A message from Dominique on leaving Youth Climate Lab

After five years of founding and supporting Youth Climate Lab as Executive Director, I will be stepping down on March 31, 2022. I am leaving to build room for the next generation of dreamers and doers to carry forward the mission and vision of Youth Climate Lab. I couldn’t be more proud and excited: the organization is in the strongest operational & financial position we’ve ever been, driven by our incredible staff team, community and new leader, Jasveen Brar.

It’s hard to put into words the immense gratitude I have for our community – we’ve come so far. What started as an idea born of my frustration and challenges engaging in climate policy as a student has become a global organization reaching and working with young people in over 77 countries. Working with Ana to bring a cluster of sticky notes into a vision and activate it into the world with people who believe in our shared mission has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

In the span of five years, we’ve grown our talented team and created over 30 projects to experiment with new ways of supporting young people in their fight against climate change. I am in awe of the impact we’ve had: creating new models of youth engagement, sparking youth-led policy ideas and solutions, and equipping thousands of young people to explore their passions and take action in their communities. We’ve piloted new approaches to collaboration, and above all, created a platform where young people can build their leadership skills and receive compensation and support for their ideas and labour to create a just, climate-resilient world.

None of this would have been possible without the incredible people that make up the Youth Climate Lab community - our staff, Board of Directors, Associates, partners, funders and champions, past and present. A round of applause, and a round of thanks:

To our incredible staff team who made space for me to grow into my leadership and “creative chaos”, and who trusted me to dream and learn alongside them. Thank you for your patience, care, ideas and passion that have driven our impact, and made Youth Climate Lab into the most enjoyable and supportive place to work.

To Ana, whose “mathleticism”, Monday.com enthusiasm, and incredible passion and ideas were critical to building YCL. Thank you for being an incredible co-conspirator and friend. None of this would be possible without you.

To our Board, whose direction and support allowed Ana and I to grow as leaders. Thank you for being there with us every step of the way. 

To our Associates and broader community of youth across the globe, your passion and ideas are what keeps us going. You inspire us to continue doing this work.

To our partners and funders, thank you for trusting our ideas and working with us to accelerate youth-led climate action around the world.

To our champions – especially Ambassador Ronny Jumeau, who encouraged the very founding of YCL – thank you for opening doors for us so that we could amplify youth voices and get the support we needed.

To those who led the fight for climate justice and who continue it on the ground today, in particular Black, Brown and Indigenous youth who often don’t get the recognition or resources deserved, thank you for your boundless work. Your calls for a just, climate-resilient world continue to inform my work, and are a responsibility we all need to embody and carry forward.

When Youth Climate Lab first started, our calls for meaningful youth engagement were often met with resistance and raised eyebrows. “Why youth?” is a question I’ve had to answer more times I can count. Five years later, the youth climate landscape in what is colonially known as Canada and around the world has transformed into a force that can no longer be ignored. Witnessing and contributing to this progress has been an incredible privilege.

I am so proud of where YCL is now and I couldn’t be more excited for Jasveen to lead the team in Youth Climate Lab’s next chapter. In the last few months working with Jasveen, I have witnessed her brilliant and compassionate leadership. Our work to accelerate youth-led climate solutions is more important than ever before, and I can’t wait to witness Jas lead the team to respond to the challenge.

As for me? I won’t be going too far. Working on climate change is my calling, and there’s so much work to be done. For anyone who’s worked with me, you can probably play a quick game of bingo of how many times I say “rad collab”: to me, “rad collabs” are the unexpected and unusual connections that lead to catalytic impact.  I’m thrilled to continue to move through the world holding rad collabs central to my work as a designer, dreamer and dance party enthusiast.  

If we’ve connected, worked together and/or you simply want to chat about climate action, don’t be a stranger! Reach out to me on LinkedIn to keep in touch.