Four Climate Reality Leaders That Give Us Hope in 2020
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Let’s be honest, 2020 has been a long year for many of us – from the COVID-19 pandemic to harrowing climate news, we could all use a pick-me-up.
That’s why we’d like to introduce you to four of our incredible Climate Reality Leaders, who were recently presented with the Alfredo Sirkis Memorial Green Ring Award at our first-ever virtual Climate Reality Leadership Corps Global Training.
The Alfredo Sirkis Memorial Green Ring Award honors Climate Reality Leaders who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to their roles as climate communicators and advocates for systemic change. These inspiring Climate Reality Leaders have led efforts to educate their communities about the climate crisis, worked to build support for critical solutions, and collectively mentored hundreds of trainees through the process of becoming Climate Reality Leaders, growing our base of passionate climate activists.
So, let’s meet these four incredible leaders who give us climate hope in 2020 and beyond.
Nana Firman
Nana Firman is the Muslim outreach director for GreenFaith, an international multi-faith partnership that engages faith communities in environmental leadership and action. Since she was trained as a Climate Reality Leader in Melbourne, Australia in 2009, she’s worked with various organizations to raise awareness of the climate crisis and advocate for improving urban sustainability and building a green economy.
After earthquakes and tsunamis impacted her native home of Indonesia, Nana worked with the World Wildlife Fund to direct green recovery efforts in the country. In recognition of her incredible work, in 2015, she was named a White House Champion of Change for Climate Faith Leaders by then-President Barack Obama!
“Being born in the rainforest region of Sumatra, I believe in the power of our forests as the natural solution to our climate crisis. By giving Indigenous peoples and traditional communities more rights to protect and manage the forests where they live. We should remember that every part of this crisis is directly connected to social justice, racial justice, and human rights violations.”
Want to read more about Nana’s work? Check out the blog she wrote for us back in 2017!
Tim Guinee
Trained in Denver, Colorado back in 2017, Tim Guinee has given climate presentations all over the United States, as well as in Canada and North Africa. We’ve been inspired by how he takes on and hosts discussions on the climate crisis with oppositional and underserved audiences, including conservative-leaning firefighters, Houston oil industry executives, and maximum-security inmates.
His work has shown that by having these difficult conversations, we can and will solve the climate crisis. He serves on the leadership council of Riverkeeper, the board of the Ashokan Center (New York’s oldest center for environmental education), the board of Green Product Placement, and the advisory board of the Climate Institute.
Tim is also the official climate change liaison for the town of Marbletown with the Climate Mayors and is the co-chair of The Climate Reality Project: Hudson Valley and Catskills, New York Chapter. He is the founder of Climate Actors and is an incredibly accomplished actor and director with a long list of credits to his name.
Looking to learn more about how to talk about the climate crisis effectively? Tim has some great advice on how to get started, which you can read here!
Gloria Kasang Bulus
Trained as a Climate Reality Leader in Washington State in 2017, Gloria Bulus is the first Climate Reality Leader from Africa to be recognized with a Green Ring Award!
Not only is she an incredible Climate Reality Leader, but she is the West Africa coordinator for our Africa branch and the director of Bridge that Gap, a non-governmental organization (NGO) working to fight the climate crisis and advocating for a variety of other humanitarian issues, including furthering the education of women and children.
“My inspiration for becoming a climate activist was a result of the climate crisis happening globally and even in my community. I felt like there was a need to bridge the gap in climate action. There was a need to bridge the gap in climate change awareness.”
Ximena Loría
Fourth on the list is Ximena Loría, who was trained as a Climate Reality Leader in Houston, Texas in 2016, but is based in San José, Costa Rica. She is a trained biologist and founder of Misión 2 Grados, an NGO that builds a citizen movement of informed and committed people to fight the climate crisis. Ximena is a dedicated advocate who focuses her work on sustainable development, the creation of innovative spaces for public participation, and working with youth.
Ximena combines her passion for education and the environment by teaching students at the college and university levels, as well as organizing talks, lectures, and workshops with local communities, companies, and public institutions.
“I am working with UNICEF, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry for Youth as part of a technical community that is evaluating new models of youth participation in climate change matters. I am very proud of all of that, but I am also proud of having more than 150 presentations about the climate crisis and its solutions, reaching personally more than 7,500 people.”
We’ve been able to see Ximena’s work on the global stage as she was a Member of the Costa Rican delegation to COP25. We can’t wait to see what she does next!
Inspired and want to take action?
We’re so proud of all of the work these four Climate Reality Leaders and others around the world to fight the climate crisis.
So, how can you take action? Across the United States, people are taking action to advocate for climate action and solutions in their communities by joining a Climate Reality chapter!
From encouraging local school districts to switch to 100 percent clean energy to planting trees, they’re making a difference for our planet – and you can too. Click here to learn more and join a chapter near you today!