New Voices Are Rising

New Voices Goes Camping!

The 2023 Summer Academy ended in July with a camping trip to the San Francisco Presidio. The trip was a first for the program and its participants, most of whom had never been tent camping. For three days and two nights, NVR students developed wilderness skills, learned about the history of the presidio, and had fun outdoors!

Posted in In the News, New Voices Are Rising, News & Features

What Is the Summer Academy and What Does It Mean to Our Youth? Written by Comms Extern Manuel Ochoa

New Voices Are Rising (NVR) is a youth-led environmental and social justice program. NVR aims to build the…

Posted in New Voices Are Rising

Designing Resilience Hubs

Last December, two New Voices Fellows helped design and host a Resilience Hub workshop at Lion Creek Crossings–a community based affordable housing complex in East Oakland. Over 30 people attended the 3-hour long event. Click here to learn more about this successful youth-led workshop.

Posted in New Voices Are Rising, News & Features

Engaging Youth in a Virtual World

In June, New Voices kicked off the 2022 Summer Climate Justice Academy. While the program has returned to host several in-person events, the majority of lessons occur online. Continue reading to learn about the creative at-home activities our New Voices team has developed to deepen students’ engagement and further their understanding of environmental justice.

Posted in New Voices Are Rising

Vaccine Myth Busting

Many of our New Voices Are Rising youth come from vaccine hesitant communities. The program received funding from the US EPA to increase outreach and conversations around COVID-19. For the past few weeks of the fellowship program, NVR youth have developed TikToks that creatively dispel vaccination myths using evidence based research, and of course, humor.

Posted in In the News, New Voices Are Rising Tagged

Fighting the PG&E Rate Hike

On Tuesday, our NVR Fellows joined a public hearing to testify against the proposed PG&E rate hike. This public process gave community members space to scrutinize PG&E’s plan and to consider alternatives. All of our seven fellows made a statement at the hearing. Learn more about PG&E’s history of putting profit before people as well as what our students had to say about it.

Posted in In the News, New Voices Are Rising Tagged

Meet the 2022 Fellows!

Every year, students from the Summer Academy are recruited to become New Voices Are Rising Fellows during the school year, giving them the opportunity to pursue environmental justice work in greater depth. The students use the skills they learned and the leadership potential they developed, applying it to community capacity-building and outreach projects called “externships” with New Voices and program partners. Each externship focus is different ranging from air quality management and climate resiliency, to media and communications.

Posted in In the News, New Voices Are Rising Tagged

Introducing Mykela Patton, Our New NVR Program Manager

Mykela Patton is returning to the Rose Foundation as our New Voices Are Rising Program Manager. She joined…

Posted in In the News, New Voices Are Rising Tagged

Using Video to Educate and Engage

The tools we use for interaction, engagement, and education change from generation to generation. From textbooks to online learning, the way we present and consume information is constantly in flux. Our New Voices youth exemplify this trend, choosing to use video as a platform to share what they have learned in the Rose Foundation’s environmental justice leadership program. Our students’ work exemplifies the creative ways we can use technology to educate and engage younger generations.

Posted in New Voices Are Rising, News & Features Tagged

A Win for East Oakland Air Quality!

We’ve got some exciting news to share: this month the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) recommended East Oakland be a designated priority community under AB617 to the California Air Resources Board. Read more about this win for New Voices students and the East Oakland community here:

Posted in In the News, New Voices Are Rising, News & Features Tagged