Bill McKibben

Climate Activist Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben, environmentalist and co-founder of 350.org has written extensively on the impact of global warming, also teaches environmental studies at Middlebury College in Vermont.

The Sanders Institute Founding Fellow

The Sanders Institute Introduction email dated June 7, 2017

Jane Sanders launch video for The Sanders Institute June 2017

Bill McKibben was a founding fellow of The Sanders Institute. From an introduction mass email signed by Jane O'Meara Sanders dated June 7, 2017 titled "Welcome to The Sanders Institute":

"I am pleased to announce the launch of a new progressive organization, The Sanders Institute, and respectfully request your participation.

During Bernie's presidential campaign, I had the pleasure of traveling around this country - seeing its beauty and experiencing the passion and dedication of its people. I learned so much from meeting people who were involved in making their communities better and I came away with a determination to ensure those voices would be heard.

I wanted to start an organization that would bring people together to learn from each other and discuss how to make our country and our democracy better. I wanted to actively engage individuals like you, along with the media and other organizations, in learning about progressive solutions to economic, environmental, racial, and social justice issues. A true democracy requires an informed electorate and we have so much to learn from each other.

That’s what The Sanders Institute is all about - and we need your participation and support to make it a reality. Please visit our website, take a look, delve into the issues and ideas that interest you, and contribute to the conversation.

We have brought together some of the most prominent progressive thinkers from around the country: Bill McKibben, the Honorable Nina Turner, Ben Jealous, Dr. Cornel West, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Danny Glover, Dr. Stephanie Kelton, Harry Belafonte and Prof. Robert Reich. Our work draws from their ideas and writings, other progressive and educational sources, and people like you who are engaged and interested in progressive solutions in their communities.

We look forward to your participation.

Sincerely,

Jane O'Meara Sanders

"Forward on Climate" rally

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013 the nation's capital hosted what was billed as the largest climate rally in U.S. history.

Thousands of environmentalists, farmers and workers of all kinds gathered in the shadow of the Washington Monument for a "Forward on Climate" demonstration to shout their opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, fracking, Big Oil, and nuclear power.

The Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, who emceed the event, introduced a list of speakers which included: Bill McKibben, president of 350.org; Van Jones, president of Rebuild the Dream; Maria Cordones, founder of Latinovations; Indigenous Peoples representatives including Chief Jacqueline Thomas from the Saik'uz First Nation and Crystal Lameman from the Beaver Lake Cree First Nations; Michael Brune, the Sierra Club's executive director and Democratic U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island. Present, too, were celebrities like Evangeline Lilly and Rosario Dawson.

Bold.org, one of the event organizers, predicted that 20,000 people would participate, but Rev. Yearwood announced that the actual number there, 40,000, doubled expectations. Supplementing the massive action in D.C. were some 20 solidarity rallies in 16 states, from the four corners of the country-- Los Angeles, Palm City, Seattle, Portland, Maine-- and points in between. They included rallies in Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, and five in Montana alone.

"The 99% Spring"

Individuals and organizations supporting The 99% Spring, as of April 20, 2012, included Bill McKibben and May Boeve-350.org.

2016 Platform Drafting Committee

Bernie Sanders supporters Dr. Cornel West and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) will be among those on the Democratic Party's important Platform Drafting Committee after the Vermont senator won a key concession as he looks to leave his mark on the party's platform.

The roster of the drafting committee, released by the Democratic National Committee May 2016, reflects the party's agreement that Sanders would have five supporters on the committee, compared to six for Hillary Clinton.

Sanders previously panned DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who appoints all of the committee members, for failing to include enough of his supporters on an initial list. But the latest statement notes that Wasserman Schultz allocated the campaign's seats "proportionally according to the current vote tally."

Sanders supporters on the committee are author Bill McKibben, Arab American Institute head James Zogby and Native American activist Deborah Parker.

Clinton loyalists on the committee are Ambassador Wendy Sherman, former Clinton staffer and current Center for American Progress head Neera Tanden, Ohio Rep. Alicia Reece, environmentalist Carol Browner, Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez and union head Paul Booth.

The remaining four members were chosen by Wasserman Schultz.

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, who has endorsed Clinton, will lead the committee and called Sanders's outsized role on the platform "pretty unusual" for a candidate that likely will not be the party's nominee during a Monday interview on MSNBC. And California Rep. Barbara Lee, who has not endorsed either candidate.

Former Rep. Howard Berman and philanthropist and former CEO of Claire's Stores Bonnie Schaefer were also appointed.

Sanders Institute Fellows

The Sanders Institute Fellowship is comprised of leaders dedicated to transforming our democracy through the research, education, outreach and advancement of bold, progressive ideas and values.

Dr. Jane O'Meara Sanders, Prof. Robert Reich, The Honorable Nina Turner, Harry Belafonte, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Dr. Cornel West, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Bill McKibben, Danny Glover, Benjamin Jealous Dr. Stephanie Kelton, Michael Lighty, Shaun King.