Our Vision
To foster a community of people who integrate climate action into their lives, and help reduce the barrier to action for others.
Our Mission
To execute our vision, we organize a variety of events and actions that build community, leverage existing efforts, inspire new plans, and find innovative ways to communicate with each other.
Who We Are
We are a group of Berkeley graduate students and friends who are trying to make a dent.
Nanticha Lutt
Diego Ponce de Leon Barido
Brandon Wood
Rachel Woods-Robinson
Watson Ladd
Andreana Rosnik
Sara ElShafie
Michael Gomez
Milos Ivo Atz
Neem Patel
Alix Charles
Christopher Thomas Keckler
Abby O’Reilly
Mika Endo
Jonathan Morris
Reuben Gibson
Emma Hamilton
Henry Pinkard
To learn more about last year's event, Fired Up, click here.
Organizers
Brandon Wood
Brandon is a graduate student and outdoor enthusiast who is deeply concerned with the possibility of rogue jellyfish taking over the planet due to favorable conditions made possible by climate change.
Nanticha Lutt
Nanticha is a PhD student of Plant Biology who cares deeply about the future of our agricultural food systems, biotechnological innovation, and the warming of the earth. In her free time, she dances, aggressively urban gardens, and collects tattoos.
Neem Patel
Neem is a PhD student in Microbial Biology and is currently studying the affects of wildfires on soil microbial communities. She is passionate about the long-term sustainability of our planet and the future of humanity, motivating her to understand how climate shifts impact our ecosystems in order to help find solutions to current and impending ecological crises. In her free time, she enjoys a lot of exercise (of all forms), creating art, collecting vinyl and being a proud plant mama.
Andreana Rosnik
Andreana is a UC Berkeley theoretical chemistry student who models photosynthetic protein organization by day and illustrates surreal, nature-inspired introspections by night.
Mika Endo
Mika is a cheesemonger at a wine and cheese bar in San Francisco. A lover of dirt, food, and all things fermented, Mika is driven by the connection that food provides to land and the people who tend it.
Alix Charles
Alix’s background is in economic development, and she obtained her Masters in Sustainable Development from UC Berkeley. She has since worked in Corporate Social Responsibility, supporting NGOs, nonprofits, and social entrepreneurs. When it comes to climate action, her passion lies in equipping average citizens with the tools they need to be change-makers in their community. She believes global trends always start at the grassroots level, and sees Earth Action Initiative as sparking an important movement of citizens taking charge and making a positive impact for the greater good.
Jonathan Morris
Jon is a fifth year PhD student in Applied Science & Technology and Vice President of the Graduate Assembly External Affairs.
Henry Pinkard
Henry is a computational biology PhD student who likes turning off lights to save energy.
Reuben Gibson
Reuben is the founder of Gibson Art Projects, a lover of culture & K-9s.
Workshop Leaders
Abby O’Reilly
As a full time MBA student at Berkeley-Haas, Abby is passionate about sustainable business and believes in the potential of the private sector to address climate change. Prior to Berkeley, Abby worked as a strategy consultant advising clients on projects including sustainable supply chain operations, social impact measurement, and inclusive business strategy in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Christopher Thomas Keckler
Chris is a nuclear engineer interested in sustainably generating enough energy for everyone.
Diego Ponce de Leon Barido
Diego recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a PhD in Energy and Resources. He is the co-founder of Threestone Analytics and is currently at the CITRIS Foundry. In the past his work has been supported by National Geographic, USAID, and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Emma Hamilton
Emma is a third-year law student at UC Berkeley School of Law. She is originally from New Mexico and received her BA in Government from New Mexico State University. Emma currently serves as President of the Boalt Environmental Law Society and helps lead Students for Economic and Environmental Justice and the Karuk-Berkeley Collaborative. Emma is pursuing an Environmental Law Certificate at Berkeley Law and is particularly interested in the intersection of environmental justice, natural resources, and Native American legal issues in the West.
Michael Gomez
Michael is a postdoctoral scholar interested in applying gene editing to address global food challenges.
Milos Ivo Atz
Milos is a PhD student studying nuclear waste disposal. Depending on the season, you may find him hiking up steep mountains or skiing down them.
Rachel Woods-Robinson
Rachel is a joint PhD student at Berkeley and NREL studying high-throughput computation, synthesis, and characterization of electrode materials for solar energy and optoelectronic applications. In her spare time she likes to zoom around on her bicycle teaching energy science to kids (with Cycle for Science) and envision a renewable energy future where chocolate fondue flows through rivers.
Sara ElShafie
Sara is a doctoral candidate in Integrative Biology and studies climate change impacts on animal communities over time. She is also piloting a communication workshop series, Science Through Story, which she developed in collaboration with artists at Pixar Animation Studios and educators at the UC Museum of Paleontology.
Watson Ladd
Watson is a mathematician who is involved in climate-oriented housing activism.