0:00

i'm

0:03

going to ask you to think back to when you

0:05

were a little kid playing

0:07

outside may be climbing trees

0:10

digging in the dirt any one

0:12

of those moments could be the thing that inspires

0:14

you and start to on a path that directs

0:17

the course of your life for

0:19

pooja till the wala that moment was

0:21

take your child to work day as

0:24

a kid we would have that day off from school

0:26

we'd go to my dad's workplace

0:29

and choose which sessions we wanted

0:31

to return pooches

0:32

dad happened to work for the new

0:34

jersey department of environmental protection

0:37

so there was one where

0:39

i got to learn about baths they made

0:41

a fake bat cave we crawled

0:43

into the batcave with flashlights

0:46

and searched for different

0:48

types of bats and identified them

0:51

and got to make like mud

0:53

caked with like worms and eat it it

0:55

was just a really cool experience and i was

0:57

like wow working on

0:59

environmental protection is so cool

1:02

identifying bats and eating

1:04

mud caked was just the beginning pooches

1:07

twenty seven years old now and is the founder

1:09

and executive director of the youth climate

1:11

collaborative that's an organization

1:13

that helps young people take meaningful climate

1:16

action while also keeping an eye

1:18

on their mental health

1:20

on her way from mud caked

1:22

a nonprofit leadership put it has learned

1:24

a lot she's had a lot of successes

1:27

and a few missteps along the

1:29

way as well we'll hear all about

1:31

it on this episode of degrees season

1:33

six how to green your job

1:36

i'm yes pavlik slink and this is degrees

1:39

real talk about planet saving careers from

1:41

environmental defense fund as

1:43

you're thinking about ways to green your job

1:45

we're sharing a story about how one

1:47

young woman pursued a seat

1:49

at the table with power players

1:51

a global climate negotiations we

1:54

want you to know that your voice matters

1:57

and we hope today's episode offers practical

1:59

advice

1:59

about how to stand up for what you believe

2:02

in, even if it feels a bit like

2:04

David versus Goliath.

2:24

Pouja Tovawalla grew up with a love

2:27

for the outdoors. She especially loved

2:29

climbing trees, feeling the sap

2:32

stick to her fingers. Plus,

2:34

there was that experience at her dad's workplace. So

2:37

she had a baseline interest in the environment.

2:39

But once she got to school, her interest

2:41

changed. And then they changed again

2:44

and again. So

2:46

actually my indecision started

2:48

in high school because

2:50

I was always pointed towards

2:53

a career path in medicine

2:55

or law. And then through

2:58

Model United Nations in high

3:00

school, I started exploring schools

3:03

that taught international studies.

3:06

And then I took on that major

3:09

at American University in Washington, DC.

3:12

So I made a couple of different switches.

3:14

I added on economics.

3:17

I added on Spanish. I switched

3:19

Spanish to a minor. I added on philosophy.

3:22

I

3:22

ended up not doing philosophy.

3:25

So a lot of changes. So

3:27

many changes. But there was one

3:30

college experience in particular that

3:32

really set things in motion for Pouja. Through

3:35

a volunteer position with the United Nations

3:38

Association of America in her senior year,

3:40

she had the chance to go to the 2018 Global Climate

3:44

Action Summit in San Francisco.

3:47

This was right after President

3:49

Trump at the time had withdrawn

3:52

the United States from the

3:54

Paris Agreement. I saw

3:56

all the marches outside. And so

3:59

It was really inspiring

4:02

to see how people were mobilizing outside

4:04

of the venue, to use their voices,

4:06

to demonstrate the power of mobilization,

4:09

to get the results that we'd like to see.

4:12

And then inside the venue, there

4:14

were all these educational sessions on

4:16

the intersections of climate and other

4:18

topics. And I knew that was the space

4:21

for me.

4:22

So there it was, the spark

4:24

that lit the fire in her. As a

4:26

next step, Puja received a fellowship with

4:28

the Meridian Institute. That's an environmental

4:31

nonprofit that focuses on collaborative problem

4:33

solving. There, she found

4:35

herself in meeting rooms filled with

4:37

some of the world's most powerful leaders, including

4:40

the president of EDF and my big boss,

4:43

Fred Krup.

4:44

My role was to be

4:46

a note taker for a lot of these sessions

4:49

and to help summarize the

4:52

key points and action items

4:54

from these convenings.

4:56

Imagine it, Puja was just 24

4:59

years old in the room with all these

5:01

power players. And it's her job

5:03

to synthesize everything they're saying.

5:06

She had to learn fast.

5:08

By being in these rooms in this

5:10

role, I got the chance

5:13

to listen, listen deeply to what everybody

5:15

was saying, to everybody's

5:18

thought processes and

5:21

how they translated those thoughts

5:23

into words that would help

5:26

everyone understand each other's perspectives

5:29

and figure out pathways forward.

5:32

And then going back through the

5:34

notes, you had the chance to review what everyone

5:37

said and figure out what's

5:39

important and what

5:41

verbal skills are they using to bring

5:43

unity to

5:46

this movement and remind each other of

5:48

the larger purpose of why they're there. Right?

5:51

What is the bigger picture? And how can

5:53

we use our voice and how can we use

5:57

what our organization stand for, our

5:59

values?

7:49

Are

8:02

you looking for a climate job? Then

8:04

you should check out our new mini-series. It's called

8:07

The Year of the Climate Job. I'm

8:09

Daniel Hill. I'm director of the Innovation

8:11

Fund at EDF. And I'm hosting

8:14

this new series because I love

8:16

helping people like you work on climate.

8:19

If you're wanting to use your career to fight

8:21

the most critical issue of our generation,

8:24

then this series is for you. Why did we call

8:26

it The Year of the Climate Job? First,

8:29

the biggest climate law in US history passed

8:31

last summer. And so far, more

8:33

than 100,000 new green jobs

8:36

have been announced. Second, sustainability

8:38

jobs are among the fastest growing globally.

8:41

But the reality is, getting those roles

8:44

has not been easy. I'm here

8:46

to help you make sense of your green

8:48

job journey. I surveyed

8:50

thousands of green job seekers. And

8:53

you told me about four major obstacles that

8:55

are making you feel stuck. My

8:57

new series shows you how to overcome everyone

9:00

with help from today's top climate career

9:03

experts.

9:04

So if you're already looking or even

9:06

thinking about getting a green job, check

9:08

out our degrees mini-series, The Year

9:10

of the Climate Job.

9:29

Okay, so where we left Puja Tilvallala,

9:32

she was on her way out of a fellowship that

9:34

didn't work out as she had planned. But

9:37

she was not deterred. In fact, she had

9:39

learned a lot from that experience and

9:41

was ready to tap her network and figure out

9:43

her next step.

9:45

In February 2020, I

9:47

had gone to American University

9:50

for a cool session on philosophy

9:52

and climate change. And

9:54

after the session, I spoke with Professor

9:57

Simon Nicholson and was just

9:59

here to help telling him my ideas

10:01

and plans for the youth climate

10:03

space, because I had been volunteering in the

10:05

youth climate space through Yungo,

10:08

which is the UNFCCC's children

10:11

and youth constituency, and

10:14

had noticed several gaps

10:16

and needs for improvement in the space,

10:19

as well as the core issues

10:22

that youth were facing and trying to take meaningful

10:24

action. And so I was talking to him

10:26

about this, and he's like, you should start writing this stuff

10:28

down. So in February, I started writing

10:30

this down, and I was like, if I were to create programs

10:34

to address some of these issues, what

10:37

would that look like?

10:38

Puja took all those lessons she

10:40

had learned at the Meridian Institute, listening

10:43

deeply and synthesizing information,

10:45

talking to young people about the issues

10:47

they were facing and what they thought

10:50

should be done about it. And she poured all

10:52

that information and feedback into

10:54

a plan. Then a few months later,

10:56

a new opportunity came along.

10:59

Sometime around August, I

11:01

saw on LinkedIn a job

11:03

opportunity by the Climate Initiative to

11:06

submit your plan to educate, empower,

11:09

and activate youth in the climate space. They

11:11

called it a climate career competition.

11:13

They were funding one young recent graduate

11:16

to implement their plans, and

11:19

this was a program set up to

11:21

help students during the

11:23

pandemic, when it was a little bit difficult

11:26

to find jobs, especially as free

11:28

flowing like these. And so I applied,

11:30

and because I had such an extensive plan already,

11:33

I was selected.

11:35

This opportunity with the Climate Initiative

11:37

was huge for Puja, as

11:39

it would help lay the foundation for the organization

11:42

she runs today, called the Youth Climate

11:44

Collaborative. But Puja is the

11:46

first to say, this didn't just come

11:49

together through dumb luck.

11:51

By having this plan, right, I was prepared

11:53

for when the opportunity arose

11:56

to modify it as needed,

11:59

submit it.

14:00

and how I can best use my knowledge

14:02

to

14:04

kind of make an impact in the areas

14:06

that I wanted to make an impact in. Puja's

14:08

work now is to take those hard-won

14:11

lessons and pass them along to the

14:13

young people who are part of her Youth Climate

14:15

Collaborative.

14:17

So first I would say to

14:19

the young people to figure out

14:22

what their goals are. So

14:24

if they want to be at an event, to

14:26

think about why. Why do I want to be

14:29

at this event? Are there certain

14:31

outcomes that I'd like to see come out of this

14:33

that I think I can play a role in driving

14:35

forward while being there? Are

14:38

there ways that I can create

14:40

youth engagement opportunities in

14:42

these spaces and make that

14:45

happen? And why does that matter?

14:47

Why should there be a youth voice, right? And

14:50

so first figure out your why.

14:52

So lesson one, set a goal

14:54

for yourself and figure out your why.

14:57

Lesson two, be fearless,

15:00

even when you're approaching people two to

15:02

three times your age.

15:04

Let's say you enter a room as a young

15:06

person. Oftentimes

15:09

people who are older won't

15:11

come up to the young person and ask, hey,

15:13

what are you up to? What is your work?

15:16

It's usually the other way around. And

15:19

so you really have

15:21

to be brave to

15:24

go up to different people in the room,

15:27

spark that conversation and get in the practice

15:29

and habit of doing that.

15:31

Puja admits this won't always be

15:33

easy. One of the problems that really

15:35

motivates her is the limited stage

15:37

young people are given to share their views.

15:40

We're constantly asked to give, you know,

15:42

what is the youth statement and the youth perspective? How

15:45

can we possibly summarize the youth perspective

15:47

of youth around the world in a one

15:50

minute, two minute

15:51

statement? You know, that's ridiculous

15:53

to me. We're not given the proper

15:56

amount of time we need to express our

15:58

values, our concerns. our interests,

16:01

our goals. We're not seen

16:04

as credible all the time.

16:06

Many times, you know, we're

16:08

used in tokenistic ways, as people

16:11

say.

16:12

And so I'd really like to see

16:15

that change.

16:17

Give us the space and time that we deserve

16:20

and really listen.

16:22

That is the heart really of Puja's

16:24

work.

16:26

Helping young people find

16:28

opportunities to speak truth

16:30

to power. It's now been almost

16:32

seven years since Puja graduated from college

16:34

and almost three since she started Youth Climate

16:37

Collaborative. What started as a

16:39

desire to bring youth to the climate

16:41

negotiations table has expanded

16:43

into something much bigger. Among

16:46

other things, she's launched a series of mental

16:48

health workshops to help youth climate

16:50

leaders strengthen their emotional

16:52

resilience. And they're adding on new

16:54

programs all the time. What

16:56

Puja does, actually what all

16:59

of these young climate leaders do, is hard

17:02

work. So I had to ask her, what

17:05

keeps you going day to day? You know, you're

17:07

seated in rooms filled with people in power.

17:10

You're sometimes navigating the

17:12

hallways and the, you know, chance

17:14

meetings at the the water cooler at

17:16

these events with, you know, global powerhouses.

17:20

And if we know anything about coordinating

17:22

global climate action, sometimes

17:25

it can be contentious. It can be frustrating

17:28

and it can be really, really tiring. So

17:30

what keeps you getting out of bed

17:33

in the morning to do this work?

17:35

So

17:37

the individual answer is knowing

17:39

that I have power. I

17:42

hold power.

17:43

So I know that each day what I

17:46

do matters. I can wake

17:48

up and choose to read a

17:50

book. I can wake up and

17:52

choose to lead a workshop on,

17:55

you know, leadership coaching for young climate

17:57

change makers. I can choose

17:59

to just go outside for

18:02

eight hours straight. And

18:05

what I do matters, you know, we won't know

18:07

the impact of what we do always.

18:11

And we don't know what legacy

18:13

we're leaving behind, but recognizing

18:16

that our actions do matter, and

18:19

that people are watching, whether

18:21

we know it or not. And, you know,

18:24

we're building towards something that motivates

18:27

me. And then at a collective

18:29

level, I love,

18:31

love, love meeting youth from

18:33

around the world, online,

18:36

in person, and just seeing

18:39

the

18:41

tenacity, the hard work, the

18:43

dedication, the love

18:45

that they're pouring into their work with

18:47

such limited resources often, and

18:51

seeing what they're able to achieve when

18:53

they've put their mind towards something, no

18:55

matter what obstacles or, you

18:58

know, bad news arises

19:01

each day. That's

19:03

super powerful. And

19:06

I just know that if we keep going, you

19:08

know, we have to believe, we don't have a choice, but

19:11

to believe and

19:12

to keep going and reminding ourselves

19:14

to take breaks, you know, as

19:17

well.

19:20

Before we go, I asked Puja to queue

19:22

up next week's very special guest,

19:25

famed TV and film writer,

19:27

producer, and director Scott Z. Burns.

19:30

He'll talk about how he's woven climate

19:32

issues into his illustrious entertainment

19:35

career. It just so happens that

19:37

Puja's Youth Climate Collaborative is working

19:39

on a climate comedy initiative. So

19:42

for me,

19:43

it's really important that we use a lighthearted

19:46

way of communication

19:48

to get people engaged and

19:51

involved in climate action.

19:53

This is because there's

19:55

already a lot of media out there that focuses

19:58

on the problems.

19:59

and some that focuses

20:02

on the solutions, but

20:05

the solutions are celebratory for

20:07

a moment and then people move on.

20:10

And I feel like comedy is

20:13

fun to work on for me.

20:15

And it really does do a better job

20:18

of getting people involved. We'll

20:19

put links to some specific climate comedy

20:22

that Pooja recommends in the show notes and

20:24

come back next week to hear our very special

20:26

episode with Scott Z.

20:27

Burns. It's easy for someone

20:30

to look at a graph and say,

20:33

I don't really care about climate change.

20:36

And then you need a storyteller to come in and go, yeah,

20:38

but actually climate change cares about you.

20:41

If you liked this episode, please rate

20:43

and review us on your listening platform

20:46

and share with a friend. And don't forget

20:48

to check out our Green Jobs Hub to find all

20:50

the resources to jumpstart your Green

20:52

Job career search. Degrees

20:54

is presented by Environmental Defense Fund.

20:57

Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast

20:59

Allies is our production company. IOOT

21:02

produced to this episode. Neil O'Bell

21:04

is our story editor. Engineering

21:06

by Kevin Kline. Our music

21:08

is Shame, Shame, Shame from Lake Street Dive. And

21:10

I'm your host, Yashkabik Slink. Stay

21:13

fired up, y'all. Change

21:15

is coming, oh yeah. Ain't

21:19

no holding it back.

21:23

Ain't no running, change

21:26

is coming, oh yeah.