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Membership
To get involved with SustainUS, make sure that you sign up to become a member!
Membership is open to anyone! All members will receive our monthly newsletters. Members also receive the right to vote in our annual elections barring a couple certain stipulations (Voting Members are youth -- either U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or studying in the U.S. -- 13 to 26 in age. All other members are Associate Members). Membership is on an individual basis.
Regional Membership Meetups
Our annual summer meetups give you the chance to meet local SustainUS members and learn about SustainUS programs. Call for meetup organizers is posted in late May, and meetups happen in July and August of every year.
Listservs
Join our Facebook Group!
Not an email list per se, but for members who want breaking action alerts and immediate ways to get involved with SustainUS or support sustainable development policies. Opportunities, news, and accomplishments beyond your monthly SustainUS newsletter!
Opportunity
SustainUS has a large and diverse membership of well-connected individuals who come upon new opportunities! This list is for people who want to hear strictly about jobs, internships, scholarships, grants, conferences, events, and other resources in fields relating to sustainable development.
Steering Committee
The high-volume list used by the Steering Committee and other leaders to develop SustainUS programs and make day-to-day decisions. Steering Committee conference call and in-person meeting notes are posted here. SustainUS members are welcome to view discussions.
US Climate Youth
U.S.A. youth and U.S. youth organizations participating in the United Nations climate change negotiations. Coordinated by SustainUS but run by more than 20 youth organizations and over 100 individuals.
Policy Working Group
Contribute to developing policy submissions and evaluating policy sign-on statement requests. Weigh in on our involvement in new policy areas.
Grassroots Action Working Group
Currently dormant. If you have ideas about grassroots campaigns actions, and community and campus outreach and education, contact our Education & Engagement Coordinator,
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.
Agents of Change Program (AoC)
Youth 13-26 compete in a national selection process to actively participate in international sustainable development negotiations. All applications are announced several months before the negotiation. You can also
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our Agents of Change Coordinators to request specific applications:
- Commission for Social Development - February
- Commission on the Status of Women - March
- Commission on Sustainable Development - May
- Convention on Biological Diversity (18-26 only) - October even years
- Framework Convention on Climate Change (18-26 only) - December
Citizen Science
Citizen Science Competition
High school, undergraduate, and graduate students submit sustainable development research papers for the chance to be published and present their work at a UN conference. Call for papers is posted in the SustainUS E-Newsletter around late September. You can also
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our Citizen Science Coordinator to request an application.
Citizen Science Technical Review Board
Science, social science, and engineering students and professionals needed for our Citizen Science peer review Technical Board. Help judge our Citizen Science paper competition on topics related to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Submissions will be written at the college or graduate student level. Judges will need to be able to read and evaluate entries, up to 300 pages of material, between June 22 and July 6.
Invest
Support our programs with the most critical need, help fund a specific campaign, and invest in need-based scholarship funds for our youth delegates. SustainUS is a top-rated non profit. Because we're volunteer-run, all donations go directly to supporting our programs and members.
Leadership
Steering Committee
Leadership elections are held every year with nominations at the end of May and elections the beginning of June. You will have the opportunity to lead SustainUS, guide our work, and develop new initiatives. You must be 13-26, and positions are divided between our Steering Committee and assistant leadership positions. There are lots of roles, from tons of involvement to good options for people new to SustainUS.
Election Info
Board of Directors
Elected by the membership at least once a year and as needed to fill open Board slots, Directors must be 26 or older; do not need prior experience with SustainUS; and work, study, or research in a sustainable development field. New Directors are nominated by the current Board and elected by the membership during the Leadership Election.
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Open Positions - Join SustainUS Today!
You have three opportunities to join the SustainUS leadership and share your talents with U.S. youth advancing sustainable development!
For general information, expectations, and eligibility for all of our positions, visit sustainus.org/election.
To Apply: Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the position desired, your name, date of birth, phone number, and a short bio (under 200 words) explaining why you would be good for the position.
Deadline: Saturday, September 26th
Media Relations Coordinator
The Media Relations Coordinator handles most of SustainUS's requests from the media, and distributes our messages to the media. Opportunities include taking calls and emails from reporters and directing them to the best SustainUS leaders or members for interviews or questions, in certain cases representing SustainUS to the media, sending out press releases and preparing other press materials. This is good experience for future PR, spokesperson, or communications positions.
Development Director - Small Grants and Individual Support
Work with the Development Director for Major Grants and Gifts to design SustainUS's fundraising program. Specifically, use your creativity to seek out small grants for individual purchases or small SustainUS projects or funds, give individual donors a return on their investment in SustainUS, and have a hand in shaping SustainUS's future projects, including potentially funding your own, with your ideas.
CSocD Policy Advisor
Follow news and relevant updates related to the Commission for Social Development so SustainUS can stay knowledgeable of the meetings, consolidate CSocD materials and synthesize them into useful documents for new delegates, establish initial SustainUS policy positions on CSocD topics, assist in making any submissions to the UN, participate in any interim CSocD meetings. The Policy Advisor must still apply to participate in the SustainUS delegation (for funding and housing), but receives additional consideration and automatic accreditation.
SustainUS Featured on Front Page of Boston Globe
SustainUS Agents of Change Odette Mucha and Lauren Nutter were featured in Monday's Boston Globe article on the hoards of New Englanders heading to Copenhagen next week for the Climate Negotiations. Copenhagen is expected to be overrun with 20,000 people for nearly two weeks of talks that begin Dec. 7. Check out a quote from Lauren and more online at the Boston Globe: http://bit.ly/8HjjdK.Recognize something familiar in the Globe's photo of Odette? That's right, SustainUS's Climate Countdown campaign wants YOU to sign our petition to pressure Obama online today!
Don't forget, our Agents will be blogging throughout the Negotiations at sustainus.org/blog.
Press Release: U.S. Youth Call for American Action in Copenhagen to Protect Their Future
NEWS RELEASEFor Immediate Release: November 23, 2009
Copenhagen Contact: Rachel Butler, (262) 565-8819, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
U.S. Youth Call for American Action
in Copenhagen to Protect Their Future
Demand Strong Action From Senators and President
While in Copenhagen, the SustainUS delegates will pressure the U.S. Congress and President Obama through official UN speeches, non-violent creative direct actions, lobbying U.S. Senators and Representatives, and rallying youth back home to take action in Washington and in their communities. "The best thing the United States can do to ensure success in Copenhagen and beyond is to pass clean energy and climate legislation in the Senate," says SustainUS delegate Liz Trombley, 23, of Cincinnati, OH. Laura Comer, 20, of Cleveland agrees. They have both been working to pass federal legislation to make energy efficiency investments more affordable and cut their cities' dependence on dirty Midwestern coal. "From one politician to another, it can be done, " agrees Dominic Frongillo, a SustainUS delegate and town councilman from Caroline, NY, who saved his voters money and cut carbon pollution by giving every home energy-efficient lightbulbs. "Congressional action is not enough, though," adds Ayodele Akinpelu, of Detroit, MI. "Young Americans lose out if President Obama fails to come to Copenhagen and lead the United States into a global climate agreement. We cannot in good conscience let that happen. Our future is not up for negotiation."
The delegates were chosen through a highly selective application process and include seven Udall Scholars, two Truman Scholars, and two Fulbright Fellows. All have been active in their own communities, making their hometowns and schools more sustainable and leading the U.S. youth climate movement. By making the UN process more transparent, the SustainUS delegates hope to inspire and empower youth at home to take political action on climate and clean energy issues in their communities.
While global expectations for Copenhagen outcomes have dimmed in recent weeks, most prominently due to inaction in the U.S. Senate, the SustainUS delegates will work to pressure both international leaders in Copenhagen and American elected officials back home during their stay abroad. "I'm embarrassed that America has stalled progress on an international climate deal by not passing strong legislation," said delegate Marcie Smith of Richmond, Kentucky. "It's up to our generation to fix that. Our voice for change will carry all the way from Copenhagen to Washington."
SustainUS is a future-focused, youth-run sustainable development policy and advocacy organization founded in 2001. Our Agents of Change delegations empower youth to participate in sustainable development negotiations in the U.S. and around the world. Our Citizen Science competition inspires young scientists and engineers to research sustainable development solutions and present them to world leaders at the United Nations. We are an award-winning leader in building the global youth climate movement, training youth advocates worldwide to expand their capacity, and providing policy analysis for youth at international meetings.
China-US Youth Workshop: "Our Shared Future"
Young People From Two Biggest Emitters Will Build Trust and Explore Their Ambitions
This Thursday, December 10th, from 7-10pm at the University of Copenhagen, U.S. and Chinese youth will come together for an unprecedented meeting to discuss their individual journeys to the Copenhagen climate talks, create new relationships that transcend language and cultural differences, and pioneer a new generation of US-Chinese diplomacy built on shared trust and ambition. The unfiltered conversation at the workshop will be an opportunity for frank and honest conversation between youth from the world's two biggest polluters.
