Meet the Team!

K.C. Alvey

I'm K.C. I was born on Long Island and I've become an "upstater" after moving to Ithaca, NY to go to Cornell, where I studied Natural Resources.  Like so many people of our generation, I learned about climate change in high school when I was trying to figure out what to study in college and I realized that I had to commit my life to creating real change.  Last April, I helped coordinate the delegation of over 100 Cornell students to Power Shift 2011 with 10,000 other young people from across the country, which was an incredibly powerful and energizing experience.  I've been hooked on organizing with the climate justice movement ever since and have rallied with my fellow students at Cornell with KyotoNOW to push for 100% clean energy and to stop the fracking invasion in New York State.  I'm so thrilled to have the opportunity to take the skills we learned from Power Shift 2011 back to our campuses and communities through the Green Umbrella network. 

In short, I'm an organizer with the Green Umbrella because I believe it's how we make real change, how we reclaim democracy, and it gives me inspiration, hope, and the opportunity to work with and learn from incredible people.  I've been blown away by the dedication of people of all ages that I've met while organizing to create a just and sustainable future.  In my free time, I love cooking (especially stir fries and curries), attempting to sing folk songs, dancing, running up giant hills in Ithaca, painting landscapes, and reading!

Reed steberger

I got my start organizing at Power Shift 2011, where I stepped up to be a coach for the event's North East organizer training.  I was blown away by the power of relationship based organizing, and wanted to take the energy I felt with the 10,000 young people at the conference in DC and bring it back to NY.  I co-founded the Green Umbrella: NY Youth for a Just and Sustainable Future at Power Shift (we're approaching our first birthday and Power Shift NY in April), and helped organize the network to plug into the movement to ban fracking in NY ang get involved with the many things afoot with groups like the Energy Action Coalition and 350.org. 

Seeing the threat of fracking in the finger lakes and southern teir of NY motivated me to take a year off from college, and I'm working with a ton of amazing young people in the Green Umbrella to take smart and strategic action to get what we all need--a ban on fracking. As we organize against fracking, we're working even harder to build a vision for a youth constituency in NY, where we stand up for our unique position in the fight to stop climate change while aligning our frontline with groups from across the climate justice movement.

In my free time, I play old time folk, bake bread, read Murakami, and enjoy Cornell's beautiful campus (whenever it's not raining).

 

caroline cowley

I'm Caroline. I grew up in the hills of of Northeast Pennsylvania, right outside of Scranton (yes, like The Office). It is a truly beautiful region which i took for granted all my life. Now when I go to my mom's house I am constantly reminded of exactly what fossil fuel corporations can do to a community. Fracking has been not-so-slowly taking over Pennsylvania since late 2007. It has been an incredibly devastating explorative process for my area. In the beginning of high school I would enjoy swimming in creeks and cliff jumping into gorges in the area. Now I am too afraid of what is in that water to enjoy the landscape in such a way ever again.

Then I came to New York for college. I attended Pace University in both Pleasantville and New York City. I knew that New York didn't have fracking, but it took me some time to realize that it was just on the horizon. I had this "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." feeling surging through my body. There was NO way that I could bare a gas company coming in twice and taking what was not theirs.

I took a year off of school to fight this fight. I worked all winter canvassing. I knocked on doors, stood on street corners, and called people on the phone to let them know what could happen right in their backyard. I felt a need to make this a statewide issue and connect my neighbors in the city to folks upstate. Then,I decided to get involved with Green Umbrella and organizing Power Shift NY. I am a 20 year old woman who sees a bright future for myself, and that bright future does not include a fracked NY. My age group will be the largest voting block in the history of the U.S. which means we also have the most leverage of any other age group in history. It is time we get people to realize just what and who we are fighing for. For me it is NYC tap water, Catskills beauty, but most importantly a safe, healthy life for myself and one day my family.

Fun fact: I run on coffee and cheese danishes.

Ren ostry

I'm Ren, and organizer, activist, netflix-addict and nature lover. I live in Ithaca, NY where I study environmental studies and grassroots organizing at Ithaca College. In my spare time I love to hang out at the gorgeous gorges of Ithaca and cook up delicious vegan meals. I'm also a bartender and avid needlepointer (yes, I'm part 21 y/o badass and part 81 y/o grandma).

I'm the actions coordinator for the Greenpeace Student Network, a bad-ass group of student activists that are working to create fossil-fuel-free campuses across the country. I'm so excited to be working with the Green Umbrella to get natural gas the frack out of New York, and get to know powerful, creative, compassionate young people from Manhattan to the Finger Lakes!

Albany doesn't know what's coming.

Benjamin lloyd

Hi, I'm Benjamin. I was raised with the salty air of northeastern Massachusetts in my lungs, soccer in my blood, and the outdoors in my heart. Upon moving to Ithaca, NY, my appreciation for our environment heightened until it became clear that my career must ensure its conservation.

On April 15th, 2011, I attended Power Shift—a 3-day youth summit in D.C. that attracted over 10,000 entrepreneurs, community organizers, future politicians, and environmental activists from across the country dedicated to moving past fossil fuels and toward a green economy. There, I supervised and facilitated twelve of my peers from Hobart and William Smith College, teaching them, over the course of two days, movement building techniques that were adapted from the organizing model of Harvard’s Marshall Ganz. The group was composed of environmental science, political science, media and society, and economics students, along with a young environmental science professor. I observed my peers apply their diverse interests, driven by the prospect of the moment, to develop strategic campaigns to create change in their college community. The experience reminded me that a healthy, sustainable world cannot be attained without a fierce commitment from all disciplines and walks of life. 

Inspired by my newfound friends, I went on to co-found the Green Umbrella: New York Youth For a Just and Sustainable Future, and ever since I have been working to achieve just that. Please help us make Power Shift NY the best it can be!

Summers send me spiraling into a soccer-playing-mountain-hiking-sculpture-carving frenzy.

Laura smith

I’m a sophomore at Vassar College, majoring in psychology and minoring in Sustainability. I’m one of the co-presidents of the Vassar Greens -- an environmental group on campus -- and am involved with the Wordsmiths, a campus spoken word group. I’m also into drumming and Latin Percussion! I play drums for one of Vassar’s jazz combos and percussion for a 10-piece Latin funk student group. 

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the Green Umbrella over the past year and am psyched to be part of the PowerShift New York media team!

allison currier

My Name is Allison Currier and I was born in upper Manhattan 19 years ago.  I grew up in the Bronx and ended up here in Ithaca for college.  I am a sophomore at Ithaca College and so far I love it here. Ithaca and the people I have met here have introduced me to the world of environmental activism and organizing.  I have a lot to thank them for that!  National Power Shift in 2011 was one of the best weekends of my life and I am so excited for New York Power Shift next month!

aubree keurajian

I'm Aubree and I will never be ashamed to admit that I am a tree-hugging earth lover! I grew up in Connecticut and you could say that I've always found an interest in activism: I organized my first protest (against the circus) when I was six. My desire to make a difference has grown over the years, and even though I've only been in NY since last fall I already see how important NY is as a role model for other states. I hope that through Powershift we can really make the state listen to the youth voice and set a precedent that we cannot be ignored!

 

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