Kristy Drutman has a catchy name for herself: she’s a “climate solutionary.” It’s not just a cute moniker. Kristy has been working tirelessly on climate solutions for the past six years as the speaker, consultant, media producer, and environmental educator behind Browngirl Green and also as co-founder of Green Jobs Board, a climate tech start-up aiming to make participation in the green economy accessible to all. Kristy’s relentless drive is such a recognizable asset that she’s currently serving a two-year term as one of 16 members of EPA’s National Environmental Youth Advisory Council. “It was a tense application process,” she allows.
Kristy came to this space on her own; she didn’t grow up with environmentalist parents, though they’re now converts because of her. “I was not raised with these principles, but I was raised with trying to make things easier for people and giving back to people who don’t have enough. I did community service as a kid. Those values were embedded,” she recalls.
Tell Administrator Zeldin: Cutting Climate Pollution Is One of EPA’s Most Important Jobs
She was also influenced by her Filipina grandmother. “That culture is inherently sustainable when it comes to reusing things and making things last longer. My Lola was an inspiration. She was a gardener and planted trees. She was about upcycling everything—dolls out of scraps and purses out of plastic bags,” she says. This combination of resourcefulness and talent helped form the work Kristy does today. We recently spoke with her about her unique career path, here’s what she had to say.
How did you get your job? Is there a degree for it?
I studied environmental policy and urban planning at UC Berkeley. In terms of media and business, I am self-taught. I worked at a nonprofit out of college during the day, and at night I was building a media platform. I got laid off pre-pandemic and realized I wanted to go all in on this. Because I had spent time building Browngirl Green, my professor at UC Berkeley asked me to come teach. I was an assistant lecturer and also consulted for a solar company doing technical writing and supporting engineers who wanted to learn how to take their tech expertise and turn it into social media. Then my blog blew up during the pandemic. A lot of organizations and companies thought I was doing amazing storytelling, and I was able to get enough business to turn this into my full-time job.
[Then] I decided to explore what gaps are missing in the space. There weren’t enough resources on how to get a [green] career, so I started a content series called Green Jobs Board. It went viral, and people asked to recruit through my social media. My co-founder and I started the Green Jobs Board as an Instagram page, and then we were a revenue-generating business. That’s the journey. We have been around for two years. Right now, we have over 650 organizations actively using us as their recruitment tool, and we have 150,000 job seekers.
Is there a specific moment when you decided you wanted to have a climate job?
Right from the gate at [college], I knew I wanted to get a job in this field, I just didn’t know what job would be possible. I understand the pain points of job seekers! I went through it myself. I had to collage things together, literally. I had to find my own mentors in sectors that have nothing to do with climate to mimic models of careers and see if I could translate that into climate.
In your work, what are your typical battles about climate?
With Browngirl Green, I get a lot of people who make trolling comments online, who doubt the things I have shared. I have been accused by climate deniers of getting money from shadow figures.
What keeps you motivated?
As someone who comes from an activism background, and as a young person especially, I get so frustrated by how slow the needle moves on things. Workforce development is so needed and tangible. It keeps me motivated that I’m able to inspire people to get a career because they consume our content. A person who had nothing to do with climate went back to school to pursue a degree because she was following me on social media. That story is so powerful. I am excited I can make a difference.
What’s hard about your job?
Because I am quite young as a founder, a lot of people don’t take me seriously. It’s multilayered: I’m a woman, a woman of color, and I am young. Sometimes people express doubt about legitimacy or partnering with us even though we are driving crazy results. I hosted an amazing event at Climate Week—a three-day summit I planned and programmed, bringing in key thought leaders. I had like three or four people come up to me saying, Who is your boss? Lots of microaggressions. I have had to build a thick skin. I am going to come up against a lot of doubt and people who don’t understand the vision. I don’t care; we don’t have a lot of time. You can be a part of it and benefit too, or sit on the sidelines.
Do you hope kids might want to grow up and have your job?
Yeah! That’s my biggest hope. There’s so much opportunity. I want more young people to be in this space and to disrupt more of this space. I think it’s a really exciting and pressing time as a young person. Jane Fonda and others keep saying, We are the last generation who can do something about this. Why am I alive during this time? I think everything you care about or are passionate about is tied to where you live and the environment you live in. Learn how to cherish it, care for it, and it will give back to you in ways you didn’t expect. I would say younger folks have such an open heart and mind. Know that’s your superpower. You don’t need to wait until you grow up to do this work. You can get started now in your own community, in your own backyard, with your friends.
Tell Administrator Zeldin: Cutting Climate Pollution Is One of EPA’s Most Important Jobs