Faces of the Campaign is an ongoing series featuring our key organizers and stakeholders involved in “Put A Price On It, D.C.” Our coalition of 80+ organizations is comprised of racial justice activists, union workers, health advocates, moms, dads, kids, retirees, and business-owners alike. Megan Seymour is a summer intern working on the campaign. Here’s her story.

What is your name and what do you do?

My name is Megan Seymour. I am a graduate student at Georgetown University pursuing a Master’s of Public Policy in Environmental Policy.

What woke you up to the climate crisis?

I’ve always been really passionate about conservation and nature, so my interest in the outdoors lead me to take environmental science classes in undergrad. We delved into an in-depth analysis of climate change, which was horrifying enough on its own, but in one of my classes we talked about the effects of the US agricultural system on climate change, water and land loss, etc. I started doing more of my own research into food policy in the US and watched documentaries like Food, Inc. and Fed Up. It was extremely disturbing to see inside the factory farms. The utter lack of animal rights, the unregulated, unsanitary farming conditions, the myriad of antibiotics, preservatives, and toxic chemicals being put in our food, and the wasteful way in which we harvest and consume food was gut-wrenching to witness. This is when I really became more fired up about food policy and its connection to climate change.

Why does the campaign to put a price on carbon in DC and rebate the revenue matter to you?

The campaign matters to me because climate change is not going to stop on its own and it affects every single human being across the globe. Climate change is something that has severe life-or-death consequences and is irreversible. The added effects of everyone’s actions and behaviors have lead to where we are now. This is why we have to make a collective effort to improve our behavior if we want to slow climate change and preserve our world so that future generations can enjoy it too.

How is this campaign different from other environmental campaigns you’ve experienced in the past?

This is the first campaign I have worked on so I don’t have much to compare it to, but so far it has been an extremely rewarding experience.

How has climate change impacted your own community?

I’m from Fairfax, VA but I went to undergrad in Boston, and the extreme weather I experienced while living there was a direct impact of climate change. Boston experienced abnormal numbers of massive snow storms when I was living there. Being on the coastline, communities there are suffering the effects of shoreline retreat, flooding, and increased severity of storms and nor’easters.

What was your favorite moment in this campaign?

I’ve loved being able to connect with people while petitioning and feel like I’m making a difference by gaining support for this policy.

Tell me about a time you’ve witnessed community power.

Going to an ANC meeting in Ward 7 I saw so many passionate citizens voicing their opinions and coming together to try to make their community a better place. This is really the foundation of community organizing and it was great to see people mobilizing themselves.

What was your biggest accomplishment on this campaign?

I lead the efforts on our Letter Writing Campaign, which was my first time organizing an event for a campaign.

One word summing up your experience with this campaign:

Inspiring

What is your favorite pizza place in DC?

&pizza!! So good.