Billy Parish
Billy Parish
Founder
Energy Action Coalition
In 2003, as it became more apparent that significant national action was required to combat climate change, Billy Parish decided to work full-time to build the youth climate change movement. He left Yale University in his junior year to start the Energy Action Coalition, which has since become the largest youth advocacy organization in the world working on climate change issues. Billy and the coalition have brought together 50 diverse organizations, raised nearly $10 million in four years, committed nearly 600 colleges to climate neutrality, trained and empowered tens of thousands of young people, and built a base of 340,000 young voters who elevated climate issues in the 2008 elections. "Building a 21st century, low-carbon economy is not only necessary to protect the integrity and livability of our planet, it is also the key to solving the financial and energy security crises we face while putting people back to work," says Billy. "For too long, this monumental task has been left to 'environmentalists'… But in the last few years, we’ve seen a new set of powerful organizations that tend to be more multicultural, multi-issue, collaborative, and constituency-based and frame the issues in not only environmental or justice terms, but in economic terms."
Since early 2008 Billy has expanded his work beyond the Energy Action Coalition into a focus on building the green economy and creating good green jobs for young people. He has been a consultant for Green for All on “Green Jobs Now,” a national day of action in September 2008 that involved more than 50,000 people in nearly 700 communities across all 50 states, and the Clean Energy Corps, a proposal that would create millions of new jobs and opportunities for community service. Billy currently serves on the boards of the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual meeting of philanthropic, corporate, and nonprofit leaders; Brighter Planet, a carbon-neutral credit card company; Motor Excellence, an advanced energy efficient motor company; 1Sky, a national climate coalition; National Teach-In, an annual climate teach-in on over 1,000 schools; Focus the Nation, a national climate organization; and Alliance for Climate Protection, Al Gore's climate organization. A 2007 Ashoka fellow and 2005 Rolling Stone "Climate Hero," Billy was also named one of Utne Reader’s "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World" in 2008.
Read more about Billy Parish:
State of the Union and Green Entrepreneurship
By Billy Parish, Huffington Post
January 28, 2010
Young, Green, and Out of Work
By Billy Parish and Rinku Sen, Huffington Post
October 5, 2009
A New Number for a New Era: From 9/11 to 350
By Billy Parish, Huffington Post
September 11, 2009
Seven Ways to Fight Dirty (Energy)
By Billy Parish, Huffington Post
August 3, 2009
Green Jobs Will Fire Up State's Ailing Economy
By Billy Parish, Arizona Republic
May 2, 2009
