 | Review waiting, please be patient.
This may take 2 months or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 2,487 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Reviewer tools
|
Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru is the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, a national organization focused on providing Black girls, women and non-binary people a pathway into the climate movement and empowering them to be a leader in their community.[1]
Early Life edit
Gatheru is a first-generation American and the daughter of two Kenyan immigrants. She grew up in rural Pomfret, Connecticut[2] where she spent a lot of time outdoors gardening with her mother and grandmother.[3]
She attended the University of Connecticut, where in 2019, Gatheru became the first and only Black person in history to receive the Rhodes, Truman, and Udall scholarships.[4]
She graduated magna cum laude in 2020 with a BA in Environmental Studies and a minor in Urban and Community Studies.[5] She then went on to earn a Master's in Environmental Governance from the University of Oxford.[6]
Black Girl Environmentalist edit
Gatheru founded Black Girl Environmentalist (BGE) in 2021 when she saw the limited access Black women and gender-expansive individuals had to the climate movement,[7] and how climate change issues like droughts in Kenya and heat waves in American cities disproportionately affect Black communities.[8]
Gatheru has said the idea for BGE began with an article she wrote for Vice about her experience as a Black environmental student that went viral. She received an overwhelming response from Black girls, who also felt underrepresented and unseen, and realized there was an opportunity to create a platform to represent them.[9]
BGE started as an Instagram community[10] and has become one of the largest Black youth-led organizations in the country with 1000+ members and a large digital community of over 40,000.[11] It has been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, NPR, LA Times, Forbes, Essence, Teen Vogue, Axios and Fast Company.[12][13]
Achievements edit
In 2020, Gatheru was recognized as a Young Futurist by The Root, a Grist 50 FIXER, and a Glamour College Woman of the Year.[14]
In 2021, she was Victoria's Secret PINK Purpose Project Winner.[15]
In January 2023, musician Billie Eilish personally invited Gatheru to join her with 7 other climate activists on the first ever digital cover of Vogue.[16][17]
In March 2023, she was named one of five Tom's of Maine Incubator winners, which supports BIPOC environmental activists.[18]
Also in 2023, she was named Climate Creator to Watch by Pique Action and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health,[19] became a member of the first-ever National Environmental Youth Advisory Council at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,[20] and won a Trailblazer Award at the annual Net Zero Conference.[21]
She has become the first-ever activist board chair at the Environmental Media Association and the youngest member of the Earthjustice Council.[22] Additionally, she sits on boards and advisory councils for Climate Power, the National Parks Conservation Association, Sound Future, and Good Energy.[23]
Gatheru is also a Public Voices Fellow on the Climate Crisis with The OpEd Project, in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Narrative Fellow at the All We Can Save Project,[24] as well as a recent Revolutionary Power Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she worked under the first-ever Deputy for Energy Justice to integrate energy justice in the federal landscape.[25][26]
In 2024, Gatheru was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 List under Social Impact.[27]
References edit
- ^ "Black Girl Environmentalist". Black Girl Environmentalist. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Reitz, Stephanie (2019-11-24). "Student Leader Wanjiku (Wawa) Gatheru Named UConn's First Rhodes Scholar". UConn Today. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Black Earth Podcast | Transcript: Becoming Black Girl Environmentalists with Wanjiku Gatheru". Black Earth Podcast. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "National Parks Conservation Association". National Parks Conservation Association. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Wawa Gatheru: Keynote speaker for 2022 MLKjr Day festivities". The Davis Center. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "National Parks Conservation Association". National Parks Conservation Association. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "About". Black Girl Environmentalist. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Team, Y. C. C. (2023-12-22). "Black Girl Environmentalist is highlighting the contributions of Black women in the climate movement » Yale Climate Connections". Yale Climate Connections. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ staff, Fix (2021-06-07). "These environmental justice leaders are creating the spaces they wish they'd had". Fix. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Nast, Condé (2023-04-21). "Black Girls Deserve a Spot at the Environmental Decision-Making Table". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Wawa Gatheru". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Founder and Executive Director, Black Girl Environmentalist | Aspen Ideas". Aspen Ideas Festival. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Wawa Gatheru | GreenBiz". www.greenbiz.com. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru - Environmental Justice Advocate & Writer". PCMA Convening Leaders. 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Making Climate Work More Intentional and Creative: A Conversation with Wawa Gatheru". Environmental Media Association. 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Nast, Condé (2023-01-04). "Billie Eilish on Climate Activism and Radical Hope". Vogue. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Wawa Gatheru | GreenBiz". www.greenbiz.com. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Dorisca, Samantha (March 3, 2023). "Gen Z Environmental Changemakers Aliyah Collins, Wawa Gatheru Win $20K For Their Efforts To Better The World". Afrotech.com.
- ^ Lundstrom, Kathryn (2023-01-31). "These 17 Creators Are Leading the Conversation on Climate". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ US EPA, OA (2023-11-16). "EPA Administrator Regan Announces Members of First-Ever National Environmental Youth Advisory Council". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ hello@verdicalgroup.com (2023-09-08). "Meet 2023 Trailblazer Awards Gala Keynote, Wawa Gatheru!". Net Zero Conference. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Climate activist Wawa Gatheru: Fight for an age of "unprecedented care" | Bryant News". news.bryant.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Wawa Gatheru". Worth. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "National Parks Conservation Association". National Parks Conservation Association. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Catching up with the "Revolutionary Power Fellows"". NEWIEE. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "All welcome to hear SIU Green Fund winner announcement, environmental justice speaker". SIU News. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "Wawa Gatheru". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-02-22.