Green Corps is an

environmental organization An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces. In this sense the environment ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

that trains recent college graduates in a one-year post-graduate program in

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

community organizing Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...

. During the program, Green Corps organizers learn in the classroom and are deployed in the field to work on campaigns.

Founding

Green Corps was founded in 1992 by Leslie Samuelrich and Gina Cummings with the financial backing of U.S.

Public Interest Research Group Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are a federation of U.S. and Canadian non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing and direct advocacy on issues such as consumer protection, public health and transportation. The PIRGs are cl ...

in response to the momentum created by

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

1990. Green Corps was created to channel young talent into environmental advocacy causes.

Campaign history

Green Corps is hired by non-profits such as the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

to manage their campaigns in the field. Campaigns Green Corps has worked on include: * Launching

fossil fuel divestment Fossil fuel divestment or fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions is an attempt to reduce climate change by exerting social, political, and economic pressure for the institutional divestment of assets including stocks, bonds ...

campaigns on campuses. * Launching a national campaign to label GMO foods. * Leading the fights to shut coal plants on college campuses.

Funding

In 2014, a donation of $200,000 was given by Green Corps to the Center for Public Interest Research, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In 2015, Green Corps paid $240,480 to the Fund for the Public Interest for “program and fundraising support”.Green Corps. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Part 7, Section B, Line 1. 2015.

Leadership

Executive Directors

Executive Directors of Green Corps have included: * 1992 - 1994 Gina Collins Cummings * 1994 - 2004 Leslie Samuelrich * 2004 - 2008 Naomi Roth * 2008 - 2012 Cindy Kang * 2012 - 2017 Joshua Buswell-Charkow * 2017 – 2022 Annie Sanders * 2022 - present Renee Wellman

Board of Directors

The current Green Corps Board of Directors includes: * Douglas H. Phelps, President and Executive Director, The Public Interest Network * Andy MacDonald, National Campus Organizing Director, Student PIRGs * Leslie Samuelrich, President, Green Century Capital Management * Wendy Wendlandt, Political Director, The Public Interest Network * Naomi Roth, NRG Consulting Group * Bernadette Del Chiaro, Executive Director, California Solar & Storage Association * Mary Rafferty, Executive Director, Virginia Conservation Network

References

External links

Official Website

{{People associated with Green Corps , state=expanded Climate change organizations based in the United States Nature conservation organizations based in the United States