The Young Climate Leaders of Color (YCLC) 2025 Convening was a four-day gathering held in Los Angeles, California, designed to bridge past, present, and future in the fight for climate justice. Rooted in deep learning, collective visioning, and intergenerational movement-building, this convening reinforced the power of community-led solutions. More than just an event, it was a declaration that our leadership is not just emerging—it is here, shaping the future right now.
The 2025 YCLC Convening, The Future Is Ours, opened with a welcome reception with music and mingling, centering joy to set the tone for the days ahead. Creating space for connection and celebration, we addressed the intentional decision to move forward with the convening despite ongoing wildfires, committing to the difficult understanding that the urgency of climate justice work continues, even in the midst of crisis. In honoring those impacted, we recognized the frontline communities bearing the brunt of climate disasters and reaffirmed our responsibility to center climate justice in both our words and actions. Gathering nearly 90 young leaders from the current cohort and alumni, this convening was the culminating event for the first three-year cycle of YCLC. With cultural offerings, time for connection and wellness, and learning from place, this event provided an opportunity to grow and deepen the national network of Young Climate Leaders of Color.
The next two days brought immersive, transformative programming that connected our histories, deepened our strategies, and built tangible pathways for the future. Throughout the convening, we explored themes of intergenerational power and movement building, community organizing, navigating conflict, and using storytelling and narrative to advance climate justice work. Alumni were also engaged throughout the program, participating in panels and facilitating their own breakout sessions to share their expertise and leadership with their peers.
An exciting feature at the convening this year was the opportunity to launch our new communications curriculum, A Rooted Vision! Designed in collaboration with Felicia Perez and Bernice Julie Shaw (independent consultants), A Rooted Vision threads together critical issues of the past, present, and future to help design narrative and messaging that supports the work of resistance and change. We also held a generative discussion about philanthropy with our funders from The California Endowment, as participants continue to explore ways to understand and access funding for sustaining grassroots movements. Our keynote speaker, Bina Patel of Saathi Impact Consulting, led an exploration into purpose-driven leadership, centering authenticity and resilience in movement spaces. This session focused on critical issues to navigate these uncertain times and spaces where young people may feel overlooked, ignored or even challenged in the workplace or community and how to build networks that will help sustain them in the long term. The theme of sustainability extended beyond leadership to movement-building itself.
.jpg)
Every session reinforced our central theme—that we are not just envisioning a just future; we are actively constructing it. Each discussion, strategy session, and moment of reflection built upon the last, offering a holistic approach to leadership, activism, and sustainability.
Our final day brought us out into the land itself with a visit to the West Athens Victory Garden, guided by Diana Campos-Jimenez, Lead Community Organizer at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, and Anbiya Smith, a current YCLC cohort member. We learned about the important work of the LA Land Trust in preserving public green space for communities most impacted by climate change and toured several of their sites, including two parks and the garden. This experience grounded our reflections in the lived realities of frontline community members working toward environmental justice every day. Their wisdom served as a reminder that true movement work is rooted in land, relationships, and intergenerational knowledge. Our leadership is not just in meeting rooms, not just in protests, but in the soil, in the food we grow, in the communities we nurture, and in the relationships we sustain.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The YCLC 2025 Convening was more than a moment—it was a movement in motion. We walked away with deeper connections, strengthened strategies, and a collective commitment to continue the work. As we step forward, we do so knowing that we are not waiting for change—we are creating it.
The future is ours, and we are shaping it together.
Stay connected with us as we continue this journey.
Watch the convening montage video!
