{{Short description|American climate activist}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Varshini Prakash | image = Varshini Prakash 2019 (cropped).jpg | birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|26|2019|11|18}} | birth_place = [[Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | political_party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | education = [[University of Massachusetts, Amherst]] ([[Bachelors of Arts|BA]]) | known_for = Former executive director and co-founder of the [[Sunrise Movement]] }} '''Varshini Prakash''' (born 1992/1993) is an American [[climate activist]]. She co-founded the [[Sunrise Movement]] in 2017, serving as its executive director until 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Who Will Save The Planet? Meet The women Rallying For Climate Justice|last=Pascoe|first=Alley|url=https://www.marieclaire.com.au/meet-the-women-rallying-for-climate-justice|access-date=10 March 2023|website=Marie Claire Australia|language=en|date=May 2021|archive-date=May 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518041917/https://www.marieclaire.com.au/meet-the-women-rallying-for-climate-justice|url-status=live}}</ref> She was named on the 2019 [[Time 100]] Next list,<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=TIME 100 Next 2019: Varshini Prakash|url=https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/5718838/varshini-prakash/|access-date=April 23, 2021|magazine=Time|language=en-us|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428081352/https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/5718838/varshini-prakash/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was a co-recipient of the [[Sierra Club John Muir Award]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 16, 2019|title=Sierra Club Announces 2019 National Award Winners|url=https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2019/09/sierra-club-announces-2019-national-award-winners|access-date=April 23, 2021|website=Sierra Club|language=en|archive-date=April 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423202103/https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2019/09/sierra-club-announces-2019-national-award-winners|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Prakash was born to and raised in [[Massachusetts]] by parents from [[Southern India]];<ref name="bg2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2019/09/17/older-generations-broke-climate-young-people-fix/eDldPRIKVOadSXQLiQws0H/story.html|title=Older generations broke the climate. It's up to young people to fix it|last=Prakash|first=Varshini|website=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=17 September 2019|url-access=limited|access-date=10 March 2023}}</ref> her father was from [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref name="2020sierraclub">{{Cite web|date=22 December 2020|title=Varshini Prakash on Redefining What's Possible|url=https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-1-january-february/feature/varshini-prakash-redefining-whats-possible|access-date=10 March 2023|website=Sierra Club|last=Prakash|first=Varshini|language=en|archive-date=May 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502192122/https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-1-january-february/feature/varshini-prakash-redefining-whats-possible|url-status=live}}</ref> She first became aware of [[climate change]] when she was 11 while watching news coverage of the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|2004 Indian Ocean tsunami]] which impacted [[Chennai]], where her grandparents lived.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Solis|first=Marie|date=18 November 2019|title=How a 26-Year-Old Activist Forced the Democratic Party to Get Serious About Climate Change|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-a-26-year-old-activist-forced-the-democratic-party-to-get-serious-about-climate-change-v26n4/|access-date=10 March 2023|website=Vice|others=Photos by Nathan Bajar}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Adabala|first=Srihita|date=26 March 2020|title=Meet Varshini Prakash, Leader of The Sunrise Movement|url=https://nextgenpolitics.org/meet-varshini-prakash-leader-of-the-sunrise-movement/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031172212/https://www.nextgenpolitics.org/meet-varshini-prakash-leader-of-the-sunrise-movement/|archive-date=31 October 2020|website=Next Generation Politics}}</ref> Growing up, she wanted to become a doctor.<ref name=":1" />
Prakash went to college at the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] where she began organizing around climate issues.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":2"/> In late 2015, [[2015 South India floods|devastating floods in South India]] seized her attention, having caused flooding up to the level of her grandparents' apartment in Chennai.<ref name="bg2019"/><ref name="2020sierraclub"/> To help combat climate change, Prakash became a leader of the school's [[fossil fuel divestment]] campaign. Prakash also worked with a national organization, Fossil Fuel Divestment Student Network. In 2016, a year after she graduated, UMass Amherst became the first large, public university to divest.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Elton|first=Catherine|title=Varshini Prakash Is Trying to Save Boston From Climate Change|url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2020/03/03/varshini-prakash/?fbclid=IwAR1ddTC-UIuCYvw3jWxBbwe_ONWQxSZSx4gUhr9OUxzaULwavnVyeDBq4e0|access-date=10 March 2023|date=3 March 2020|magazine=Boston|publisher=Metro Corp|archive-date=April 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423200512/https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2020/03/03/varshini-prakash/?fbclid=IwAR1ddTC-UIuCYvw3jWxBbwe_ONWQxSZSx4gUhr9OUxzaULwavnVyeDBq4e0|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Career == In 2017, Prakash launched the Sunrise Movement, an American youth-led [[political movement]] and [[501(c)(4)]] that advocates [[political action on climate change]], with seven other co-founders. Those other founders include [[Sara Blazevic]], [[Victoria Fernandez]], [[Guido Girgenti]], and [[William Lawrence (activist)|William Lawrence]]<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Hyland|first1=Véronique|first2=Naomi|last2=Rougeau|first3=Julie|last3=Vadnal|date=6 June 2019|access-date=10 March 2023|title=27 Women Leading the Charge to Protect Our Environment|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/a27733802/women-in-conservation-list/|website=Elle Magazine|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512182843/https://www.elle.com/culture/a27733802/women-in-conservation-list/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2018, she became the Sunrise Movement's executive director after the group organized a protest occupying U.S. House Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]]'s office asking that a [[congress]]ional task force be established to [[climate change mitigation|address climate change]].<ref name=":1" />
As part of her work with the Sunrise Movement, Prakash advocated for proposals like the [[Green New Deal]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite magazine|last=Inslee|first=Jay|date=2019|title=Varshini Prakash Is on the 2019 TIME 100 Next List|url=https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/5718838/varshini-prakash/|access-date=10 March 2023|magazine=Time|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428081352/https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/5718838/varshini-prakash/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2020, the organization endorsed U.S. senator [[Bernie Sanders]] in the Democratic Primary for the presidency.<ref name=":2" /> Prakash was named as an adviser to Joe Biden's climate task force in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Specter|first=Emma|date=26 October 2020|title=Why 2020 Is a Climate Election|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/why-2020-is-a-climate-election|website=Vogue|access-date=10 March 2023|archive-date=June 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612165820/https://www.vogue.com/article/why-2020-is-a-climate-election|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rathi|first=Akshat|date=15 September 2020|title=The Activist Trying to Bend the U.S. Congress Toward Climate|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-15/sunrise-movement-and-varshini-prakash-pressure-joe-biden-on-climate|url-access=subscription|access-date=|website=Bloomberg|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031034505/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-15/sunrise-movement-and-varshini-prakash-pressure-joe-biden-on-climate|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|last=Teirstein|first=Zoya|date=20 May 2020|title=How Climate Leftists and Moderates Are Working Together to Beat Trump|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-leftists-and-moderates-are-working-together-to-beat-trump-2020-1002931/|access-date=|url-access=subscription|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-date=June 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615203752/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-leftists-and-moderates-are-working-together-to-beat-trump-2020-1002931/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Calma|first=Justine|date=14 May 2020|title=How the climate movement is trying to fix Joe Biden|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/14/21258678/joe-biden-climate-change-task-force-sunrise-movement-varshini-prakash|access-date=10 March 2023|website=The Verge|archive-date=May 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505015318/https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/14/21258678/joe-biden-climate-change-task-force-sunrise-movement-varshini-prakash|url-status=live}}</ref> She is also an advisory board member of Climate Power 2020, a group that includes Democrats and activists advocating for increasing the interest American voters take in climate action.<ref name=":0" />
Prakash edited the book written by Girgenti, ''Winning the Green New Deal: Why We Must, How We Can'', released August 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ottesen|first=KK|date=22 September 2020|title='Adults are asleep at the wheel' in climate crisis, says co-founder of youth-led activist group|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/adults-are-asleep-at-the-wheel-in-climate-crisis-says-co-founder-of-youth-led-activist-group/2020/09/21/960327f0-e7ac-11ea-bc79-834454439a44_story.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=|newspaper=Washington Post|archive-date=June 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612024902/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/adults-are-asleep-at-the-wheel-in-climate-crisis-says-co-founder-of-youth-led-activist-group/2020/09/21/960327f0-e7ac-11ea-bc79-834454439a44_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 2, 2020|title=Nonfiction Book Review: Winning the Green New Deal: Why We Must, How We Can by Edited by Varshini Prakash and Guido Girgenti. Simon & Schuster, $18 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-982142-43-8|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-982142-43-8|access-date=April 23, 2021|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en|archive-date=April 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424092203/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-982142-43-8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stephenson |first1=Wen |title=The Hardest Thing About the Green New Deal |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/climate-green-new-deal-2/ |access-date=April 23, 2021 |work=The Nation |date=October 12, 2020 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424131701/https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/climate-green-new-deal-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She also is a contributor to ''The New Possible: Visions of Our World Beyond Crisis''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The new possible : visions of our world beyond crisis|date=2021|others=Philip Clayton, Kelli M. Archie, Jonah Sachs, Evan Steiner, Kim Stanley Robinson|isbn=978-1-7252-8583-5|location=Eugene, Oregon|oclc=1236337736}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 14, 2020|title=Varshini Prakash on Redefining What's Possible|url=https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-1-january-february/feature/varshini-prakash-redefining-whats-possible|access-date=April 23, 2021|website=Sierra Club|language=en|archive-date=May 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502192122/https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-1-january-february/feature/varshini-prakash-redefining-whats-possible|url-status=live}}</ref> Prakash appeared in [[Rachel Lears]]' 2022 documentary film, ''[[To the End (2022 film)|To the End]]'', which focuses on the effects of [[climate change]]. The film debuted at the [[2022 Sundance Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Dennis Harvey |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/festivals/to-the-end-review-1235158133/ |title='To the End' Review: A Doc on Pushing For Climate Policy Change |publisher=Variety |date=January 23, 2022 |accessdate=May 20, 2022 |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520181346/https://variety.com/2022/film/festivals/to-the-end-review-1235158133/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Leslie Felperin |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/to-the-end-review-sundance-2022-1235079660/ |title='To the End' Review: Rachel Lears' New AOC Doc at Sundance – The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=Hollywoodreporter.com |date=January 23, 2022 |accessdate=May 20, 2022 |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520181346/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/to-the-end-review-sundance-2022-1235079660/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and was presented at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]] in June 2022.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jill Goldsmith |url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/tribeca-festival-2022-lineup-film-tv-1235005218/ |title=Tribeca Festival 2022 Lineup With Jon Hamm, Ray Romano, Bryan Cranston – Deadline |publisher=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=April 19, 2022 |access-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-date=October 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006034640/https://deadline.com/2022/04/tribeca-festival-2022-lineup-film-tv-1235005218/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In September 2023, Prakash stepped down as Sunrise executive director, succeeded by Sunrise activist [[Aru Shiney-Ajay]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Frazin |first1=Rachel |last2=Budryk |first2=Zack |title=Meet the new leader of the Sunrise Movement |url=https://thehill.com/newsletters/energy-environment/4224721-senate-pitches-stopgap-with-disaster-aid-funds/ |access-date=14 December 2023 |work=The Hill |date=26 September 2023 |archive-date=December 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214154025/https://thehill.com/newsletters/energy-environment/4224721-senate-pitches-stopgap-with-disaster-aid-funds/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Recognition == Prakash was named on the 2019 ''[[Time 100 Next]]'' list of emerging global leaders.<ref name=":3" /> She was a finalist for the 2019 [[Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award]] from the [[University of California, Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/pritzker-genius/previous-candidates/|title=Previous Candidates: Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award|website=UCLA Institute of the Environment & Sustainability|publisher=The Regents of the University of California|access-date=10 March 2023|archive-date=December 10, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251210031911/https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/pritzker-genius/previous-candidates/|url-status=live}}</ref> She received [[Dickinson College]]'s Rose-Walters Prize for [[Environmental activism|Environmental Activism]] with a college residency in the 2021–2022 academic year.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.dickinson.edu/news/article/4678/sunrise_movement_leader_varshini_prakash_to_receive_dickinson_college_s_rose-walters_prize_for_environmental_activism|title=Sunrise Movement Leader Varshini Prakash to Receive Dickinson College's Rose-Walters Prize for Environmental Activism|date=28 April 2021|access-date=10 March 2023|publisher=Dickinson College|archive-date=November 10, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251110065112/https://www.dickinson.edu/news/article/4678/sunrise_movement_leader_varshini_prakash_to_receive_dickinson_college_s_rose-walters_prize_for_environmental_activism|url-status=live}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.npr.org/2020/10/28/928810660/how-i-built-resilience-varshini-prakash-of-sunrise-movement Interview in the "How I Built This" podcast] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYKnfrSKXTA Profile by Forbes]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prakash, Varshini}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:American climate activists]] [[Category:American people of Indian descent]] [[Category:American people of Indian Tamil descent]] [[Category:American women activists]] [[Category:American women founders]] [[Category:American founders]] [[Category:Sierra Club awardees]] [[Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst people]] [[Category:Youth climate activists]]