Do you want to do something impactful this summer and make a difference in your community? Do you want to help endangered species, protect our planet from plastic pollution, and educate your community about sustainable fashion?
The Organizer Leadership Training Program is for you!
Organizer Leadership Training Program
The Student PIRGs and Green Corps train thousands of young organizers every year. Our training program is built on more than 50 years of experience, organizing students and community members around the country on some of the most pressing issues of the day.
Our training programs don’t just talk about the issues, we train organizers to take real action, from reducing the use of toxic pesticides in Colorado to educating thousands of students about the issues of fast fashion on college campuses across the country. Here are some of our accomplishments this past year.
The goal of this program is to give you hands-on experience organizing campaign actions in your community.
This summer we are launching local campaign actions to:
- Stop fast fashion practices and promote sustainable alternatives
- Clean up our waterways of plastic pollution
- Address local community food and housing needs
- Protect endangered species
- Stop wasteful practices by ensuring people have the tools and resources to fix their own stuff
Participants should expect to learn the skills and implement them immediately by engaging community members at local farmers markets, hosting educational events at local libraries, and talking to decision-makers like the mayor and city council members.
You will have the opportunity to learn from some of the top social change organizers with decades of experience in campaign work. Graduates of our program continue their organizing work into the school year with new leadership skills and professional connections with top-student leaders around the country.
Students who complete the program will receive the Organizer Leadership Certificate and a campaign leadership badge for each completed project you work on. These include:
- Environmental Conservation Leader Badge
- Waste is out of Fashion Leader Badge
- Youth Vote Leader Badge
- Textbook Affordability Leader Badge
How it works
There are two components of the program:
- Learn the skills: Attend our Activist Classes and learn the skills to be an effective organizer. Learn how to make change on environmental issues from experts in the field
- Make an impact: Work on urgent campaigns with a team of students across the country and run a local project to make a difference in your community
The program takes place over the course of 4 weeks over the summer. We have flexible start and end dates to work around your schedule. Participants should expect to have a 10 hours/week commitment to complete the full program. Here is a general breakdown of a 4 week program:
- Week 1: Attend a virtual Activist Bootcamp to learn the basics of grassroots organizing and choose a Campaign Project you want to organize in your community. Some in-person trainings available.
- Week 2 – Week 4: Work with a campaign coordinator to implement your plan. You will receive one-on-one guidance with an experienced organizer remotely while you organize in your own community. The goal of this project is to give you hands-on experience educating your community about the issues and advocating to decision-makers.
- Week 4: Work with our Career Experts to get connected with future opportunities in social change organizing, including: internships, campaign leadership roles, part-time and full-time jobs. By completing the full program, you will earn your certificate and campaign badge. You can earn multiple badges over the course of the summer.
Learn the Skills
Learn organizing and leadership skills from experienced organizers to help you effectively engage your community on the issues you care about. Here are some of the skills you will learn:
- How to craft and deliver and campaign and personal story
- Building a team of student volunteers and leaders
- How to use peer-to-peer tactics to mobilize students (phonebanking, class announcements, and in person events)
- Organizing strategic in person and online actions and events
- Developing campaign coalitions
- And more!
You will also have a chance to learn from leading experts in various issue fields to apply the latest insights and learning to your organizing work.
Make an Impact on Issues
Students will join campaign teams of students to organize a campaign action in their community by the end of the program. In addition to skills training, you will have one-on-one support from campaign coordinators who will help you create a plan to achieve the goals for your specific campaign.
By completing the goals of the project, you will receive the campaign leadership badge. Our campaign projects this summer include:
Waste is out of Fashion
The fashion and clothing industry generates massive amounts of waste — and emits a lot of pollution in the process. Clothing and other textile waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the country. Around the world, the equivalent of one dump truck filled with clothing is sent to a landfill or incinerator every second, and more than $100 billion worth of materials are wasted each year.
What makes this waste all the more outrageous is that millions of these clothing items are never even worn. A staggering 30% of all clothes made around the world are never sold.
Campaign Actions:
- Create a thrift and sustainable store guide. Publicize (online and in person) in your local community
- Host a community educational event. Some ideas
- Host a Thrift store tour and educate people about the importance of sustainable fashion.
- Host a sewing group workshop for basic garment repairs
- Host a clothing swap
- Get local thrift stores and businesses to sign on to a letter of support
Break Free From Plastics
Plastic pellets, known as nurdles, are tiny beads of plastic made from gas or oil. They are used to make water bottles, plastic bags and countless other items. Lightweight and numerous, they often spill during transport. Once in the environment, these tiny pellets can cause huge problems.
Host a Nurdle Hunt at a local beach, river,or waterway to look for plastic pellet pollution and record what they find, so we can all have a better understanding of where this pollution is happening.
Campaign Actions:
- Create a data report of your nurdle hunt to present to local decision makers and educate the public
- Host a nurdle hunt at a local beach, river, or waterway. Bring some friends and ID other volunteers in the community to work with
- Get media coverage by inviting media to your event or writing a letter to the editor
Save the Bees
Bee populations are dying off at an alarming rate and without these important pollinators we wouldn’t have many of the foods we enjoy today. In short, no bees means no food. So we are encouraging our campuses and local communities to make commitments to become Bee Friendly.
Campaign Actions:
- Create a guide about native bees in your area. Educate your community by collecting petitions and passing out the guide
- Host a community educational event. Some ideas:
- Hold an educational table at your local Farmers Market or Library
- Host a pot painting or seed planting action
- Partner with a local restaurant and have them label everything that is pollinated by bees
- Meet with your City Council Members and Mayor about making a Bee Friendly City Commitment
Hunger and Homelessness
No one should have to worry about whether they will have food on their plate or a roof over their head. But the reality is that hunger and homelessness are widespread problems that affect far too many people. There are a lot of ways to address the issue from volunteering locally, educating community members about the issue, and advocating for policy solutions.
Campaign Actions:
- Create a service project guide and publicize in your local community
- Recruit some friends to participate in a local service project in your community
- Get 3 community organizations to sign on as a PIRG Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week partner
Right to Repair
Companies don’t make things like they used to, and that’s a big problem. Manufacturers of cell phones, medical devices, appliances and even tractors have implemented various legal, digital and physical barriers that prevent consumers from doing their own repairs or using independent repair shops.
The result is a massive amount of waste — in fact, electronic waste is now the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Americans purchase about 160 million new smartphones each year — a habit that takes some 23.7 million tons of raw material to satisfy. Continuing to extract, produce and consume electronics at this rate is simply not sustainable.
Campaign Actions:
- Create a local repair guide to highlight local repair shops and resources in your community
- Host an educational event at a farmers market or local library. Work with local groups to do a presentation on repair
- Get media coverage by inviting media to your event or writing a letter to the editor
Training Calendar
Here is the schedule for the various training cycles this summer. After attending an Activist Training Boot Camp you will start your 4 week program cycle.
We will also hold a number of supplementary trainings to help you effectively work on your organizing projects.
Training Program |
Time of Boot Camp |
Date of Boot Camp |
End Date of Training Cycle |
Activist Boot Camp Virtual Session #1 |
5 – 8pm ET // 2 – 5pm PT |
5/12 |
6/7 |
Activist Boot Camp Virtual Session #2 |
5 – 8pm ET // 2 – 5pm PT |
5/27 |
6/21 |
Activist Boot Camp Virtual Session #3 |
5 – 8pm ET // 2 – 5pm PT |
6/9 |
7/5 |
Activist Boot Camp Virtual Session #4 |
12 – 3pm ET // 9 – 12pm PT |
6/22 |
7/19 |
Activist Boot Camp Virtual Session #5 |
5 – 8pm ET // 2 – 5pm PT |
7/7 |
8/2 |
Activist Boot Camp Virtual Session #6 |
12 – 3pm ET // 9 – 12pm PT |
7/20 |
8/16 |
Issue Specific Trainings and Briefings
Trainings will be added throughout the summer. Some times and dates are subject to change.
New Voters Project
Young people represent the largest group of potential voters in the county, but our voices are not heard because we don’t vote consistently in elections. Learn how to make your campus #voteready for upcoming local elections by building a vote coalition on your campus and making a vote action plan.
Protect our Endangered Species – Save the Whales, Wolves, and more
Many species like the Florida Panther, Right Whale, and Grey Wolf, are at risk of going extinct. There are many causes of this so we are educating our local communities about the importance of protecting these special animals. May 16th is Endangered Species Day, so we are calling our decision makers at all levels of government to protect these at risk populations.
Summer 2025 Student Fellows

Sarah Eckstein
Sarah Eckstein is a rising sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying Public Policy and Health Policy & Management. Over the past year, she has been involved with NCPIRG’s Hunger and Homelessness Campaign, participating in events on and off campus. From Habitat for Humanity builds to State Lobby Days, Sarah is passionate about creating change locally to inspire policy nationally. She will be focusing on the H&H Campaign this summer, with hopes of establishing a National Hunger and Homelessness Day across North Carolina. One fun fact about Sarah is she loves drinking coffee and finding cool spots to try new drinks with friends.

Max Fondren
As a student leader with MASSPIRG, I coordinated legislative outreach and led lobbying efforts focused on addressing food insecurity through the Hunger and Homelessness campaign. I worked closely with student leaders and lawmakers to build support for policy solutions and organize grassroots advocacy efforts. This summer, I’m excited to bring that experience to Florida PIRG by launching a club at Florida International University, where I’ll begin a new campaign centered on food sustainability and community-driven initiatives. I’m committed to advancing impactful policy change by empowering students to engage in legislative advocacy.

Gloria Jeon
Hello! My name is Gloria (she/her), and I’m an Environmental Science major at Georgia State University. I first got involved with PIRG this past semester through our Save the Whales campaign, which included training new tablers, collecting petitions at the Youth Ocean Summit, and making our crochet mascot, Willy (our beloved). I’ll be working on expanding the visibility of the Save the Bees campaign in my hometown this summer, and I’m looking to get more into artivism this semester, too. Outside of PIRG, I mostly draw, write, crochet, or, when I’m home for school breaks, harass my cats. Other hobbies that are fewer and farther between are plant keeping, hiking, playing video games, and reading. I’m looking forward to working with you all this summer!

Willow Kischnick
Willow is the vice chair and New Voters Project campaign coordinator at UMass Amherst and holds a Massachusetts statewide board seat. They joined MASSPIRG their freshman year and are excited to stick with it for the rest of their years at UMass. While they enjoy all the work they do on campus, Willow’s favorite part about PIRG is getting to travel and have new experiences while making a difference. They lobbied for Hunger & Homelessness at the MA state capital in the fall and canvassed for clean water in St. Petersburg, FL, in the spring. This summer they will be working towards establishing a more substantial civic engagement curriculum in public schools around Massachusetts. At UMass, they are studying landscape architecture with a minor in sociology. In their free time, Willow enjoys hiking, playing mandolin, and making art of all kinds.

Kali Kleven
My name is Kali Kleven, and I am a second-year student at the University of Oregon. I am the vice chair of OSPIRG Students and have worked on our New Voters Campaign and Food Waste Campaign, and I plan to work on basic needs next year. Throughout my two years with PIRG, I have had the opportunity to work with many students on many different issues, and one of my favorite things about working with the chapter is seeing people grow and develop into strong leaders. This is something I am really excited to continue with into the summer. One fun fact about me is that I have been to 36 concerts!

Gianna Locci
Gianna is currently a junior studying Public Policy and Markets and Management at Duke University. I am a proud member of the Duke Women’s Track and Field team and have been doing long jump for 8 years. This summer, I am working with the Student PIRGs to launch the Beyond Plastic LA28 campaign, an initiative aimed at banning unnecessary sing-use plastic items at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Through this campaign, we aim to demonstrate that a world beyond plastic is possible by setting an example for sustainability on a global stage.

Samuela Okyere
I am a dedicated youth advocate and student passionate about amplifying young voices in politics and advocacy. With extensive experience in youth organizations—including serving on UNICEF’s UK Youth Advisory Board (2021-2023)—I have championed children’s rights and driven meaningful change through activism and grassroots initiatives. As a ONE Youth Ambassador in Birmingham, I led a climate change community initiative, advocating for environmental action. During my year abroad in North Carolina, USA, I expanded my advocacy efforts to the legislative sphere. I lobbied in Washington, D.C., engaging with Republican and Democratic officials on critical issues such as textbook affordability. Taking these skills to the state level, I led a team in lobbying the North Carolina state government, working with NCPIRG to address hunger and homelessness in the region. Driven by a deep belief in the power of youth engagement, I continue to seek ways to implement effective change through consultation, activism, and community-led initiatives.

Tia Russell
Tia Russell is a senior at the University of Central Florida. She started with PIRGs in her sophomore year, and in that time, she served as a Civic Leadership Fellow for the New Voters Project, started the Paths for Panthers campaign, and revitalized interest in PIRGs at UCF as the club president. This summer, she is working on the Student Government Resource to help train student governments nationwide. A fun fact about her is that she was born in Wyoming!

Ling Xiong
Ling Xiong is a rising sophomore (class of 2028) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently acts as the co-lead for the Waste is Out of Fashion campaign on campus and is the founder Ecobrick IBSH, a UN Youth Affairs recognized grassroots environmental group located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. This summer she plans to expand the eco-bricking network throughout North Carolina and other PIRG chapters. She currently lives in Chapel Hill, NC, but has lived in Texas, Taiwan, and Germany in the past!
Student PIRGs Program Highlights
This past year, our student leaders took action in 47 states and Washington DC, this past year to protect the environment, alleviate poverty, make textbooks more affordable, and get their peers engaged in elections. Students on 350 college campuses and high schools took more than 42,000 actions on our campaigns, from signing a petition to organizing a service event in their community. We trained more than 1,000 student volunteers led by 300 coordinators who took on a major leadership role. We also trained over 300 students in our Summer Activist Bootcamps.
Meet our student leadership from clubs across the country! Here are some of their stories:
Calling on Companies to make Waste out of Fashion – Spring 2025
Billions of garments of clothes are manufactured every year and about a third of it is never sold. Many companies actually burn and throw away this overstock. These fast fashion practices are destroying our environment and producing way too much stuff that we just don’t need. Student PIRG Clubs across the country kicked off our Waste is out of Fashion this Spring to call H&M to change their practices and educated thousands of people about more sustainable ways to repair, reuse, and recycle clothing.
Our team of student leaders and volunteers at Georgia State, led by Waste is out of Fashion Coordinator Tammy Joseph, recruited nine local fashion designers who created amazing pieces of clothing for 25 student models. More than 200 people showed up to participate and learn more about sustainable fashion! On Earth Day, we will deliver more than 20,000 public comments to H&M to call for change
Creating Hunger-Free Campuses and Communities – Winter 2025
No one should have to worry about whether they will have food on their plate but the reality is that hunger and homelessness are widespread problems that affect far too many people, including students on college campuses. In North Carolina, students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have worked to address this on their campus and in the local community by donating more than a thousand basic needs items and food. NCPIRG Students Co-President, Mide Olajide coordinates the Hunger and Homelessness Campaign. This past winter they hosted an event with dozens of student volunteers who made more than 500 sandwiches they donated to the Durham Health Coalition to distribute to families in need.
Turning Out New Voters in Michigan – Fall 2024
PIRGIM Club President at Michigan State, Lucas Gravett (Second from Right) built a team of more than 30 student volunteers and coordinators starting from scratch. Over the course of the semester their campaign made more than 10,000 get-out-the-vote contacts with Spartans helping them register and ultimately turn out to vote. The students focused on peer-to-peer tactics to educate classmates and help them get registered to vote. They made announcements in classes, called hundreds of students in the days leading up to Election Day and hosted events like A Plan to Vote and Pet a Goat to make voting fun and engaging. Before the voter registration deadline, they connected with their peers at Lansing Community College to help students get registered to vote there.
The on-campus polling location reported a 66% turnout rate. This represents a 44 percentage point increase from the 2020 voter turnout rate (23.9%) at these same polling locations when we had a much more limited peer-to-peer presence on campus.
Make Textbooks Affordable – Stop Automatic Textbook Billing – Summer 2024
Textbooks often come with exorbitant prices that strain students’ budgets. Our Affordable Textbooks campaign works to alleviate these burdens by advocating for more options for students including free open textbooks and other resources. Over the last several years, we have been tackling the issue of automatic textbook billing, or “inclusive access” programs that automatically bills students for the cost of their course materials unless they opt out.
Julia Trachtman, student leader with our PennPIRG Students club at the University of Pennsylvania, helped raise awareness about this issue by educating fellow students, faculty, and administrators on her campus. She also got an opinion editorial published in the Pittsburgh Gazette.
“Inclusive access” would be more inclusive if students could choose whether or not they want to buy a textbook instead of automatically being billed.” – Julia Trachtman, PennPIRG Students
Student leaders like Julia worked across the country calling attention to this issue by directly educating their campus stakeholders, advocating for solutions to leaders in Washington D.C., and releasing resources like the latest Student PIRGs report: Automatic Textbook Billing: Limited Choice, Uncertain Savings. In Spring 2025, Julia led a team of students from Pennsylvania to Washington D.C. where they met with their members of Congress calling on them to support textbook affordability.
Alternative Spring Break to Protect the Environment – Spring 2024
While many students spent their spring breaks partying or taking a break from the semester, PIRG students from across the east coast went to Atlanta, Georgia to support our team at Georgia State University on their campaigns to stop a proposed titanium mine near the Okefenokee Swamp and educate Georgians about how they can save money and fight climate change through the Inflation Reduction Act. GeorgiaPIRG President at Georgia State University Caleb Gustavson (Front Left) and the student team educated hundreds of community members about the campaign to protect the Okefenokee Swamp and held a rally at the Georgia Capitol steps to call for action.
About Us
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Students have the power to shape the future we will inherit. We work with professional staff at colleges and universities to make sure our peers have the skills, opportunities and training they need to create a better, more sustainable future for all of us. Our chapters and clubs on nearly 100 campuses in 25 states provide the training, professional support and resources students need to tackle climate change, protect public health, revitalize our democracy, feed the hungry and more. Students have been at the forefront of social change throughout history, from civil rights, to voting rights to protecting the environment. For nearly 50 years we’ve helped students to get organized, mobilized and energized so they can continue to be on the cutting edge of positive change.
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The environment is the most important challenge the world faces today. There are plenty of ideas out there for solving environmental problems, from renewable energy to wilderness protection. There are not enough people out there, however, who can transform these ideas into reality. That’s what organizers do. We build people-powered organizations and run grassroots campaigns to change public policies and corporate practices. With Green Corps, you learn how to transform ideas into impact with a combination of classroom training and field experience on critical environmental campaigns. As the country’s most respected training program for environmental organizers, Green Corps has graduated 400 organizers to work on the most urgent environmental issues of our time.
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