Changemakers: Ordinary People Making Extraordinary Impact

About the Author

TONY PASSINO is a second year Ph.D. student in the Organizations and Social Change program within the College of Management at UMass Boston. He is a National Climate Fellow at Change the Chamber* Lobby for Climate and a founding member of the Environmental Changemaker Training. As an early career scholar-activist, his research interests lie at the intersection between food systems and the natural environment. Before the Ph.D. program, Tony worked for a leading non-profit public health campaign where he used arts-based pedagogy to train students at colleges across the country to pass 100% tobacco and vape free policies. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview

In this module, you will begin to consider what it means to be an environmental changemaker in the 21st century. You will hear stories from other changemakers, and you will begin to think about and work on your own changemaker story.

Key Learnings

Upon completion of this module, you will have:

  • Defined what a changemaker is.

  • Compared different changemakers.

  • Reflected on the role that changemakers play in our society.

  • Reflected upon your self-assessment.

  • Created your changemaker story.

Required Content (1.5 hour estimated commitment)

To complete this module, you must:

Supplemental Content

The following articles / videos / resources are recommended but not required:

INTRODUCTION

You have the power to change the world. Reread the last sentence. It’s true, whether you realize it or not. We all have the power to change the course of history. By starting this training, you are taking a big step in the right direction. Like most things in life, you get out what you put into this training. We invite you to critically engage in this training and consider the question: “Who am I as a Changemaker?”

Defining the Changemaker

Watch this short video that outlines what you will do in this module and introduces how we at Change the Chamber think about what it means to be a changemaker.

Changemaker Defined: Someone who takes creative action to solve a social problem - Ashoka

The Changemaker In You

Before you can change the world, you need to understand just “who” it is that will be doing the “changing.” Whether it relates to being a leader, ally, or changemaker, having an understanding of your identity is essential. The following is an assessment by Project InsideOut that can be used to better understand your changemaker style.

NOTE ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT

The results are not final. This assessment is used as a tool for reflection. Because being a changemaker is dynamic, you may change your approach depending on the context of a situation. Your style may also change over time.

Complete the following self-assessment:

As a changemaker, it is important to use a mix of these different styles. Sometimes you might be in a space that requires you to educate the audience. Other times, you will be called to stand in solidarity with others as a guide. As you move through the training, consider how your style as an educator, righter, cheerleader, or guide may change depending on the circumstances.

When taking self-assessments, it can be valuable to reflect upon the following questions: 

  • What did you learn? 

  • How might your changemaker style change depending on the situation? 

  • What about the assessment felt incorrect? 

Assessments are one way to learn about yourself, but are not the only way. Watch the following video from Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on How to Find Joy in Climate Action and create a venn diagram similar to the one in the talk.

INSTRUCTIONS (see video for example):

Take out a piece of paper, draw three circles that overlap with one another and answer the following questions:

  • What brings you joy?

  • What work needs doing?

  • What are you good at? 

What is the area where these three questions overlap? This is the area where you should work toward.

Use the self assessment and the venn diagram to think about who you want to be as a Changemaker. Part of becoming an effective changemaker is about getting to know yourself. As you progress in your changemaker journey, you will come to know yourself through action. By taking action, you provide yourself with the space to learn through experience. In taking action, you are taking an essential step toward change. One of the ways you can take action is by sharing your story.

Make Change Through Storytelling

You have been telling stories since you were young. Stories are special because they bring people together. They draw us in, and they encourage us to see a different perspective outside our own. When it comes to inspiring change, your story is one of the most powerful tools available. Read this article that discusses the powerful nature of stories and begin working on your changemaker story.

PORTFOLIO ENTRY: YOUR CHANGEMAKER STORY

As a changemaker, your story is a source of power. In crafting your story, you learn more about who you are and what you care about. In telling your story, you open up the hearts and minds of others to change. Whether it be through a new relationship or a changed opinion, your story can be used strategically to affect change. For this reason, you will build your changemaker story in this section.

Before beginning to build your story, we encourage you to listen to one or two of the “changemaker stories” of some of the people who built this course.

If you want to hear some more stories from changemakers around the world, visit the WAYS TO reduce human suffering from climate change from the United States Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development. We also encourage you to keep the self assessment and the venn diagram activity in mind as you tell your story because these activities highlight important elements that make you a unique and impactful Changemaker.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Find an item in your house that represents your journey as a changemaker that has led you to this point and share it with us.

    • This can be anything from a photo to a t-shirt.

    • This item should remind you about your motivation for being an environmental changemaker.

  2. Be sure to include the following elements in your story:

    • Your “Why”

      • This is your motivation for becoming a changemaker. It could be that you recognized the injustice present in climate change or that you want to create a healthy planet that can support life for generations to come or something else.

    • Key moments in your journey to becoming a changemaker

      • Don’t feel like a changemaker yet? That is okay. Tell us about the series of events that led you to sign up for this training. (At Change the Chamber, we know this training is useful because changemaker education is an essential step in all of our changemaking journeys. Your identity as a changemaker will evolve throughout the training.) You might include what you already learned from the self-assessment and the Venn diagram.

    • Tips for your story:

      • Simple language wins.

      • Be authentic and embrace vulnerability. 

      • Emotion moves mountains.

      • Engage the senses. Use language that brings your story to life.

      • Imagine you are telling your story to a friend. Have fun with it!

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Submit your story (video or written text) to the course facilitator (via google form) at the end of the module.

    • If submitting a video, your story should be 3-5 minutes long.

      • We aren’t looking for a polished video with special effects, just something that communicates your experience with the exercise. 

    • If submitting a Word doc or handwritten story, it should be 250-500 words.

    • Remember to share your object with us (an attached photo of the item works best).

  2. Share your story in the LinkedIn group (Optional).

  3. Share your story with a friend/family member and see what they think (Optional).

Module Summary

In conclusion, this module empowered you to recognize your potential as a changemaker. By defining what it means to be a changemaker, comparing different examples, and reflecting on your potential societal role, you gained a deeper understanding of your capacity to make a difference. Through self-assessments, you uncovered your existing style, your joys, skills, motivations, strengths and areas for growth as a changemaker. The module also emphasized the significance of self-reflection and the power of storytelling in affecting change. By sharing your own changemaker stories with the CTC community, you actually contributed to a collective movement toward positive transformation. As you move through the remaining modules, you are encouraged to revisit your changemaker story and make changes as you think of new ways to understand and tell your story.