Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy
At Earlham, what did you major in and in what kinds of activities were you involved?
I majored in Human Development and Social Relations, was a 4-year athlete on the field hockey team, traveled to Northern Ireland with Earlham for Peace & Conflict Resolution Program there, sang in Gospel Revelations, did some of my work study at the Boys & Girls Club in Richmond...among other things!
What did you do right after graduating from Earlham?
I moved to Vermont and got a job working with the YMCA, running a summer program, and than an after-school program just outside of Burlington. The following summer I got a job working as a camp counselor at Farm & Wilderness in central Vermont. That was the beginning of my career in outdoor education which led me to the Hulbert Outdoor Center, then Outward Bound (in Montana and Ely, MN), and then to the Will Steger Foundation (WSF) where I joined a 3 month dogsled expedition to the Canadian Arctic that launched WSF as a nonprofit.
What are you doing now and what is awesome about it?!
I am now working for a nonprofit based in Minneapolis - Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy (formerly the Will Steger Foundation). We are dedicated to educating and empowering people to engage in solutions to climate change. I am the Youth Programs Director and co-founded our local high school program, Youth Environmental Activists Minnesota (YEA! MN) and directly support the Midwest youth climate movement through capacity building, convening and mentorship.
While my work has shifted from outdoor education to climate change activism, the thread of youth empowerment continues throughout. I have found that both wilderness and activism provide formative experiences that can be transformative for young people - clarifying values, and providing a powerful sense of what one is a capable of.
If you are interested in Abby’s line of work, you can contact her at abby@climategen.org