
CASEY CAMP-HORINEK

CASEY CAMP-HORINEK

* Please see the 'Senior Advisors' section to read Casey Camp Horinek's biography

JACQUELINE PATTERSON

JACQUELINE PATTERSON

Jacqueline Patterson is the Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Programme and coordinator and co-founder of Women of Color United. She works as a global women’s rights consultant, researcher, program manager, coordinator, and activist on issues of women‘s rights, violence against women, HIV/AIDS, racial justice, economic justice, and environmental and climate justice. Jacqueline serves on the Advisory Committee for the Grandmother Project, the Steering Committee of the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate Change, the Board of Directors for the Institute of the Black World and the US Climate Action Network, the Executive Committee for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Alumni Network, and the Coordination Team of the Gender Justice Working Group of the US Social Forum. Previously, Jacqueline served as a Senior Women’s Rights Policy Analyst for ActionAid, where she worked to build a women’s rights lens on issues of food rights, macroeconomics, and climate change, as well as on the intersection of HIV/AIDS and violence against women. Jacqueline is the author of many powerful publications, including “Climate Change is a Civil Rights Issue,” “Gulf Oil Drilling Disaster: Gendered Layers of Impact,” “Disasters, Climate Change Uproot Women of Color,” and “Equity in Disasters: Civil and Human Rights Challenges in the Context of Emergency Events,”. She holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University.

PENNIE OPAL PLANT

PENNIE OPAL PLANT

Pennie Opal Plant, (Yaqui, Mexican, English, Dutch, Choctaw, Cherokee and Algonquin Ancestry),has been an activist for over 30 years, working on anti-nuclear, environmental, and indigenous rights campaigns. Pennieis a founding member of Idle No More Bay Area California, working ceaselessly to address climate change, fossil fuel extraction, and environmental injustice in and around her community. She has been central to organizing education and resistance efforts related to the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California, and is part of the team arranging and leading Refinery Corridor Healing Walks to expose toxic sites in the area and promote healing and unity amongst affected communities. Pennie is a founding member of the Bay Area Rights of Nature Alliance and, since 2005, a lecturer of Democracy School with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. In 2014, Pennie participated in the International Summit on the Rights of Nature in Quito, Ecuador.

Pennie Opal Plant is also a Co-Founder of Movement Rights, a powerful organization working to support communities confronted with harmful corporate projects assert their right to protect and direct the future of their community by passing new laws that place the rights of residents and the Earth above corporations. She is also the creator and owner of Gathering Tribes, a gallery and network promoting the work of Indigenous artisans of the Americas.

HARRIET SHUGARMAN

HARRIET SHUGARMAN

Harriet Shugarman is the Founder and Executive Director of ClimateMama, an organization seeking to educate and inspire families to understand climate change and take tangible steps to build a healthy world for their children and future generations. Previously, Harriet Shugarman worked as a policy analyst and economist with the Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario governments in Canada, and later with the International Monetary Fund as the Special Assistant to the Director of the United Nations Office in New York. She has worked at most of the large United Nations international conference, including the first UN Earth Summit. In 2007, Harriet was selected to participate in a training program led by Former Vice President Al Gore and sponsored by The Climate Reality Project. She received direct training from Al Gore on climate change and how to educate the public about this critical issue, and was inspired to found ClimateMama soon thereafter. Harriet is the Chair of her town's Environmental Commission and Green Team, teaches Climate Change Policy at a liberal arts college, serves as a Mentor for the Climate Reality Project, and writes on climate change policy for a wide variety of publications including MSNBC, Health Child Health World, and Modern Parenthood. She serves on the board of the Mothers Project, Mothers for Sustainable Energy, The Barack Obama Green Charter High School, and Air-Soil-Water.

TRISH WEBER

TRISH WEBER

Trish Weber is a climate activist who lives in Corvallis Oregon.  She has extensive experience working with opposition groups fighting expansion of the Alberta tar sands, with a specific emphasis on supporting and allying with Canadian First Nations and other indigenous-led organizations.  She served as co-leader of the Women Donors Network Earth Circle from 2009-2014, and also served on the WDN Board of Directors from 2012-2014.  In 2010 she co-founded "All Against the Haul", a grassroots coalition which successfully prevented ExxonMobil from construction an industrial supply transportation corridor through pristine mountains in Idaho and Montana.  She holds a BSEE from Montana State University. Prior to her activism work, she spent 25 years working as a professional engineer and land use planner. 

Advisory Council
International
Advisory Council
JANE GOODALL, PH.D., DBE

JANE GOODALL, PH.D., DBE

In July 1960, Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in what is now Tanzania. Her work at Gombe Stream would become the foundation of future primatological research and redefine the relationship between humans and animals. In 1977, Dr. Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which continues the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats, and which also hosts the innovative, youth and community-centered conservation and development program, Roots & Shoots. Today, Dr. Goodall travels an average of 300 days per year, speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees, other environmental crises, and her reasons for hope that humankind will solve the problems it has imposed on the earth. Dr. Goodall’s honors include the French Legion of Honor, the Medal of Tanzania, and Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize. In 2002, Dr. Goodall was appointed to serve as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and, in 2003, was named a Dame of the British Empire. Photo Credit: David S. Holloway

DR. VANDANA SHIVA, INDIA

DR. VANDANA SHIVA, INDIA

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a physicist, philosopher, environmental activist and eco feminist. She is the founder and director of Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology in New Delhi. She is author of numerous books including, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis; Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply; Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace; and Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development. Shiva has also served as an adviser to governments in India and abroad as well as NGOs, including the International Forum on Globalization, the Women’s Environment and Development Organization and the Third World Network. She has received numerous awards, including 1993 Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) and the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize.

NAOMI KLEIN, CANADA

NAOMI KLEIN, CANADA

Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the New York Times and #1 international bestseller, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Published worldwide in 2007, The Shock Doctrine appeared on multiple ‘best of year’ lists. Klein’s first book No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies was also an international bestseller that The New York Times called “a movement bible.” In 2011, Time Magazine named it one of the Top 100 non-fiction books published since 1923. Klein is a contributing editor for Harper’s, a reporter for Rolling Stone, and writes a column for The Nation and The Guardian. Klein is a member of the board of directors for 350.org, a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. Klein is currently at work on a new book and film on how the climate crisis can spur economic and political transformation.

ROSEMARY OLIVE MBONE ENIE, CAMEROON

ROSEMARY OLIVE MBONE ENIE, CAMEROON

Rosemary Olive Mbone Enie is a Cameroonian Geologist and Gender Ambassador with the Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) of the Netherlands. She is the Founder/CEO and President of the Society for Women Empowerment Education and Training (SWEET) Africa Foundation and the Executive Director of Cameroon Vision Trust. For over 20 years she has been actively working in the field of sustainable development and environmental management at grassroots levels in Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Liberia and beyond. WECC is working in partnership with Rosemary in her Directorship of the Women’s Environmental Climate Action Network in West Africa and in establishing the First Ladies Action on Climate Change (FLACC), Africa. Rosemary was instrumental in the renaming of the organization from IWECI to WECAN, which the entire WECAN team appreciates and celebrates!

CASEY CAMP-HORINEK, PONCA USA

CASEY CAMP-HORINEK, PONCA USA

* Please see the 'Senior Advisors' section to read Casey Camp Horinek's biography

THILMEEZA HUSSAIN

THILMEEZA HUSSAIN

Thilmeeza Hussain is a lecturer of sustainability and global warming and an environmentalist. She is the founder of Voice of Women (VoW) Maldives, she sits on the advisory board of Women’s Earth Climate Action Network and is also a member of Climate Wise Women, global platforms promoting women’s leadership on climate change. Thilmeeza was serving as the Deputy Permanent Representative (DPR) of the Republic of the Maldives to United Nations from 2009 until 2012 when the first democratically elected government was toppled. During her term at the UN, she had the sustainable development portfolio and led the Maldives on environmental and climate change issues. She was amongst the voice of a new generation of women in the developing world who see climate change as the fundamental challenge for their future as well as a key platform for leadership. During the time she was also accredited as the non-residential Deputy Ambassador to the United States and Canada. She worked extensively with the decentralization process and was also in charge of the establishment of North Province Office. When Thilmeeza resigned following the coup d’état that overthrew the government she was seven months pregnant, today she is a proud mother of a five-year-old boy. She continues to serve on the Foreign Relations Committee for the Maldivian Democratic Party; a party committed to restoring democracy in the Maldives. Her motto: Dream big, work hard.

JODY WILLIAMS, USA

JODY WILLIAMS, USA

Jody Williams is a  Nobel Peace Prize Laureate  and Chair of the Nobel Women's Initiative (USA). She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban landmines through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which shared the Peace Prize with her that year. At that time, she became the 10th woman - and third American woman - in its almost 100-year history to receive the Prize.  Since her protests of the Vietnam War, she has been a life-long advocate of freedom, self-determination and human and civil rights. Since January of 2006, Jody Williams has worked toward those ends through the Nobel Women's Initiative, which she chairs.  Along with sister Nobel Laureate Dr. Shirin Ebadi of Iran, she took the lead in establishing the Nobel Women’s Initiative.  They were joined at that time by sister Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire. The Initiative uses the prestige of the Nobel Peace Prize and the influence and access of the women Nobel Laureates themselves to support and amplify the efforts of women around the world working for sustainable peace with justice and equality. 

NINA SIMONS, USA

NINA SIMONS, USA

Nina Simons is an award-winning social entrepreneur and visionary thinker. In 1990, she co-founded Bioneers (www.bioneers.org) with her husband and partner, Kenny Ausubel. As President, she has helped to lead the organization through 23 years of identifying, gathering and disseminating breakthrough innovations that reveal a positive and life-honoring future that’s within our grasp, today. Nina’s work currently focuses on writing, speaking and teaching about women, leadership, diversity, nature, systems thinking and restoring the feminine in us all. She co-created the Cultivating Women’s Leadership residential trainings.

Nina co-edited the anthology, Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart, which contains 30 inspiring essays by over 40 contributors, who collectively help to redefine the leadership landscape.

CARMEN CAPRILLES, BOLIVIA

CARMEN CAPRILES, BOLIVIA

Carmen Capriles of La Paz, Bolivia started Reacción Climática in 2010, as a volunteer organization which aims to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change on the Andean region. She has actively participated in different UN processes like the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement, with special emphasis on women's rights and gender equality - and most recently in the Escazú Agreement, advocating for Environmental Defenders. Carmen holds a degree from Bolivia as an Engineer in Agriculture, as well as a degree in Sustainable Rural Development from Egypt.

MAY BOEVE, USA

MAY BOEVE, USA

May Boeve is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of 350.org, an international climate change campaign. On October 24, 2009, 350.org coordinated the most widespread day of political action in history, with more than 5,200 events in 181 countries all conveying the message: 350, the safe level of CO2 in the atmosphere. Previously, May co-founded and helped lead the “Step It Up” 2007 campaign, which helped to change the debate about global warming policy in the United States by combining the efforts of over 200 partner organizations. May was the recipient of the Brower Youth Award in 2006 and is the co-author of Fight Global Warming Now. She has spoken about the climate challenge in Greece, Spain, Denmark, Poland, and throughout the U.S.

DR. SYLVIA EARLE, USA

DR. SYLVIA EARLE, USA

Sylvia Earle, called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the first "Hero for the Planet," is an oceanographer, explorer, author, lecturer and scientist. She is executive director for several corporate and nonprofit organizations, including the Aspen Institute, the Conservation Fund, American Rivers, and others. Former chief scientist of NOAA, Earle is founder of the Mission Blue Foundation. She has a B.S., an M.S., Ph.D. and 15 honorary degrees. She has authored more than 150 publications, lectured in over 60 countries, and appeared in hundreds of TV productions. Earle is the author of Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans and co-author of Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas. Earle has led over 60 expeditions and logged more than 6,000 hours underwater, including leading the first team of women aquanauts in 1970. She has a record for solo diving to a depth of 1,000 meters.

MELINA LABOUCAN-MASSIMO, FIRST NATIONS, CANADA

MELINA LABOUCAN-MASSIMO, FIRST NATIONS, CANADA

Melina Laboucan-Massimo is a long-time Indigenous and environmental activist. Since 2009, Melina has been working as a tar sands campaigner for Greenpeace Canada. She also works with the Indigenous Environmental Network. Melina is a Lubicon Cree from Northern Alberta who knows the reality of the oil sands too well. Having grown up in the oil sands region, she witnessed first-hand the impacts of oil sands development on her Nation’s people, culture, and land. She now spends most of her days traveling inside Canada and around the world to share her their stories and realities with a larger audience.

KANDI MOSSETT, MANDAN, HIDATSA, ARIKARA, USA

KANDI MOSSETT, MANDAN, HIDATSA, ARIKARA, USA

Kandi Mossett has emerged as a leading voice in the fight to bring visibility to the impacts that climate change and environmental injustice are having on Indigenous communities across North America. After completing her Master’s Degree in Environmental Management, Ms. Mossett began her work with the Indigenous Environmental as the Tribal Campus Climate Challenge Coordinator, engaging with more than 30 tribal colleges to instate community based environmental programs, discuss issues of socio-ecologic injustice, and connect indigenous youth with green jobs. She currently serves as the IEN’s Lead Organizer on the Extreme Energy & Just Transition Campaign, focusing at present on creating awareness about the environmentally & socially devastating effects of hydraulic fracturing on tribal lands. Her local work is complemented by international advocacy work, including participation in several UN Forums and a testimony before the U.S. Congress on the climate issue and its links to issues of health, identity, and well being on tribal lands. Kandi’s message is: “Above all, fight to protect all life; be a voice for all those that can’t speak and never give up hope.” Always remember, “You’re not guaranteed change when you make your voice heard against injustice; but you’re guaranteed to fail if you remain silent.”

JENSINE LARSEN, USA

JENSINE LARSEN, USA

Jensine Larsen is an unstoppable, award-winning social media entrepreneur, speaker and visionary. Jensine is the founder of World Pulse, a digital communication network connecting women worldwide and bringing them a global voice. Today World Pulse is powered by tens of thousands of women from more than 190 countries, including those from villages using internet cafes and cell phones, collectively improving the lives of 2.2 million people. For over a decade Jensine has made it her job to listen to women on the ground around the world. She is a frequent speaker on how social media and technological innovation is a powerful accelerator for women’s global empowerment.

BRIDGET BURNS, USA

BRIDGET BURNS, USA

Bridget has a Master’s Degree in Gender, Development, and Globalisation from the London School of Economics. At WEDO, Bridget’s work focuses on women’s leadership and capacity building in addition to research and coordination support on sustainable development and climate change work. She also spends part of her time on communications: managing the website, listserv, and social media tools as well as drafting newsletters and press releases.

Prior to WEDO, she worked at LEAD International in London, a global non-profit dedicated to advancing leadership for sustainable development. There she managed the global LEAD Fellow’s network, coordinated the LEAD Europe program, and supported leadership training in a number of different countries. In 2009 she became certified in training on gender and climate change from the IUCN/GGCA. She is also a certified youth trainer. Bridget is a graduate of Marist College

KELLY RIGG, NETHERLANDS

KELLY RIGG, NETHERLANDS

Kelly Rigg, is founding director and business manager of the Varda Group, specialised in managing large international campaigns and projects. Leading the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition from 2004-2009, and the Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA) from 2009-2014, Rigg has a history of guiding successful campaigns. The deep-sea coalition ran a multi-year campaign to achieve a UN General Assembly moratorium on high seas bottom trawling. The GCCA is a large alliance behind the tcktcktck campaign, set up to promote international climate action. Rigg has developed campaign or communication strategies for numerous projects and organizations and served on the State Department Advisory panel on Antarctica, and on the Board of the Washington-based Coast Alliance. She served on the Board of Directors of Greenpeace USA, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), and the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC). She has produced countless publications and has a blog on the Huffington Post.

LAURA TURNER SEYDEL, USA

LAURA TURNER SEYDEL, USA

Laura Turner Seydel is an international environmental advocate and eco-living expert dedicated to creating a healthy and sustainable future for our children. Laura is chairperson of the Captain Planet Foundation which promotes hands-on environmental education projects worldwide. She works with the Environmental Working Group to limit the toxic chemicals in food, air, water and consumer products. She also co-founded Mothers and Others for Clean Air and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Laura serves on her family’s foundation boards including The Turner Foundation, Jane Smith Turner Foundation, the Turner Endangered Species Fund, and Ted’s Montana Grill. She also serves on national boards including League of Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife, Waterkeeper Alliance, the Carter Center Board of Councilors, as well as serving on the advisory board for the Green Schools Alliance and Ray C. Anderson Foundation. She is also a member of the Rotary Club of Downtown Atlanta. Laura lives with her husband and her three children in their home, EcoManor, the first LEED certified Gold residence in the southeastern United States.

DR. KATHERINE HAYHOE, USA

DR. KATHERINE HAYHOE, USA

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist who studies climate change.  An expert reviewer for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, she has been dedicated to discovering and communicating the realities of a changing climate to those who will be affected most by it.  Dr. Hayhoe is also an associate professor in the Department of Political Scienceat Texas Tech University. Dr. Hayhoe develops new ways to quantify the potential impacts of human activities at the regional scale. As founder and CEO of ATMOS Research, she also bridges the gap between scientists and stakeholders to provide relevant, state-of-the-art information on how climate change will affect our lives to a broad range of non-profit, industry and government clients. Dr. Hayhoe has published over 50 peer-reviewed publications and reports including the upcoming 2013 U.S. National Climate Assessment.

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