At last month's Wild & Scenic Film Festival, we presented the Idaho Chapter's first Youth Climate Justice Leadership Award to Sherlyn Mesillas Becerra for her incredible hard work, leadership, and passionate engagement in our Climate Justice League youth activist team over the past two years, as well as her engagement with the organization at large as a rockstar volunteer and now a member of our Chapter's Executive Committee (board). We are SO grateful for the hard work, dedication, commitment, and engagement Sherlyn brings to our spaces, and we are so honored to have her in our leadership!
To name just a few things that exemplify Sherlyn's amazing work: every week she helps co-facilitate and plan CJL's full group meetings and has spoken at large rallies, testified at public hearings, interviewed on Spanish radio shows to promte our solar and energy justice work, planned major community and activist events, and created inspiring works of art and moving pieces of writing—all while remaining humble, easy-going, and kind. Sherlyn is an absolute rockstar, and we can't wait to see what we can do together next!
Congrats, Sherlyn!
Read more from our staff team about Sherlyn's impact!
From Chapter Director, Lisa Young: "I can’t stress enough how dedicated and talented this young person is as an environmental leader in our community. She has worked on campaigns from electric utility solar net metering regulations to general public awareness around issues of climate justice. She knows how to dive into the technical components of a policy campaign while also developing artistic and engaging public outreach strategies, all while crafting intentional meeting agendas and social events to maintain a cohesive team culture with her teen peers. She has also stepped up in various other volunteer roles at our organization, offering her time and energy to help with our fundraising initiatives and to submit writings for our publications. She’s an excellent writer, artist, organizer, and human being!"
From Chapter Organizer, Amanda Reed: "In the year I’ve known Sherlyn, I’ve been amazed by her creativity, passion, kindness, and leadership. When co-creating the agendas for our CJL meetings, she is always thinking about how we can effectively consider the group’s feedback and come to group decisions. She also brainstorms the most creative ideas for how to engage our youth team and wider Treasure Valley community in grassroots climate justice activism! On top of it all, she writes so beautifully—from lyrical poetry to prose—and has inspired me in numerous ways in her ability to engage in activism through different forms of art. I can’t wait to see all the things Sherlyn will accomplish moving forward, and I feel so lucky to be able to continue working with her as she serves as Secretary and Events Lead on our statewide Board!"
From Communications & Advancement Coordinator, Vienne Aberle: "Over the past almost two years that I've been able to work with Sherlyn, I've watched her grow from an already smart and capable human to a skilled leader and inspiring grassroots organizer. She has an eye for detail and a creative fire that burns bright and steadily, and brings such a unique perspective to all of the spaces she is in. We're all so appreciate of all that Sherlyn does, and hope that this award can serve as a small token of appreciation for the enormous support that she gives so generously. She has helped shape our Climate Justice League youth team, our organization as a whole, and my personal perspective on the work we do, and her contributions to our Chapter are unmeasurable. Thank you, Sherlyn!"