Climate Advocacy: Local Action, National Impact
Greetings,
Just when you think climate couldn't get more intense or be more critical, things ratchet up another notch. It is ironic that now, when America finally has viable, scalable climate solutions at hand, we run into such dramatic political headwinds and surging new energy demands.
America is at a threshold. Do we move forward into the new clean energy era, or regress back to costly, destructive dirty energy? The consequences are becoming ever clearer. Climate change now drives political, social, and economic disruption — undermining democracy, fueling migration, and exacerbating inequality and injustice.
Technical solutions are no longer enough. We must create deeper societal conditions that drive both climate solutions and democracy. That means reaching everyday Americans across the nation and empowering their personal and civic actions to determine our shared future.
It can be done. We need to shift our mindsets and priorities toward people. Join them, don't make them join us. Give them action and hope, not fear and hopelessness.
That's what ecoAmerica does — we move society toward climate solutions. Our networks of national health, faith, and civic organizations reach across America, at scale, with trust and credibility. We invite and support a broad diversity of people to address climate change at home, at work, and in their local communities. This approach is working, and with your partnership, we can reach even further. Together, we can accelerate the pace and scale of climate progress in America.
Join us.
The most important shift we can make is to focus less (relatively speaking) on developing policy and more on policy's prerequisites: influence and power. We have solutions. We need more sway. — DAVID BECKMAN, PISCES FOUNDATION
Field-building efforts are one of the most valuable investments funders can make, but historically such efforts are the least funded. — THE BRIDGESPAN GROUP
Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed. — PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Economy, food, housing, transit — all of these are civil rights issues. And climate issues intersect with every single one. — JACQUI PATTERSON, 2024 TIME WOMEN OF THE YEAR
Our Mission
ecoAmerica moves society toward climate solutions by engaging and supporting trusted national institutions to inspire and empower their millions of members in local communities across America to visibly act and advocate for ambitious, just, climate mitigation, resilience, and restoration.
Creating a New Movement for Climate Action
Societal transformation toward a climate-safe world is swifter and more just by including a broad diversity of people in planning and action. However, the kinds of things many environmentalists talk about (dire warnings, devastating impacts, wonky solutions, sacrifice) only resonate with about 15% of the population, and discourage the rest. Americans are looking to leaders in their daily lives for cues on what to think, do, and say. They need to be invited into climate action.
ecoAmerica's network, which includes key sector leaders, is already in place and resilient to administration shifts. Our three core programs in health, faith, and local communities serve over 110 national organizations that have trusted reach into virtually every community in America, including 1 in 4 professionals.
Climate for Health has 52 prominent health leaders working with 46 partner organizations serving > 60 million Americans across the nation.
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Blessed Tomorrow empowers 43 denominations to mobilize 121,600 congregations and 66 million congregants to connect climate change with their faith.
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Path to Positive helps community and youth leaders advance climate action in 19,000+ communities with 36 locally anchored national leaders and partners.
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Climate for Health at NYC Climate Week
2025 National Faith + Climate Forum
Bob Perkowitz and ACLA 2025 winner, and partner, Change Is Simple's Lauren Belmonte and Lark ParmaleeCampaigns to Mobilize and Inspire
ecoAmerica supports our partners' visible climate leadership through strategic counsel, training, research, resources, communications guidance, advocacy opportunities, leadership roundtables, forums, and conferences.
ecoAmerica also helps our partners engage their constituents and the public through national campaigns that catalyze climate action and advocacy:
ClimateRx helps health professionals educate patients about the impacts of climate change on their health and strategies for action. From scannable badges to waiting room brochures and advocacy, ClimateRx provides vital guidance and activation in the clinical setting and beyond.
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One Home One Future is a multi-faith campaign and coalition for visible creation care and climate action in local congregations across the country. It provides seven pathways for action to help people of faith act and advocate for just and equitable solutions.
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Election Earth is a year-round voter education campaign to inspire and guide Americans in exercising their democratic rights and supporting voting rights in their communities.
Americans are more likely to engage in and sustain efforts for a brighter future when they work alongside people they know and trust.
Our partnership with ecoAmerica supports AME churches as they lead boldly on environmental justice and stewardship, grounded in faith and community.
— Dr. Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker Founding President, Ward Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Chair, Social Action Committee, AME ChurchPartner Spotlight
African Methodist
Episcopal Church
(AME)
Our 10-year partnership with AME — the oldest historically black denomination in the US — supports their climate leadership across more than 7,000 congregations with more than 2.5 million members in the US. We helped them prepare and adopt their first climate resolution (including a bishop's video) at their 2016 quadrennial convention. AME's Director of Social Action joined our board in 2018. We invited thousands of AMEs into action with activating resources, campaigns, research, and speaking at the '19, '23, and '25 Women's Missionary Society meetings. AME bishops invited us into their '25 retreat to inform the district climate strategy. AME now has 50 trained climate ambassadors, 101 OHOF congregations, and 8 National Faith + Climate Forum host sites, including a congregation that serves as a resilience and care distribution center after the Altadena fires.
Partner Spotlight
League of United
Latin American
Citizens (LULAC)
Prior to 2023, LULAC — the nation's oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization — had no active environmental programming for its 325,000 members and supporters. We've worked closely with LULAC's CEO to convince their board to make climate a core strategic pillar, and climate is now featured in communications, major events ('23, '24, '25 Convention, Legislative Conference 24), and programming. LULAC fellows are collaborating with us to analyze and report on research. Also, we are training at least one climate ambassador in each of their 535 local councils and hundreds of youth annually through LULAC Academy to support LULAC in dramatically scaling climate advocacy.
Climate for Health Director, Ben Fulgencio-Turner, at the Our Planet, Our Health 2025 Climate Action Convention with Annie Halsey, DO, MD, family physician former with a NACHC-member clinic in Washington, DC, now at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; Shreya Doshi, MD, Children’s National Hospital; and Marie Studer, Senior Advisor, Planetary Health Alliance.
Partner Spotlight
National Association
of Community Health
Centers (NACHC)
For the past 3 years, ecoAmerica's Climate for Health program has partnered with NACHC — serving 16,000 health clinics and over 30M underinsured people — to move climate action forward as a matter of health equity. We have provided strategic guidance, a depth of resources, conferences, and trainings, covering such topics as heat, air quality, resilience, and solar microgrids, to center climate action and resilience in all NACHC health centers. In addition, we are co-designing a Health and Emergency Guide with them to help health centers operate as hubs during climate disasters. These hubs will utilize backup power systems and coordinate with local partners to create a disaster framework in the Gulf Coast.
Climate Ambassadors:
Local Voices, National Reach
ecoAmerica's Climate Ambassador training program helps everyday Americans feel confident speaking, acting, and advocating for solutions. Training is tailored for each sector and partner and includes both in-person and online training. Trainees are invited into the Ambassador Community, providing opportunities for ambassadors to continue learning, connect, collaborate, act, and advocate.
Currently, more than 7,500 people have completed the three-hour training. Ambassadors average 13 advocacy actions with 90 participants that engage over 650,000 Americans.
Advocating for Climate Health Policies in Virginia
Dr. Janice Hawkins, Climate for Health Ambassador and ACLA Finalist
Dr. Janice Hawkins met with Virginia State Legislators, Senator Craig and Delegate Leftwich during the Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action Advocacy Day to advocate for climate-friendly practices, such as solar panel mandates for new parking lots and safety standards for high-heat days. Janice and her 18 graduate-level students were successful in promoting public health and sustainability measures.
Year-Round Climate Justice Advocacy in Evanston, Illinois
Mark Sloss, Blessed Tomorrow Ambassador
Mark Sloss has transformed Evanston's indoor winter farmers market into a hub of climate justice advocacy. Hosting a year-round climate advocacy table, Mark engages the community in meaningful discussions and actions, such as supporting local climate measures and enrolling residents in community solar projects.
Driving Urban Sustainability in Omaha
Christie Abdul-Greene, Path to Positive Communities Ambassador
Through advocacy and local government engagement, Christie Abdul-Greene played a crucial role in the adoption of Omaha's Climate Action and Resilience Plan. The plan integrates sustainability into the city's 20-year master plan. Christie's approach doesn't stop at policy; she also extends her efforts to include a sustainability business directory and educational programs that cultivate a green-conscious generation.
Celebrating Leaders
ecoAmerica recognizes and celebrates exceptional local, regional, and national climate action and advocacy through the American Climate Leadership Awards (ACLA). Our annual recognition program that lifts up individuals and organizations that are broadening participation and moving America toward climate solutions.
Since its launch in 2019, ACLA has received over 1,000 applications, honored over 150 local and national leaders, and granted more than $1 million to support and expand their climate work. Through financial awards, national recognition, and tools to share replicable models, the program helps accelerate proven solutions in communities across the country.
Each year, a diverse panel of nationally celebrated judges helps ecoAmerica determine awardees across Adult, Youth, and Honor categories. Semi-finalists ($1,000) up to winners ($50,000) receive funding to expand their efforts, and how-to guides are created and promoted for all finalists so others can learn from and replicate their success.
The impact of the program reaches far beyond the award itself. ecoAmerica hosts a national awards broadcast in which finalists are featured and the winners and runners-up are announced. The ACLA broadcasts have garnered more than 100,000 views.
By celebrating leaders who are delivering results and sharing what works, the ACLA program helps build the public will and practical knowhow needed to tackle climate change at the local and national levels, and create a healthier, more equitable future.
Equipping Leaders
Equipping Leaders
ecoAmerica grounds its resources, research, and convenings in social science to equip trusted leaders with the insights and tools they need to inspire climate action in every community across America. Our foundational American Climate Values Survey revealed what drives people to care and act, establishing the values-based approach that guides our work today.
Research That Drives Impact:
Our American Climate Metrics Survey (ACMS) and American Climate Perspectives Survey (ACPS) offer timely insights on public opinion. In 2025, our Americans Want Fair Action report found that 72% of Americans are concerned about climate change, and 81% recognize its unequal impacts. Notably, 72% of Republicans acknowledge these disparities, up 9 points since 2021. Climate now ranks among the top three fairness issues Americans want addressed.
Our Americans Reject President Trump's Climate Rollbacks research revealed growing bipartisan opposition to environmental deregulation, with strong pushback from Republicans under 45. Findings were featured in The Hill.
Resources That Inspire and Guide:
New tools this year include the Time to Lead series for CEOs, Grand Rounds kits for health professionals, the Skit Kit for community engagement, and an updated suite of How-To Guides to make climate advocacy tangible and actionable. We also released a new three-part series on youth climate mental health: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, A Guide for Educators, and A Guide for Health Professionals. These guides offer practical steps to support the mental health and resilience of children and youth facing the climate crisis.
National Convenings that Shape the Climate Conversation
ecoAmerica brings together leaders across health, faith, and civic sectors for high-impact, national convenings that shape the future of climate leadership in America. These events aren't just gatherings, they're catalysts. In 2025, our National Faith + Climate Forum and Our Planet, Our Health Forum collectively reached thousands, spotlighting urgent challenges and breakthrough solutions at the intersection of climate, health, and values.
The 2025 National Faith + Climate Forum brought together more than 2,000 participants at over 80 in-person host locations spanning more than 550 congregations and 30 denominations.
In the health sector, we helped form a breakthrough coalition of eight top associations, including the National Academy of Medicine and Kaiser Permanente, to co-host the Our Planet, Our Health: 2025 Climate Action Convention.
Program Partners
- Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
- American Academy of Nursing
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Association of Occupational Health Nurses
- American College of Physicians
- American College of Sports Medicine
- American Geophysical Union
- American Lung Association
- American Psychological Association
- American Public Health Association
- Association of Public Health Nurses
- Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
- Children's Environmental Health Network
- George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication
- Health Care Without Harm
- Health and Environmental Funders Network
- Healthy Babies Bright Futures
- Kaiser Permanente
- Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health
- National Association of Community Health Centers
- National Association of County and City Health Officials
- National Association of Hispanic Nurses
- National Environmental Health Association
- National Hispanic Medical Association
- National League for Nursing
- National Recreation and Park Association
- National Student Nurses' Association
- The Nature Conservancy
- Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
- Physicians for Social Responsibility
- Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
- SEIU Nurse Alliance
- Sigma Theta Tau Int'l Honor Society of Nursing
- Trust for America's Health
- U.S. Climate and Health Alliance
- Adamah
- African Methodist Episcopal Church
- American Baptist Churches USA
- Auburn Seminary
- Blessed Earth
- Catholic Climate Covenant
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
- Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
- Convergence
- Creation Justice Ministries
- Dayenu
- The Episcopal Church
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- The Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale
- Franciscan Action Network
- GreenFaith
- Green The Church
- Interfaith Power and Light
- Islamic Society of North America
- Lexington Theological Seminary
- Masorti Movement Sustainability Roundtable
- National Council of Churches
- National Latino Evangelical Coalition
- National Religious Coalition on Creation Care
- Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration
- The BTS Center
- The People's Justice Council
- Presbyterian Church USA
- Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
- Sojourners
- United Church of Christ
- United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society
- United Methodist Women
- U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs
- Values Partnerships, Inc.
- African American Mayors Association
- AGU Thriving Earth Exchange
- American Association of Community Theatre
- C40 Cities
- Change Is Simple
- CivicWell
- CleanAIRE NC
- Climate Mayors
- Climate Resolve
- Innovation Network for Communities
- Institute for Sustainable Communities
- International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives
- Ipsos
- League of United Latin American Citizens
- Metropolis Strategies
- Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative
- National League of Cities
- Project Green Schools
- The Corps Network
- Utah Clean Energy
- Washington Climate Corps Network
- World Wildlife Fund
Board of Directors
Ed Begley, Jr.
Actor & Environmental Activist
Ramón Cruz
Visiting Lecturer, Princeton University
Dipanwita Das
CEO & Co-founder, Sorcero
Leah Missbach Day
Co-Founder, World Bicycle Relief
Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker
Director, Social Action Committee, African Methodist Episcopal Churchn
Sarah Finnie
Founding Director, The 51 Percent Project
Joseph Gatto
Founder & Managing Partner, Orient Point Partners
Chip Giller
Free Agent & Founder, Grist
Madeleine Kohlberg
MBA Candidate, NYU, STERN
Peggy Knudson
VP Development, Potomac Riverkeeper Network
Frank Loy
Former Under Secretary, State for Global Affairs
Matt Mullenweg
Co-founder, Wordpress & CEO, Automattic
Katherine Neebe
Chief Sustainability & Philanthropy Officer; SVP National Engagement & Strategy
Tia Nelson
Conservationist
Hon. Greg Nickels
51st Mayor of Seattle
Carl Page
Founder, Anthropocene Institute
Bob Perkowitz
President, ecoAmerica
Lisa Renstrom
Co-Founder, Values Advisor
Geof Rochester
Chair
Founder, GRC Advising
Phil Sharp
Vice Chair
Former President, Resources for the Future
Guy E. Snyder
Shareholder, Vedder Price P.C.
Meighen Speiser
Executive Director, ecoAmerica
Lise Van Susteren, MD
General & Forensic Psychiatrist
Parker White
Co-Founder & CEO, Unety
Funding and Expenses
