Jonathan Deal
With no prior experience in grassroots organizing, Jonathan Deal led a successful campaign against fracking in South Africa to protect the Karoo, a semi-desert region treasured for its agriculture, beauty and wildlife.
Rossano Ercolini
An elementary school teacher, Rossano Ercolini began a public education campaign about the dangers of incinerators in his small Tuscan town that grew into a national Zero Waste movement.
Evgenia Chirikova
In the face of rampant political corruption, Evgenia Chirikova mobilized her fellow citizens to reroute a highway that would bisect Moscow’s protected Khimki Forest.
Edwin Gariguez
A Catholic priest, Father Edwin Gariguez led a grassroots movement against an illegal nickel mine to protect Mindoro Island’s biodiversity and its indigenous people.
Sofía Gatica
A mother whose infant died as a result of pesticide poisoning, Sofia Gatica organized local women to stop indiscriminate spraying of toxic agrochemicals in neighboring soy fields.
Ikal Angelei
Ikal Angelei organized local people to fight the construction of the massive Gibe 3 Dam that would block access to water for indigenous communities around Lake Turkana.
Caroline Cannon
Caroline Cannon gave her native community in Point Hope an unprecedented voice in a legal battle to keep the Arctic Ocean safe from offshore drilling.
Ursula Sladek
In response to Germany’s expanded reliance on nuclear energy, Ursula Sladek created her country’s first cooperatively-owned renewable power company.
Hilton Kelley
Hilton Kelley is a leading figure in the battle for environmental justice on the Texas Gulf Coast, as he fights for communities living in the shadow of polluting industries.
Dmitry Lisitsyn
Dmitry Lisitsyn fought to protect Sakhalin Island’s critically endangered ecosystems while also demanding safety measures from one of the world’s largest petroleum development projects.