THE
PROJECT
Our NYC Climate sHeroes series of Human Impact Stories gives you a sneak peek into the lives and work of amazing women New Yorkers who are leading the way in their community to combat global climate change. From artists to students to scientists, these women are addressing the root causes of climate change and inspiring others to take a stand along the way.
Click on an image below to learn more about our #NYCclimatesheroes work.
Aria brings people together through community-based service.
We had to set up shop as a beacon
to help this community.
Our motto was, “Act now, cry later.”
Mary Miss
Artist and Founder, City as Living Laboratory
Mary develops interactive experiences for people to engage with their environment
If I could get artists’ projects to inspire communities to sprout green from the tip of Manhattan to the top of the Bronx, I would be so happy. Maybe it's not achievable, but we're planting seeds.
Courtney St. John
Associate Director for Outreach,
Center for Research on Environmental Decisions
at the Earth Institute, Columbia University
Courtney works with diverse partners to understand decision making and communication in the face of environmental risk.
[Climate] touches everything that we do in our lives. It touches how we make our money, how we get food on our table … Everybody has something to offer in terms of addressing it.
Wendy designs tools for you to map social, eco and sustainability resources in your community.
Sometimes you have to stick your
neck out; We all need to help
one another to see where we're going
and how we get through it.
Jean connects ecology, history, architecture, and activism to teach sustainable design.
Sabine Marx
Managing Director, Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at the Earth Institute, Columbia University
Sabine researches how bringing together climate and social science can create opportunities for effective outreach.
Shino promotes green infrastructure
and soil and water quality education, research and policy.
These environmental problems of climate change, resource extraction, and depletion all have a really deep, fundamental connection to racism, but racism is a difficult conversation. It’s much easier to say, “You should recycle.”
Majora strategizes and creates
new visions for urban revitalization, policies, and job training.
I didn't think talking about 'hugging trees' was going to help anybody, but when we build real projects and policies that provide a sense of dignity, then we have something good going on.
Annie engages youth in political
action and awareness
My house was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Far Rockaway. I didn’t want to be known as the girl that didn’t have a home. I wanted to be known as, “Yeah, she lost her house, but she’s doing positive things with her story. She’s trying to change the world.”
Kazi promotes climate education and
global partnerships in our schools.
I’m from an island called Sandwip
in Bangladesh. And Sandwip is
going under water. If it’s gone,
what am I supposed to do?
Jeanne raises awareness about local, natural resources and advocates for community well being.
Local community are the people who really know where things happen.
They know who to call, they know the people on the ground.
Cynthia researches and communicates climate science and impacts.
We have to be smart about
creating resilience in our coastal areas...
realizing that climate change is
bringing increasing risks.
Helen facilitates innovative and engaging ways to communicate complex science.
Eve investigates landscape as starting points for audience exploration of urban issues.
Gioya trains educators to develop
place-based experiences and interdisciplinary curriculum.
It makes [science] relevant to their lives. It’s not this thing in a textbook...it’s happening in their neighborhood. And then they feel empowered to go out and make a difference.
Anasa Scott
Co-founder, Greenproofing Inc.
Anasa supports public engagement through hands-on science learning.
[The students] were so inspiring.
It is so great to see the complexity
of science, education, and experimentation come alive.
Kim Fraczek
Artist and Activist
Kim creates art to promote clean energy and inspire people to imagine
a better world.
We activists and artists need to inspire people to imagine the better world,
to remember the beauty that
we're working towards.
Sarah Levine
Writer and Journalist
Sarah tells local stories for global issues.
Climate sHeroes PARTNERS
Climate sHeros is a series of the Human Impacts Stories from the Human Impacts Institute. This program is possible with the support of: German Consulate in NYC, Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN, French Consulate in NYC, Permanent Mission of France to the UN, EU Commission, New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I), StoryCorps, Winter's Past (Isaac Kestenbaum and Josie Holtzman), Andrew Shea, Amy Braunschweiger and all of the women who shared their stories and inspire us to follow their footsteps: Kazi Ateea, Wendy Brawer, Majora Carter, Aria Doe, Jeanne DuPont, Gioya DeSouza-Fennelly, Kim Fraczek, Jean Gardner, Sarah Levine, Sabine Marx, Helen Matsos, Mary Miss, Eve Mosher, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Anasa Scott, Courtney St. John, Shino Tanikawa, Annie Willis, and Bethany Yarrow.
