Vic Barrett is a 19 year old, first generation Honduran-American, from New York. Vic has been learning about and fighting against the ways environmental racism and global climate justice manifest for 5 years now.
Vic is currently attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is pursuing Political Science and Environmental Studies Degrees. Vic is interested in learning how to make the political process as inclusive as possible while maintaining ethics and efficiency. Vic believes there is no reason that morals have to be sacrificed for leadership to work to the benefits of all. She has been exploring these concepts since her freshman year of high school where she worked to get climate education mandated in New York City Public Schools K-12 and also worked to get offshore wind initiatives in New York City.
Since then Vic has joined a lawsuit with 20 other young people suing the U.S. Federal Government for violating young people’s constitutional rights by developing and encouraging fossil fuel infrastructure and use, therefore contributing to the global climate crisis. Vic traveled to COP 21 in Paris, France where she learned about the broader implications of of the United States actions on climate change and fossil fuel extraction. Following this experience she was lucky enough to visit many countries internationally speaking on youth engagement on climate change and its necessity. Vic also addressed the United Nations General Assembly to speak on youth involvement with the Sustainable Development Goals and in conjunction with the signing of the Paris Agreement. Vic hopes to use the platforms she’s been lucky enough to access in order to spread a message of youth empowerment and intersectionality.
