Supporting environmental Changemakers for a healthier planet.

We inform, inspire, and support Changemakers. We provide youth environmental programs, invest in world-class partners, and facilitate immersive experiences.

About Us

We inform, inspire, and support Changemakers. We provide youth environmental programs, invest in world-class partners, and facilitate immersive experiences.

About Us

How we create meaningful global change

Youth Programs

We empower the next generation through Walking Softer’s Education and Young Leaders programs, cultivating environmental leaders who are actively reimagining a healthier future for our planet.
Education
Young Leaders
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Partners

We partner and invest in world-class companies and nonprofits who are creating new opportunities by reinventing how we consume and live.
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Summits

We host gatherings that encourage guests to create meaningful global change while learning from a diverse network of business and philanthrophic leaders, storytellers, and scientists.
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Our mission is to inform, inspire and support Changemakers to take bold and immediate action in the conservation and regeneration of our planet.

With eight billion people on the planet all desiring and deserving to live a decent life, we must reinvent how we live.

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Education
Summits
Young Leaders
A group of hikers wearing blue jackets walking down a rocky slope towards a glacial body of water, with snow-capped mountains in the background on a clear day.
Mountain range at sunset, featuring peaks with snow and rocky terrain in the foreground, bathed in warm, golden light.A group of five people sitting on grass, smiling and laughing. One person, a man in a black cap and gray sweater, is sitting cross-legged with a red scarf. A brown dog is partially visible near one of the women.
A group of hikers wearing blue jackets walking down a rocky slope towards a glacial body of water, with snow-capped mountains in the background on a clear day.
Mountain range at sunset, featuring peaks with snow and rocky terrain in the foreground, bathed in warm, golden light.
A juvenile penguin looking up at an adult penguin in a snowy landscape with distant icebergs in the background.
A group of five people sitting on grass, smiling and laughing. One person, a man in a black cap and gray sweater, is sitting cross-legged with a red scarf. A brown dog is partially visible near one of the women.

Youth Programs

Young Leaders

Five individuals standing together in a rocky outdoor setting, with large heart-shaped rock formation in the background. They are casually dressed for a day out, smiling and posing for the camera.
The Young Leaders program recognizes and supports emerging Changemakers who are driving climate and social impact in their communities.
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Education

A person wearing a black shirt with purple text is holding a small plant with large green leaves. In the background, hydroponic plants are growing in a vertical garden setup.
Walking Softer Education is a free program for high school students that builds sustainability knowledge and empowers them to take part in community-based environmental solutions.
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Stories

A series of entries from our Walking Softer community that  inform, inspire and support change on our planet.

Meet Emma Hudson: Building the Future Through Food and Education

In this forward-thinking keynote, Emma Hudson, shares her mission to equip students to lead, succeed, and drive real-world impact in STEM education, food and nutrition, and the interdisciplinary solutions shaping our future.

Meet Dr. Jennifer Brandon: Transforming How We Detect Microplastics

In this groundbreaking keynote, Dr. Jennifer Brandon shares her vision for transforming how we detect and monitor microplastic pollution.

Cultivating Young Changemakers Through the Walking Softer Education Program

Throughout the year, participating groups across the country explored sustainability issues, developed leadership skills, and implemented projects that created meaningful impacts in their communities. One of those groups was the Sembrando Cambios Youth Ambassadors Program at CRECE Urban Farms.

Meet Jordan Sotudeh: Building a Smarter Energy Future

In this compelling keynote, Jordan Sotudeh, Founder and CEO of Venaera, shares his mission to give every building owner the intelligence to understand their energy use and the control to act on it.

Meet Jonathan Gilmour: Reimagining Public Service Through Data

In this insightful keynote, Jonathon Gilmour, Co-Founder of The Impact Project, shares how his team is building tools that demonstrate the nationwide value of public service while generating actionable insights that help government, businesses, and nonprofits work together more effectively.

What Hollywood Climate Summit Taught Me About Climate Conversations

While every session offered new insights, one panel in particular challenged me to think deeper about not just the climate community, but how we engage with the people outside of it.

United by Nature - Rainn Wilson and Jana Waller Bair

Can a Hollywood hippie and a big game huntress save the environment?

Meet Mayela Fernandez Cantu: Transforming Seaweed into Sustainable Innovation

In this inspiring keynote speech, Mayela Fernandez Cantu, shares how her team is transforming invasive sargassum seaweed into a biodegradable coating for food packaging.

Celebrating Student Impact at Walking Softer Education’s Virtual Impact Exhibit Hall

The Walking Softer Education team recently hosted our Virtual Impact Exhibit Hall Live Event, bringing together participating student groups from across the country to celebrate the incredible sustainability and community-centered projects they’ve led throughout the year.

A Year of Impact, Powered by Community

We're excited to share our 2025 Impact Report and celebrate what we've accomplished together.

Meet Nick Okafor: Empowering Communities Through Innovation and Data

In this powerful keynote speech, Nick Okafor shares the vision behind trubel&co (pronounced like “trouble”), a tech-justice nonprofit mobilizing youth and communities to harness local data and solve the challenges that matter most.

San Francisco Reflections: A Transformative Retreat

When I reflect on Cohort 3 of our Young Leaders program, I am most inspired by how this group showed up for one another with a genuine spirit of generosity, encouragement, and care throughout their journey with us. 

United by Nature - Valerie Nurr'araluk Davidson and Becky Edwards

Two unlikely women solved climate change through quilting.

United by Nature - Will Harris and Xochitl Torres Small

Can they actually agree on how to fix American farming?

United by Nature - Beth Stelling and Greg Sheehan

Mule Deer Foundation CEO recruits Comedian to save the deer.

San Francisco Climate Week

Climate work is all interconnected and our progress really does depend on how we can bridge and cross-pollinate industries, skills, and even everyday actions.

United by Nature - Hilary Franz and Uncle Pappy

Can a Florida Man and Liberal Elite agree on the environment?

LA Climate Week: Five Organizations You Should Know

Los Angeles has no shortage of Changemakers and organizations committed to climate solutions…and what better place to experience this than the third Los Angeles Climate Week?

5 Gamechangers I Met in Antwerp - CEOs Leading Business for Good

When Luba Zaritskaia and Elena Doms, the authors of the new Gamechangers book, invited me to attend their book launch, I had to say YES!

United by Nature - Joanna Hausmann and Cameron Hanes

Liberal Comedian and Conservative Bowhunter make America sexy again.

Climate Town - Your Single Use iPhone

Each year, millions of Americans damage their phones and make the unfortunate discovery that repairing their device costs almost as much as just buying a new one.

With Action Comes Hope - Pooja Tilvawala's Takeaways from ChangeNOW 2026

From March 30th to April 1st, I was among an estimated 40,000 changemakers at the iconic Grand Palais in Paris, attending ChangeNOW, the world’s largest event of solutions for the planet.

Cross-Pollination and Collaboration: How Our First Pitch Showcase Reflected the Full Spectrum of Climate Innovation

Walking Softer hosted our first in-person pitch showcase, highlighting our cohort of young innovators building transformative solutions to our planet’s biggest challenges.

Climate Town - Turns Out America’s Roads Didn’t Just Accidentally Fill Up With SUVs

Car companies make WAY more money selling these little glorified tanks than regular cars and, thanks to a nifty loophole from the 1970s, they don’t even have to meet the same safety, emissions, or fuel efficiency standards as typical cars.

Mountain Magic at Davos

The WEF is an annual convening in Davos, Switzerland, whose mission is to improve the state of our world through public-private partnerships.

Evolving The Young Leaders Award: Introducing Walking Softer Young Leaders

We are excited to announce a name change for our flagship initiative. What many of you have known as the Young Leaders Award will be known as Walking Softer Young Leaders moving forward.

Climate Town - The Forbidden Film Oil Companies Tried to Erase

After years of searching, we uncovered a long-lost oil propaganda film parody of the movie Clueless. It's an absolute train wreck of a film that was unfortunately distributed to public schools.

Youth-Led Sustainability in Action: Walking Softer at Education NAAEE 2025

At this year’s NAAEE 2025 Conference, we were excited to share our session, “Empower Youth, Activate Change: Student-Led Sustainability Solutions in Action,” which offered a look at how high school students can move from learning about environmental challenges to taking meaningful action in their own communities.

5 ways Civil Society made COP30 the People’s COP

COP30 proved to be challenging from Day 1, from sky-rocketing housing prices to infrastructure failures, but in light of this, the community banded together and made COP30 feel like the People’s COP.

Empowering Students: Walking Softer at NAAEE 2025

During the NAAEE 2025 conference, the NAAEE Podcast Stage showcased a series of enlightening conversations with leaders in environmental education. This platform was designed to highlight educators' innovative work and provide listeners with insights into their missions and initiatives.

What is COP and Why is it Important?

Over the past two weeks in Belem, Brazil, COP30 was taking place and even though my feed was full of my favorite content creators posting from Belem, headline after headline, and posts about COP30… I still find myself asking: What exactly is COP and why is it so important?

Beyond Crops: Growing Sustainability Leaders

We had the pleasure of attending the Seeds of Change Workshop, a powerful community event organized by a group of six incredible high school students from across Orange County, CA, who participated in our Walking Softer Education Program.

Wawa Gatheru - Closing the Climate Work Gap Through Black Girl Environmentalist | The Daily Show

Young Leaders Award recipient and Founder/Executive Director of Black Girl Environmentalist, Wawa Gatheru, sits down with Josh Johnson to discuss her organization’s mission to build a pipeline in the climate sector for Black women and gender expansive people to create more environmental equity and provide resources for the next generation of green leaders.

The Net Zero Conference & The Changemakers Working Toward A More Sustainable Future

Over the last eleven years, The Net Zero Conference, produced by the Verdical Group, has brought together climate leaders, industry professionals, and organizations who are passionate about creating a sustainable future.

New York Climate Week Media & Storytelling

I found myself immersed in conversations, ideas, artistic expressions, and workshops that took climate action beyond the traditional panel format.

Climate Town: America's Dumbest Crop

Did you know America’s most irrigated crop isn't eaten, drank, or consumed in any way. It's grass baby, and it's all over the place.

Reflections from Lake Tahoe: Launching the Young Leaders Award Cohort 3

The beginning of our Cohort 3 journey in Lake Tahoe felt nothing short of extraordinary. It was a week filled with growth, connection, and inspiration that left me deeply grateful and excited for what lies ahead.

Where There’s a Why, There’s a Way: Uplifting Youth to Show Up In The Climate Movement

Youth on Root is proving that when young people are given the platform, resources, and vocabulary to engage in the climate movement, they rise to the challenge with passion and vision.

The Thinker’s Burden

The Thinker’s Burden is a 6-meter-tall sculptural remix of Rodin’s iconic Thinker, which is being created for the INC 5.2 Global Plastics Pollution Treaty negotiations by artist and Young Leaders Award recipient Benjamin Von Wong.

Planting Change: How GreenAllies is Rewilding Their Community

During the NSTA conference in Phillidelphia, our team visited GreenAllies in nearby Pottstown, where students are leading inspiring rewilding projects.

Surf and Sustainability: The Startups Highlighted at Progression 2025

Six early-stage startups shared how they are approaching conservation and addressing the threats to our oceans today. From seaweed solutions to ecosystem restoring robots–each presentation was as innovative and inspiring as the next.

Nature Narratives: What I Learned From Attending The Garden of Tomorrow

The Garden of Tomorrow Festival brought together speakers and changemakers from diverse backgrounds and industries to explore how imagination, creativity, and language could shape activism.

We Are Reimagining Our World

Walking Softer began when Victoria and Vinny Smith started curiously asking questions about climate and sustainability, learning about its many complexities, and identifying those who are spearheading solutions.

Joshua Tree Reflections: A Transformative Retreat

We had the opportunity to gather Cohort Two of the Young Leaders Award in Joshua Tree, California, for their second and final retreat. This momentous experience marked the closing of their yearlong journey together.

Resilience in Action - Tez Steinberg

Meet Young Leaders Award recipient Tez Steinberg, a bold leader and founder of the United World Challenge.

We're Deep Frying The Rainforest

Young Leaders Award winner Rollie Williams digs into the truth behind the products we use and exposes the destructive tactics big corporations use to make them.

How Social Events Are Reimagining Food Sustainability

Food waste and sustainability are often discussed in panel discussions, Netflix documentaries, or reflected in the use of reusable cups and utensils at event venues, but Anomaly Coffee Co. is taking its commitment to food sustainability a step further.

Powering the Future with Clean Energy Innovation - Miswar Syed

Meet Young Leaders Award recipient Miswar Syed, who is driving innovation in clean energy.

Turning Climate Goals Into Community Wins - Jack Hanson

Meet Young Leaders Award recipient Jack Hanson, who empowers local leaders to drive bold climate action and build a fossil-free future through Run On Climate.

Six Conversations with Changemakers During Hollywood Climate Summit

Three days at the Hollywood Climate Summit connecting with Changemakers, engaging in panels, and exploring how storytelling across the entertainment industry can drive meaningful climate action.

Seeds, Sovereignty & Stewardship - Brayan Cruz

Meet Young Leaders Award recipient Brayan Cruz, whose work focuses on preserving culture through seeds, food, and land stewardship.

Restoring Land, Nourishing Community - Keenan Adams

Meet Young Leaders Award recipient Keenan Adams, who is transforming sustainable agriculture in Puerto Rico.

Dairy Is Milking America Dry

Young Leaders Award recipient Rollie Williams takes a comedic deep dive into the origins of the iconic “Got Milk?” slogan, exploring its impact amid rising health and environmental concerns.

Climate, Equity & the Power of Science for Change - Suzanne Pierre

As an ecologist and biogeochemist, Suzanne is redefining what climate leadership looks like - merging cutting-edge science with social activism.

Climate, Mental Health & the Power of Connection - Abhay Singh Sachal

Meet Abhay Singh Sachal, a Young Leaders Award recipient whose powerful work with Break the Divide explores the deep connections between climate justice, eco-anxiety, mental health, and spirituality.

5 Things I Learned During the SF and DC Climate Weeks - Pooja Tilvawala

From coast to coast, Pooja shares the emerging themes, bold ideas, and personal moments that made Earth Month unforgettable.

Powering Climate Justice & Clean Energy Futures - Serena Mendizábal

Meet Serena Mendizábal, a recipient of the Young Leaders Award, who is advancing clean energy transitions and environmental health across her 28,000-member Nation and beyond.

Tracking Plastic, Creating Change - Win Cowger

Meet Young Leaders Award recipient Win Cowger, a leading voice in the fight against plastic pollution.

Empowering Youth for Green Careers - Lauren Castelino

Meet Lauren Castelino, a Young Leaders Award recipient, and the powerhouse behind the Green Career Centre!

5 Changemakers from LA Climate Week You Should Know

From gardens to green jobs, concerts to community circles, LA Climate Week proved that climate action is everywhere.

New York Declares War On Traffic (A Congestion Pricing Story)

Watch as Young Leaders Award recipient Rollie Williams takes a humorous deep dive into congestion pricing on Climate Town.

How Oil Propaganda Sneaks Into TV Shows

Watch Young Leaders Award recipient, Rollie Williams, in Climate Town’s latest episode - a 30-minute deep dive about the oil industry and who is really behind the oil propaganda on television.

2024 Impact Report: See What We Achieved Together

2024 was a year of meaningful progress, and we’re thrilled to share the Walking Softer Impact Report with you.

COY19 and COP29: Insights from Pooja Tilvawala

Have you been hearing the terms COY and COP in the news lately? Discover what they mean with insights from Young Leaders Award recipient Pooja Tilvawala.

The Dark Side Of Free Returns

Why are free returns such a problem? Young Leaders Award recipient Rollie Williams breaks it down for us.

Checking In With Sage Lenier

Walking Softer Young Leaders Award recipient Sage Lenier is a climate activist, public speaker, and nonprofit leader. She got her start teaching her own program at UC Berkeley, which broke records for largest-ever student-led class.

Checking In With Lauren Castelino

Young Leaders Award Recipient Lauren Castelino is the founder of the Green Career Centre, where she prepares underrepresented youth for green careers. Over more than six years, Lauren has reached thousands of youth through developing environmental programs and sharing career development resources.

Checking In With Abhay Singh Sachal

Young Leaders Award recipient Abhay Singh Sachal is a 22-year-old Canadian whose research and work reside at the intersection of climate justice, ecoanxiety, mental health, and spirituality.

Checking In With Miswar Syed

Young Leaders Award recipient Miswar Syed is a researcher, published author, inventor, TEDx speaker, and panelist, having participated in numerous conferences worldwide. His expertise includes renewable energy systems, energy storage technologies, and AI applications in smart grids.

Checking In With Suzanne Pierre, Ph.D.

Young Leaders Award recipient Suzanne Pierre is an ecologist and biogeochemist who is pairing science with social organizing to address the climate crisis. She is the founder and executive director of the Critical Ecology Lab, a national environmental research and social impact institution producing original scientific research, training professionals and the public, and changing the climate narrative to create pathways to justice and sustainability.

Checking In With Tez Steinberg

Young Leaders Award recipient Tez Steinberg is an ocean explorer, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker on mindset, resilience, and personal growth. As Chief Engine Officer of the United World Challenge. Tez has been named “One of the 50 Best Young Minds in the World” by the World Economic Forum, has founded four nonprofits, and is passionate about harnessing the power of business for positive change.

Checking In With Win Cowger

Young Leaders Award recipient Dr. Win Cowger is the Research Director at the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research. Win’s primary objective with science is to identify solutions to plastic pollution and assess their effectiveness.

Leadership Summit 2024

Witness Changemakers in action at Walking Softer's Arctic Summit, where leaders across generations came together to spark meaningful climate solutions.

Checking In With Serena Mendizibal

Young Leaders Award recipient Serena Mendizabal (she/her) is a Cayuga Wolf Clan-Panamanian woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Serena has dedicated her life to Indigenous self-determination, climate justice, environmental health impacts, and clean energy transitions through studies, work, and extracurriculars.

Checking In With Jack Hanson

Young Leaders Award recipient Jack Hanson is the co-founder and executive director of Run On Climate. He started Run On Climate in 2021 to support local-level leaders and climate activists working to advance climate action in their own communities.

Walking With - Dr. Robert Davies

A podcast to amplify the voices of passionate leaders who are reimagining our connection with the Earth.

Checking In With Kennan Adams

Young Leaders Award recipient Keenan Adams played college football, studied forestry and wildlife, and got a PhD from Clemson University. He has spent the last 15 years working as a land manager and scientist for several agencies in many parts of the country. He started a farm in Puerto Rico to make a positive impact on the land and the community.

Checking In With Brayan Cruz

Young Leaders Award recipient Brayan Cruz (He/They) is located on the traditional lands of the Acjachemen people in Santa Ana, OC. As a migrant person, their work is driven by the preservation of culture through seeds and food.

Young Leaders Award Recipients, Cohort 2

On behalf of the entire Walking Softer team and the nominating organizations, we would like to congratulate our second cohort's Young Leaders Award recipients.

Fast Fashion Is Ruining Merch

Young Leaders Award recipient Rollie Williams dives into the realm of merchandise, examining what it takes to produce it sustainably and ethically.

Changemaker Spotlight - Sea Change

Rowing Around Great Britain Collecting Data and Stories for Nature and Climate.

10 Social Impact Solutions Spotlighted at Global Citizen NOW

Global Citizen is driving urgent action to tackle the world’s greatest challenges and end extreme poverty within our lifetime. During this inspiring event, Pooja learned about numerous social impact solutions, which were once ideas but have since turned into urgent action.

Walking With - Pablos Holman

A podcast to amplify the voices of passionate leaders who are reimagining our connection with the Earth.

Styling with Beth Jones

Watch as Beth shares exclusive insights on thrifting to reflect your individual style, all while minimizing your environmental footprint.

Walking With - Carlos Curbelo

A podcast to amplify the voices of passionate leaders who are reimagining our connection with Earth.

Meet 10 Changemakers from ChangeNOW

There were many amazing individuals at ChangeNow! Here are 10 standouts that are accelerating our transition to a sustainable world.

ChangeNOW with Pooja Tilvawala

ChangeNOW 2024 recently took place in Paris - curious how it went? Dive in with Pooja Tilvawala, the Ambassador of Change for Walking Softer, as she shares an exclusive insider's perspective on how ChangeNow is accelerating the transition to a sustainable world.

Changemaker Spotlight - Mackenzie Feldman

Mackenzie and her team at Re:wild Your Campus are on a mission to eliminate synthetic pesticides from all school campuses in the U.S. by 2030.

Beyond The Haze

Good Climate News: March

Thank You To Our Inaugural YLA Cohort

As the first year of the Young Leaders Award program has come to an end, our awe and gratitude remain front and center.

2023 Impact Report

As we look ahead, we wish to express our gratitude for accompanying us on this journey. Your participation has played a pivotal role in fostering a healthier future for our planet.

Walking With - Rollie Williams

A podcast to amplify the voices of passionate leaders who are reimagining our connection with Earth.

Cycling for Change

Spencer McCullough's bike journey to all 51 national parks to influence policy

Walking With - Joel David Moore

A podcast to amplify the voices of passionate leaders who are reimagining our connection with Earth.

10 Steps To Reduce And Combat Air Pollution

Reducing and combating air pollution is crucial for the well-being of both humans and the environment.

Climate Town: Chicago Doesn’t Own Its Own Streets

Young Leaders Award recipient continues his Climate Town series with an in-depth look at how Chicago gave up control of their streets.

Burning Hot Takes

We presented a set of unconventional and thought-provoking climate questions to the recipients of Walking Softer's Young Leaders Award to observe their impromptu reactions.

Walking With - Tighe Brown

A podcast to amplify the voices of passionate leaders who are reimagining our connection with the Earth.

10 Steps to Reduce Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution is a significant environmental issue that has harmful effects on ecosystems and human health. Here are 10 ways you can help limit your plastic pollution.

Young Leaders Award Inaugural Cohort Retreat

The Young Leaders Award is a year-long program that supports passionate, young leaders who are vital agents of change and innovators of solutions for our planet.

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