Meet Our New Summer Interns!
We have three interns in the office this summer!! Simran, CJ, and Chris will be supporting our organizing capacity, preparing for the September 8th Rise for Climate Jobs and Justice day of action, and working on our summer fundraising appeal.
They’re all awesome and I hope you will join me in welcoming them to the team.
– Nicole, Community Organizer
Chris Palmer – Summer Intern
Hello. My name is Chris, a new intern at 350PDX. I arrived in Portland in February after living in Edinburgh, Scotland for the past 4 years, and in England before that where I was born and raised. I’ve been working on climate change in the UK for over 5 years, and moved to the US after meeting and marrying my American wife. Working on climate change in the US in 2018 is definitely a unique challenge… but I’ve found that out of adversity comes strength, and that strength is palpable in the hundreds of volunteers that make up 350PDX.
In Scotland I ran (and continue to remotely help run) a nonprofit that empowers millennials to take action on climate change, and hope to bring some of these ideas and practices to Portland. I am excited about the power of social change through community organization, by empowering real people to go beyond reducing their carbon footprint through their personal, professional and political spheres of influence. When you provide humans with an opportunity to solve issues, make connections, and enjoy themselves while doing it, I have learned that people shift from being stagnant to excitedly active about taking action on climate change. And after arriving in Portland it became obvious pretty quickly that 350PDX was where this was happening.
I have worked as a qualified and experienced sustainability advisor who helps businesses become more energy/water/waste efficient, and I’m a LEED Accredited Professional (BD+C). I have a Masters degree in Environmental Sustainability, and I also co-founded and ran TravelHUB, a tech startup aiming to help businesses to fly less.
Simran Kadam – Campaign and Community Organizing Intern
Hi! I’m Simran, the new Campaign and Community Organizing Intern here at 350PDX. Though I’m only 17 years-old, I’m planning on dedicated my life to helping solve the climate crisis. I’ve been in love with nature since I could remember, and has always felt a strong urge to protect it. My inner activist first came out in the 4th grade, when I started an environmental protection club at my elementary school. Consisting of my friends and parents, the group met once a week and pick up trash in my neighborhood. Although, it usually ending with my parents doing all the work and my friends and I playing tag on our neighbors yards. Since then I’ve been involved in student government and started an activism club at my high school. The club, Students for Change, is committed on bettering our local community through awareness and policy change, focusing on environmental and social injustice.
I first discovered 350PDX through a simple Google search. Wanting to discover how to take action in the climate epidemic, I clicked on 350PDX’s webpage and the rest was history. I quickly fell in love with the mission of 350PDX, and how in addition to combating the climate issue they simultaneous focused on helping those disproportionately affected by it. In my time at 350PDX I have already met so many incredible, inspiring individuals who reaffirm my belief that if we all work together and fight for what’s right, we will achieve a better future.
In my free time, I love to spend time at the library, kayak down the Tualatin river, and dance in my local performance company. Currently in the process of applying to colleges, I’m planning on majoring in environmental science in order to further my understanding of the challenges currently facing the planet. I will do activism work throughout my education, and I hope to encourage and inspire others to join in this movement.
CJ Hansen – Development Intern
At 21 years old and less than a year from graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies, I am passionate advocate for the environment and is looking forward to using any opportunities at his disposal to raise awareness for environmental justice and sustainability. I was born in Salem, Oregon, and spent much of my childhood enjoying the outdoors – hiking, fishing, camping, hunting – and as such I’ve developed a great respect and admiration for the natural state of our world, one which I hope to help maintain for generations to come.
I am a Development Intern at 350PDX, where I am excited to use what I’ve learned in school in the pursuit of climate justice. I feel as though the work being done here is vital to the wellbeing of our planet as a whole, and I anticipate much hard and good work to be done moving forward.
When I’m not busy with school, climate justice work, or bopping around our beautiful country, I like to spend my time writing and reading poetry, musing in history books and playing (if you could call it “playing”) guitar and other stringed instruments.
