Isha Clarke

Oakland, CA | 17

2020 Award Recipient

People around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the climate crisis’s inequitable impact on low-income communities and communities of color. Isha Clarke first became involved in the climate justice movement when a company proposed building a coal terminal in West Oakland. She and her peers publicly protested construction of the terminal, later forming the group Youth Vs. Apocalypse. Youth Vs. Apocalypse gained recognition when videos of its young activists demanding Senator Dianne Feinstein’s support of the Green New Deal went viral, leading Isha to become known as a powerful leader fighting to reverse the climate crisis through community organizing, protests, and legislative change. Youth vs. Apocalypse has brought national attention to the proposed West Oakland coal terminal, led the largest youth climate strike in the U.S., and successfully helped facilitate California Governor Gavin Newsom’s moratorium on new fracking permits in 2019. As a nationally recognized writer, speaker, and presenter, Isha continues to represent the collective efforts of climate change activists across the U.S.

(photo by Nikki Ritcher Photography)