Taking Action on Climate Change

Since graduating with a degree in social and economic development policy, Brian Gomez has become finance and operations manager of Sunrise Movement, a nonprofit organization mobilizing young activists to address climate change. He was a member of the Obama Foundation’s 2019 Chicago cohort of the Community Leadership Corps, and is an adviser to the Chicago Youth Alliance for Climate Action.

“Sunrise Movement [is] changing the debate on climate change and inspiring young people around the country to act,” Gomez says. “[They are] putting the Green New Deal on the map and increasing the perception on the connection between jobs and environmental policy.”

With the Obama Foundation, Gomez worked to connect young, technologically skilled people and local business owners on the southwest side of Chicago in order to share skills and modernize local businesses. With the Chicago Youth Alliance for Climate Action, Gomez has been working on a solar campaign for Chicago Public Schools and increasing the youth voice around environmental issues.

“My education at Illinois Tech made me adept and handling a variety of situations,” Gomez says. “From taking philosophy classes at Shimer College to taking an architecture class, I learned how to think critically, have a design-centered mindset, and back up my policy proposals with appropriate data.”