This month, we interviewed SanDiego350 volunteer, Parke Troutman to share about their climate activism. Parke is Co-Chair of the Legislative Team and runs the Strategy Working Group and is co-chair of the research working group for the SB 1137 campaign.
How did you first get involved with SD350, and when was that?
Normally, I dance Lindy Hop on Wednesday nights, but once, in the fall of 2022, dance was shifted to a Tuesday and that Wednesday was a Leg Team meeting night. A friend invited me. The rest is history.
What drives your activism?
As a child of two biologists, my learning the importance of climate change predates self-reflection, so I don’t feel driven; I just do. My first memory related to it was giving a presentation on global warming in my fourth-grade class circa 1985. (I was left with the impression that neither my classmates nor teacher had heard of it before.)
What do you recommend to people who want to have a larger impact through the environmental movement? What do you prioritize in your own activism?
Showing up is the main thing. Try some teams and you’ll get swept up in the right one. I’ve been focusing on state legislation, as it currently hits the sweet spot of maximizing possible impact and being able to get things done. (If Congress were more functional, I’d be more interested in federal legislation.) As a sociologist by training, I tend to think a lot about intersectional power dynamics.
Is there anything else you would like people to know about you? Any fun facts?
I’m your typical nerdy/bookwormy autistic single parent. I like to read, write, social dance and design games and am currently running two middle-school Dungeons & Dragon groups.