Portraits: Phil Aroneanu ’06.5, Cofounder, 350.org; Chief Partnership and Strategy Officer, Climate United

Dozens of alumni who helped launch Middlebury’s Sunday Night Environmental Group (originally known as the “Sunday Night Group”) returned to campus recently for SNEG’s 20-year reunion and a two-day conference exploring the question, “What Works Now?”
 
We asked a few of them to reflect on their time as Middlebury students and to offer some advice for today’s generation of college climate activists. 
 

This is such a great time to start something new.

Phil: In a strange way, because so much of climate action is being dismantled, and there’s this big vacuum where there should be a lot of ideas, new strategic investments, and innovations, this is such a great time to start something new. This is a great time to be an innovator, come up with something new and pitch it out there to the world. I would really encourage Middlebury students these days to think about how they can be innovators and idea generators in this moment.