Highlights from the Environmental Organizing Summit 2025

It was exciting to host, along with our friends, the 2025 Environmental Organizing Summit. We were joined by community organizers, advocates, experts, students and activists sharing campaign and organizing stories around issues, and networked through panels and workshops.

Group photo of attendees, awardees and presenters at Environmental Organizing Summit. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

More than 60 local leaders from across four states gathered Saturday at the Environmental Organizing Summit. The gathering included community leaders who have mounted campaigns to block the siting of trash-filled landfills, save the right whales, reduce plastics, protect the Cape and islands from nuclear power pollution and more. 

One of the biggest highlights of the day was recognizing and giving out community organizing awards to exemplary and outstanding community organizers and groups.

I’ve listed our distinguished awardees below:

• Paul Jacques with Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts (PFFM) received the Public Health Award for his relentless advocacy to protect the public health from toxic flame retardants and PFAS.
• Berkshire Community College Student Government Association received the Student Activist Award for its outstanding work engaging students on campus and their commitment to service, advocacy and making their community a greener and healthier place.
• Templeton Community Against Toxic Waste accepted the Outstanding Community Group Award for its efforts to engage and organize residents in the town of Templeton, MA  against a toxic chemical recycling plant that would bring 500 tons of plastic into their town every day.

Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG legislative director (left), presenting Public Health Champion Award to Paul Jacques, Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts (right). Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Janet Domenitz, MASSPIRG Executive Director (Right), presenting Student Activist Award to the Berkshire Community College Student Government Association (left). Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Max Haworth, Community Action Works Community Organizer (right), presenting Most Outstanding Group Award to Rachel Herman (left) on behalf of Templeton Community Against Toxic Waste. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Highlights from the Summit!

Celeste Venoilia, MA Organizer, Sierra Club MA Chapter (left on table), tabling at the networking fair. Celeste was a panelist on the Protect our health and drinking water from toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” panel. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Summit attendees taking part at the PFAS Action Station at the networking tabling fair. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Eli Hochkeppel, MASSPIRG Students Right Whale Campaign Coordinator (left) and Amber Mulvey, UMass Boston Campus Sustainability Project Coordinator (right), kick off the 2025 Environmental Organizing Summit. Photo Credit: Adam Perri.

“There’s never been a better time to show up, to speak up, to work together,” said Wayne Morrison, from the North Country Alliance for Balanced Change, who served as emcee. Photo credit: Adam Perri

Keynote speaker Paul Jacques told the crowd, “As a firefighter, who also served two tours in Iraq, I know how to put up a fight.” Photo Credit: Staff

Elise Pierce, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition Programs Outreach and Communications Graduate Intern (left), introducing herself as a panelist on the PFAS issue panel. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Eli Hochkeppel, MASSPIRG Students Right Whale Campaign Coordinator (Left), and Kira Kasper, IFAW Marine Mammal Rescue Team Stranding Biologist, presenting at the Right whales documentary screening and panel at Environmental Organizing Summit. Photo Credit: Staff

Mary Lampert, Pilgrim Watch Director, presenting at the Taking On Special Interests Panel: Save Our Bay MA Group Case Study. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG legislative director, kicks off the panel: Protect our health and drinking water from toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Colin Hannahan, Toxics Use Reduction Institute Policy Analyst, presenting at the PFAS panel. Photo credit: Adam Perri

Alex Vai, Surfrider Foundation MA Chapter Campaign Coordinator & Treasurer, presenting at the Zero Waste Panel. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Cindy Heath, NH Plastics Network Convener, presenting at the Zero Waste Panel: Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Tony Dutzik, Frontier Group Associate Director and Senior Policy Analyst, presenting on the AI Datacenters and Cryptomines Panel. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Max Haworth, Community Action Works Community Organizer and Operations Coordinator, presenting on the AI Datacenters and Cryptomines Panel. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Andy MacDonald, Public Interest Network Senior Organizing Director, running How To Run A Successful Campaign Workshop. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Susan Tang, Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs Program Director (right), running Artivism Workshop. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Photo collages created at the Artivism Workshop. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Tom Tower, North Country Alliance for Balanced Change, presenting on How To Build Your Brand From the Ground Up Workshop. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Emily Cayer, Tiny Seed Project Co-Founder and Executive Director, presenting on How To Build Your Brand From the Ground Up Workshop. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

Manny Rin, New Voters Project Director, presenting on Organizing Beyond the Campus Workshop. Photo Credit: Adam Perri

There was so much energy throughout the summit. Seeing community organizers, students, advocates and experts sharing their stories, their campaigns; networking and learning from each other was inspiring.

I have no doubt that coming out of the summit, these organizers will be bringing that energy to their own work, whether that be on their campus or in their neighborhood to make real change building healthier and greener communities this year.

If you are interested in finding out how you can support any of these groups, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by email or phone. 

Thank you,

Leigh-Anne
Executive Director
Community Action Works