Varshini Prakash to Receive Dickinson College’s Rose-Walters Prize for Environmental Activism
- She is the executive director of the Sunrise Movement, a grassroots organization of young people working to stop climate change and create good-paying jobs in the process.
Climate activist Varshini Prakash will receive Dickinson College’s Rose-Walters Prize for Environmental Activism. The $100,000 prize is given annually to an individual or organization making a defining difference and advancing responsible action on behalf of the planet, its people and resources.
Prakash is the executive director of the Sunrise Movement, which she co-founded in 2017. The grassroots organization of young people is working to stop climate change and create good-paying jobs in the process. “We were just young people who were fed up with seeing politicians kicking the can down the road, sweeping what is the greatest threat facing our generation under the rug and refusing to deal with the reality of the crisis at hand,” Prakash told NPR in an earlier interview.
In addition to the monetary award, Dickinson’s Rose-Walters Prize includes a short residency in the 2021-22 academic year. During that residency, Prakash will meet with Dickinson’s many student environmental-leadership groups and faculty, participate in class discussions and give a public presentation, with exact dates to be determined.
The Sunrise Movement gained national recognition and support after it organized a sit-in at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Congressional office in 2018 with backing from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
The Sunrise Movement gained national recognition and support after it organized a sit-in at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Capitol Hill in 2018 with backing from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) Now one of the largest youth movements in the country, Sunrise is leading the charge for the Green New Deal, a constellation of public policy proposals to address climate change while creating jobs and reducing economic inequality.
Prakash has used her growing public profile to tirelessly advocate for Sunrise’s principles. Her work has been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC News, MSNBC and many other outlets. The daughter of immigrants from India, Prakash has often spoken about how the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the first moments that pushed her toward getting involved in climate action.
She is co-editor of the book “Winning the Green New Deal: Why We Must, How We Can,” which was released in August. The book is described on the Sunrise Movement website as “a succinct and valuable guide for our own organizing–-as both a refresher for movement leaders and an introductory text for those we welcome to the movement.”
As an undergrad at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Prakash took on the fossil fuel industry by pushing her university to stop investing in coal, oil, and gas. She led the campaign to victory after a two-week long escalation involving thousands of students, alumni, and faculty.
She was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for law and policy and the TIME 100 Next, a list of rising stars shaping politics, popular culture, science and more.