EcoRise mobilizes a new generation of leaders to design healthy, thriving communities for all. Together, with our partners and communities, we are building a future where every young person has the tools, experiences, and support they need to thrive in a changing world. This strategic plan charts our path from 2025–2028 to deepen local impact, strengthen the national movement, and build organizational resilience. Explore the challenges we’re addressing and the priorities guiding our work below.
Meeting the Moment
An Uncertain Future
The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat. Wildfires, floods, and hurricanes displace our students from their homes and schools. Smoky air and extreme heat move recess indoors or cancel school altogether. Severe storms leave our schools and communities without power or water for days, weeks, and sometimes months. For today’s students, climate change is not abstract; it is a daily reality that touches every community we serve, disrupting learning, threatening health, and fueling anxiety about an uncertain future.
We know, however, that these impacts are not felt equally. Systemic inequities and geographic disparities mean that under-resourced, frontline, and rural communities are often the first and worst affected. Despite long-standing stewardship of natural resources and deep cultural and economic ties to the land, rural and marginalized communities are often excluded from the environmental movement. Years of political polarization have fueled this divide, leading many to view environmentalism as a threat to economic stability rather than a pathway to long-term resilience.
Bridging this gap requires an approach that honors local identity and expertise, builds trust across differences, and makes space for all communities to see themselves as leaders in the future of environmental stewardship.
Against this backdrop, young people are stepping up to demand bold action, inclusive solutions, and opportunities to lead. Yet the systems meant to support them, from public education to community infrastructure to workforce development pathways, remain underfunded, fragmented, and inaccessible to far too many. Environmental education continues to be significantly under-resourced despite its proven power to foster academic achievement, civic engagement, and long-term resilience.
National Reach, Local Impact
At EcoRise, we recognize that meeting this moment requires more than curriculum. It demands a collaborative approach that breaks down barriers, strengthens partnerships, and drives systems change.
From New York City to Central Oklahoma to Southern California, we are deepening our K–12 programs and partnerships in key regions. Youth Climate Councils, immersive high school internships, and our Student Innovation Fund cultivate the next generation of sustainability leaders across geographies and political boundaries. High-quality teacher professional development reimagines schools as living laboratories for STEM-based environmental learning, breaking down silos and boosting teacher engagement and retention.
At the same time, we imagine an environmental movement where organizations share data, resources, and strategy, aligning our strengths to fill gaps rather than compete or duplicate efforts. Through trust-based partnerships and the data-driven insights of our Gen:Thrive initiative, EcoRise is committed to advancing regional and national partnerships that magnify the collective impact of the movement.
Our strategy lifts up local voices, amplifies underrepresented narratives, and builds pathways that connect environmental literacy to real-world impact. Alongside our partners at every level, we are striving to ensure that every young person, no matter their zip code, has access to the tools, experiences, and support they need to thrive in a changing world.
Strategic Priorities
Transformative, Community-Based Environmental Education Programs
In our core regions*, EcoRise partners with diverse local stakeholders to deliver transformative, place-based environmental education for educators and youth. Our work centers youth leadership and community partnerships to catalyze impact.
Explore goals that are a part of this priority
As part of this priority, EcoRise will:
- Direct resources to under-resourced communities via student innovation grants, educator and youth stipends, and pass-through grants for frontline organizations.
- Build awareness and capacity of local school educators and administrators through localized professional development and our national teacher ambassador program.
- Facilitate transformative leadership and green workforce development experiences for high school youth, rooted in community resilience.
- Drive localized systems change by integrating school-based, youth leadership, and Gen:Thrive initiatives and connecting them with local policy efforts.
- Extend, deepen, and evaluate our green workforce pipeline through an active, collaborative alumni network that supports mentorship, storytelling, and leadership development.
* Core regions include Central and South Texas; Bay Area and Los Angeles, California; New York City metro; Washington, DC metro; Central Oklahoma.
An Inclusive, Well-Resourced National Movement
EcoRise collaborates with local, regional, and national partners to scale environmental education, strengthen under-resourced communities, and advance environmental education policy.
Explore goals that are a part of this priority
As part of this priority, EcoRise will:
- Formalize and fund joint partnerships with allied organizations that align with our mission and expand collective impact.
- Leverage Gen:Thrive tools and networks to advance environmental education and community resilience, build capacity in the movement, and identify strategies for effectively serving our most vulnerable communities.
- Execute a clear, multi-stakeholder communications strategy that leverages storytelling and technology tools to grow curriculum use across grade levels and geographies.
- Broaden access to EcoRise resources through scalable delivery models that maintain a strong link between local innovation and national impact.
A Thriving, Responsive, and Resilient Organization
EcoRise lives its core values—integrity, comradery, innovation, gratitude, and resilience—to
cultivate a future-ready organization.
Explore goals that are a part of this priority
As part of this priority, EcoRise will:
- Foster a culture of belonging, continuous learning, and well-being where all staff feel valued and energized.
- Diversify revenue streams and maintain a long-range financial plan to ensure organizational sustainability.
- Communicate EcoRise’s impact through intentional storytelling and campaigns that align with organizational goals.
- Accelerate a responsive organizational culture that uses data and technology to inform decisions, continuously adapting based on feedback from staff, youth, educators, and partners.
- Cultivate an engaged Board and Advisory Council that reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, support the needs of the organization, and actively engage in programs, strategy, and fundraising.
