What is Protect Florida?
Protect Florida is Sierra Club Florida's statewide podcast and storytelling platform, sharing the people, places, and issues shaping Florida's future. Through interviews, field reporting, and short-form video, we spotlight the communities working to protect our water, parks, wildlife, climate, and democracy—and help Floridians discover ways to take action.
How did it begin?
Protect Florida grew from a simple realization: Florida has incredible stories that too often go untold.
For decades, Sierra Club Florida volunteers, staff, community leaders, and partners have worked to protect the places we love. They've fought offshore oil drilling, helped communities embrace clean energy, protected parks and wildlife, supported communities facing environmental injustices, and advocated for a healthier, more resilient Florida. Along the way they've achieved remarkable victories, but many of those stories—and the people behind them—have never been captured.
As the tenth anniversary of the Ready for 100% Clean Energy campaign approached, longtime Sierra Club leaders Lisa Hinton and James Scott began talking about how to build on that momentum. Lisa wanted to celebrate what volunteers and communities had accomplished over the past decade and preserve those stories for the future. James saw an opportunity to help people better understand the environmental challenges Florida still faces—and inspire more citizens to become part of the solution.
One simple question sparked the idea:
"Hey James... would you do a podcast?"
That conversation grew into Protect Florida—a storytelling project designed to document Florida's environmental movement as it happens. Every episode looks back at the progress we've made, examines the challenges still ahead, and highlights the people working every day to protect Florida's future.
Meet the Storytellers
James Scott
Host & Producer
James Scott serves as Host and Producer of Protect Florida. A longtime Sierra Club leader, including Chapter Chair and current Suncoast Group Chair, James believes informed communities are essential to solving Florida's biggest environmental challenges. Through conversations with advocates, experts, elected officials, and community leaders, he explores the issues shaping our state—from clean energy and conservation to public accountability and civic engagement—challenging listeners to understand what's at stake and how they can help shape Florida's future.
Tommy Lacey
Technical Director & Creative Producer
Tommy Lacey is the founder and Creative Director of Elements Content Studio and serves as the Technical Director behind Protect Florida. Tommy leads production, video storytelling, editing, and visual content development, helping transform conversations and field stories into compelling multimedia experiences that reach audiences across multiple platforms.
Sahid Burgos
Student Ambassador
Sahid Burgos serves as Student Ambassador for Protect Florida, helping connect younger audiences to environmental issues, community engagement, and storytelling opportunities. He supports outreach, content development, and student engagement efforts while bringing a fresh perspective on the next generation of environmental leadership.
Lisa Hinton
Communications & Community Engagement
Lisa Hinton is a longtime Sierra Club volunteer and communications leader who helps guide outreach, storytelling, and audience engagement for Protect Florida. She works to connect community voices, volunteer efforts, and environmental campaigns with the stories that inspire people to learn, participate, and take action. Lisa has spent nearly two decades helping Sierra Club communicate with members and supporters across Florida.
Stay Connected
We hope you'll join us as we explore the people, places, and issues shaping Florida's future. Subscribe, follow us on social media, and check back often for new episodes, stories, and opportunities to learn more about the people making a difference across Florida.