CLFers Priya Gandbhir, Rishya Narayanan, Suhasini Ghosh, and Dominique White, are grateful for outings with fun colleagues. Photo: Courtesy CLF
Like any other year, 2025 is exactly 365 days long. But let’s admit it – this year has felt a little longer than usual. We’ve witnessed decades of environmental protections wiped away. These rollbacks are devastating communities and ecosystems. The Trump administration has opened vulnerable ocean areas to oil and gas leasing, banned new wind projects that would have brought us cheaper, cleaner energy, and abruptly terminated funding meant to help community organizations in underserved areas address urgent public health and environmental issues. We could go on. But before we fall into a litany of everything that went wrong, let’s take a moment to appreciate everything that went right.
At CLF, a regular feature of our all-staff office meetups is something we call “moments of gratitude.” We asked a few CLFers what they’re most grateful for this year, and we’re sharing their answers with you.
Dominique Agnew, Staff Attorney
This past year has been a little chaotic, so I am thankful for the little things. I am thankful for my new cat, Koa, who reminds me to live in the moment and enjoy the sunshine. I am thankful for my coworkers who continue to inspire me and encourage me to keep fighting the good fight. And finally, I am thankful for my family and friends who ground me and make me smile no matter what.
Darrèll Brown, Vice President for Rhode Island
I’m thankful for our team of dedicated, caring CLFers here in Rhode Island. Amid a chaotic year, it’s been gratifying to come into work every day and know that I have a strong home base of colleagues to collaborate with and, more importantly, to teach and learn from. As a team, we tackle the challenges of our work head-on with truth, courage, and a healthy dose of optimism and humor. Because of the team’s esprit de corps, we were able to work with a neighborhood community in Pawtucket, helping them fight against an illegal land conversion of Morley Field — a neighborhood park and green space. While the battle continues, I’m thankful for a stronger and better-organized community that can stand up and fight against bad public policy.
Varun Deshpande, Development Research Coordinator
I’m thankful for the ocean. I don’t live near the ocean, nor do I consider myself an avid swimmer or sailor, but I take advantage of every opportunity to be by the water. There’s something calming about walking by or looking out into the water, no matter where it may be. But the ocean is also the source of our planet’s greatest range of biodiversity, from small, single-celled organisms to the largest living mammals (the blue whale) to some of the oldest extant species (like coelacanths). The ocean is full of vibrant ecosystems, teeming with life, that have played a role in much of history — ecological, human, or otherwise — and there’s something special about having unfettered access to such a vast body that is still not fully understood.
Chelsea Feinstein, Director of Digital Strategy
I joined CLF this June, and as I settled into a new environment, I found myself grateful for opportunities to ground and center myself away from the screen. For me, this so often found me in my backyard, where, for the first time, my husband and I have tended to a vegetable garden. When we logged off work at the end of the day, we went outside to water, weed, and tend. The process was new to us, so when the first tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers were ready to be picked, it was a surprising source of gratification. In the face of a year where so much felt out of control, I found my time spent in the garden to be a quiet source of peace and joy.
Priya Gandbhir, Director of Clean Power
My work centers on fighting climate change by lowering carbon emissions in New England. That means reducing fossil fuel consumption and bringing clean energy into our energy markets and electric grid. In a time where it is common to feel hopeless, frustrated, and angry about the world, I am grateful to have the skills and opportunity to do something that makes a difference – even if those changes are not always obvious or widespread. When it’s hard to get out of bed, I’m motivated by the knowledge that I might make a difference in one community. Even though it may seem small, to the people who live there, it is huge. I am grateful to work alongside advocates who are ready to fight to make sure New England is a place where we take care of each other, where we prioritize each other’s health and well-being, and where we won’t let hopelessness and frustration win.
Marc Gonzalez, Program Coordinator
I am thankful for the wonderful environmental justice conferences that I have been able to attend this year, in particular the New Horizons conference in New Haven in May and A Call To Action: Shaping Our Climate & Environmental Justice Future in Middletown in October. These gatherings have been so healing to my spirit, being in community with my colleagues at CLF who have attended and the larger EJ communities in my state. It is easy to feel isolated when the news is so dire all the time, but being in community and sharing space with leaders, advocates, and scholars helps me see the moment we are in and that I am not alone.
Shannon Laun, Vice President for Connecticut
I am thankful for the woods near my home in Connecticut. I regularly run or hike along the trails, sometimes alone and sometimes with my family. My three daughters love to explore the woods and spot wildlife. We’ve seen deer, squirrels, birds, fish, frogs, snakes, and even a bobcat. I love the cool leafiness of summer, the vibrant autumn foliage, the austere winter beauty, and the slow creeping green of new buds in the spring. Watching the seasons change helps me feel connected to the natural world and maintain perspective as time passes.
Arnold Mikolo, Environmental Justice Advocate
One of the highlights of this year for me was our recent Urban Forestry event in Manchester, New Hampshire, which had the highest attendance we have seen so far. This event focused on introducing and gathering input from the community about plans to plant trees as part of Manchester’s Tree Program. This initiative, made possible through CLF, aims to plant 500 trees in neighborhoods with fewer trees and higher summer temperatures – typically Black and Brown communities. This is a constant reminder that, despite the current political climate, we can still make positive changes and have an impact at the local level.
Julie Silverman, Lake Champlain Senior Lakekeeper
I’m thankful for my community.
My neighborhood community of caring, supportive people who look out for each other and eagerly lend a helping hand any time, day or night.
My city community that shows up, stands up, and speaks up. Burlingtonians participate in democracy.
My Lake Champlain Basin community that cares about clean water and neighbors up and down stream. They volunteer at lake and river cleanups, vote to protect wetlands and rivers—which keep their neighbors from flooding—and understand that we are all connected through the water that flows between us.
And a final note…
In this time of gratitude, we at CLF would also like to acknowledge our deep appreciation for our supporters, who have helped sustain our work in a difficult moment. Thank you!
