THANK YOU to the Power Shift Organizing Team!

This is a letter I just sent to the Energy Action Coalition/Power Shift 2007 organizing team. Please add your thanks in the comments below…

Dear beautiful Power Shift/Energy Action people,

I wanted to write to thank you sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for making this past weekend at Power Shift 2007 possible. Power Shift was simply incredible: incredibly inspiring, incredibly energizing and incredibly empowering!

We certainly made an impact this weekend: on Nancy Pelosi who didn’t know what she was in for when she stepped on stage Saturday night but now certainly knows what we’re looking for in our leaders; on anyone who saw the stirring and heartfelt testimony at Monday’s Congressional hearing; on anyone who saw the hordes of Power Shifters that took over the halls of the House and Senate office buildings all day on Monday; on the legislative staffers who didn’t know how to respond to a dozen fervent, articulate and committed young citizen-lobbyists who came to their offices demanding green jobs, science-based carbon reductions and no new coal; and most importantly, on each other - on the thousands of amazing young people who you helped bring together to meet, learn from, inspire, and empower each other.

I’m still moved to tears of joy and tingle with goose-bumps as I write this letter. I assumed I’d be exhausted when I got home from Power Shift, but instead, I’ve been buzzing with so much energy I feel like I’m on a caffeine high that’ll never end!

And just think about the tremendous impact that 6,000 young people will have when they go home to their campuses and communities with that kind of new energy, with new friends and connections, new ideas and projects, and a new sense of power, commitment and purpose! This is how movements are built.

So thank you, thank you, thank you all for the long hours, the hard work, and the persevering vision that resulted in Power Shift 2007, the most amazing weekend of my life. You’ve given us all a priceless gift, and for that, we will be forever grateful.

Sincerely, your friend,

Jesse Jenkins
_____________________________________
It’s Getting Hot in Here and WattHead blogger,
Cascade Climate Network co-founder, and
Your friend in Oregon if you ever need one.

About Jesse

Jesse is a young activist, organizer, policy analyst and blogger. He is currently the director of energy and climate policy at the Breakthrough Institute where he helps Breakthrough develop and advance new energy solutions to power America's future, secure our energy freedom, and halt global warming. Jesse joined the Breakthrough team in June 2008 to co-direct the Breakthrough Generation Summer Fellows Program. Before joining the Breakthrough Institute, Jesse spent two years as a Research and Policy Associate at the Renewable Northwest Project where he worked to advance the development of the Pacific Northwest's abundant renewable energy potential. While at RNP, he helped pass two statewide renewable energy standards (in WA and OR) and block plans to build 800 MW of new coal plants. In the past, Jesse has worked as a researcher and software developer with the Department of Physics at the University of Oregon, where he focused on alternative vehicles and fuels, and as a teacher's assistant in energy studies courses at the university. Jesse has a long history of grassroots climate and energy activism and co-founded the Cascade Climate Network, the Northwest's largest network of youth working to tackle the climate crisis and build a sustainable, just, and prosperous future. An active blogger, Jesse is the founder and blogmaster of the site, WattHead - Energy News and Commentary. He currently writes at several sites throughout the blogosphere and has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and Baltimore Sun. Jesse graduated in 2006 with a B.S. from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon, where he completed an interdisciplinary course of study in computer science, philosophy, liberal arts, political science & energy studies. Jesse currently lives in Berkeley, CA.

1 Response to “THANK YOU to the Power Shift Organizing Team!”

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1 Cameron Kelly-Johnson Nov 8th, 2007 at 10:54 am

Thank You for helping us all do what the world said was impossible. On a short time line, using a minimum of resources, and moving from the bottom up. I can’t begin to tell you how many people told me this event would never work. We would never get speakers on so short a notice. Never get funding, and certainly never get attendants. I knew they were wrong from day one. Thank You for helping me prove it with all your hard work.

-Cameron Kelly-Johnson
Purdue University North Central
President - Active Voices