Written by McGarrah Wilson (she/her)
I am so excited and honored to be joining the SanDiego350 team/family as the new Youth Program Coordinator. I’m most looking forward to getting to know the youth climate leaders, working on our Spring 2024 Youth4Climate Summit, and getting involved in the Youth v. Oil Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California.
I grew up in Pittsburgh and became passionate from a young age about the environmental hazards facing my community, from lead in our drinking water, concentrated sewage overflow in our rivers, and air pollution consistently ranking as one of the worst in America. I decided to pursue this passion in college and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Environmental Studies. I have worked with youth in a variety of fields from running a leadership training program at a summer camp to working in youth mental health at a wilderness therapy program. I also worked at the Utah Rivers Council fighting for water conservation and to save the Great Salt Lake. More recently, I worked at Outdoor Outreach connecting youth from communities historically impacted by social inequities to the transformative power of the outdoors. In my free time, I love to explore the tide pools (and any activities involving the ocean), watch movies, and foster cats.
As the Youth Program Coordinator, I’m excited to combine my life’s passions of climate action and engaging and activating the younger generation. The time is now to fight for climate justice and I believe youth are the key. In this role, I will manage our youth interns, plan the yearly youth summit and climate strikes, and support the Youth v. Oil Campaign. I will also continue to expand our work with frontline communities most impacted by climate change. I value how much SD350 sees youth as an integral part of this movement and look forward to expanding youth’s involvement in the organization and fighting together to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and climate injustice.