Earth Day 2025

Apr 24

Ah, yes, because outreach and activism should be as fun and meaningful as it is rich with connection.

This Earth Day, I leaned into my love of bridge-building and used the day as a moment of connection across science, community, and movement work.

I was deeply grateful to my colleagues in the Wang Lab who joined me in teaching science to the kindergarteners at my son’s school. The four of us spent the afternoon engaging curious young learners, excited to teach them about their role in caring for the planet, especially the oceans that mean so much to us here in the PNW. We ended our lesson by pledging to be Earth Heroes and crafting jellyfish together.

I thought I’d be winding down my day by taking my son and my mentee to Olympia for her first visit to the Capitol. I’d scheduled a meeting with the ground-breaking Rep. Tarra Simmons, someone I consider a friend, and hoped to use Earth Day as an opportunity to talk about environmental justice to help my mentee get comfortable with legislative advocacy. I look forward to sharing more about this incredible young woman in time, but for now, I’ll just say: she’s going places. Seeing her ambition and compassion as a teen overwhelms me over and again.

After a few minutes of watching how to engage with a lawmaker, I introduced her legislative priority and offered her the chance to dip a toe in. Not my girl, though, she swam. My sometimes reserved, seemingly shy mentee spoke up and delivered. Samantha has been working with me since summer 2024 on a project close to her heart, the disaggregation of race data in healthcare to improve outcomes for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) populations.

I thought she might give a brief elevator pitch in the safe warmth of a friend’s legislative office after seeing her mentor get warmed up. Instead, she passionately laid out her research in a way that pulled us in and left us in awe. Within moments, Rep. Simmons picked up her phone, called Rep. Darya Farivar, and said, “There’s someone in my office you need to meet.”

In all fairness, Sam deserves nothing less than that kind of reaction when she speaks up, but still, it was powerful. Rep. Simmons whisked us off to the House Floor during live debate to introduce her to Rep. Farivar, the first Middle Eastern and Iranian-American woman elected to the Washington State Legislature.

And what kind of mentor would I be if I hadn’t come prepared to watch her shine?

I brought 10 infographic handouts for her cause and gave them out on the House Floor to every familiar face and curious person who approached us—a six-year-old waving a paper jellyfish, the “dance mom” of legislative mentorship, and an incredible youth advocate in the making. When we handed one to Rep. Farivar, she was immediately familiar with the issue and genuinely appreciative of the coalition Sam is helping to build. She shared that she’s already begun laying the legislative groundwork, commissioned reports, and would be happy to connect with Sam to help pass the bill she’s been dreaming of since before I met her.

I’ve had a lot of unforgettable moments in my years of activism, but walking off the House Floor, turning to the brightest 16-year-old I’ve ever met, and saying “You’re going to do it” is one I’ll cherish forever.

It’s in these moments, when I write about the people I’m aligned with and the lives I get to thread myself into, that I know, no matter how far the goalpost moves or what obstacles lie ahead, I’m walking a path I’m proud of. From the kindergarteners who saw an all-female, women-of-color science team share their love for the planet, to the mentee I’ve had the honor of learning from, and all the people they’ll go on to impact…

That’s one hell of a “why”.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:
I’ll never stop leaving a ladder.