The last full month of summer is here, incredible. It feels like it was just May and we were squeezing the last bits of the equinox. This final stretch of the solstice is a great time to stay grounded in gratitude and celebrate the many contributions of our community to build a better world. We’re so excited to recognize someone who has went from volunteer to board member to committee leader – Daniel Price, our August Climate Hero of the Month!
Daniel was born and raised in the Chicago-Metro region in a multi-racial, multi-faith family with a neurodivergent sibling. Politically active from a young age, he received his BA in History from the University of Rochester and spent seven years living and working in international development, teaching, and education in Ghana, India, the Republic of Georgia, Guyana, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. 
Much of that time was spent living off-grid in villages with indigenous peoples. He served in the United States Peace Corps as a Preventative Health Educator working to halt mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in the Amazon rainforest. He speaks an indigenous language and is an expert in tropical farming & permaculture. He received multiple awards from the US Department of State for spearheading school gardens in the Marshall Islands working with youth to combat chronic diseases while connecting to traditional land-use practices and foods & rehabilitating soils and ecosystems.
Living just 2 miles north of the Suncor Oil Refinery as well as his experiences living and working in the Marshall Islands–ground zero for the US government’s 67 nuclear weapon tests–were his “Aha” moments which inspire him in his fight for environmental justice, regenerative agriculture, and democracy.
Daniel got started with 350 Colorado back in May 2023 by joining the Regenerative Agriculture committee, which later merged into our Promoting Climate Solutions Committee. By that fall Daniel had applied for and joined the Board of Directors of 350 Colorado, working with other members from across the state to guide and support the organization. He was a helpful member throughout his time on the board, finding ways to manage across different generations and levels of experience. He held one of the monthly meetings at his home in Commerce City too! A tour of his impressive garden was included, really showcasing his passion and care for stewardship.
It wasn’t very long either before Daniel got involved with our Suncor Action Committee. He worked closely with leaders in the space and was always collaborative on various efforts, whether that was creating and editing sign-on letters or providing important updates to the team. Back in the fall of 2024, he joined in on canvassing neighborhoods around Suncor, to inform community members of the new lawsuit against the polluting giant and how they can use their voice to lend their support. It’s generally not easy work knocking on doors, but Daniel showed up and got it done with enthusiasm!
Daniel is an outspoken advocate and organizer for DIC’s (Disproportionately Impacted Communities) in Colorado. He most recently organized campaigns to push back against Holly Energy and Sinclair O&G expansions in Adams County, sharing those action opportunities with the 350CO network. He frequently attends town halls and public comment hearings held by the CDPHE and AQCC to advocate for environmental justice. He collaborates with his local community, community organizations, and governmental entities to advocate for accountability for Oil & Gas producers, distributors, and consumers.
Daniel is also a consummate educator who promotes human rights and policy solutions for critical issues affecting humanity and our planet including the United States’ nuclear testing legacy in the Pacific, US militarism and the rise of fascism in the United States, environmental injustice and the the ongoing genocide in Gaza. As a Jewish-American, Daniel is speaking out against the weaponization of Anti-Semitism that seeks to silence critical voices in our political economy. He encourages all of us to speak truth to power and challenge the corporate media, elites, and political duopoly who make us all accomplices, financially and materially, in the greatest war crime of the 21st century.
After serving on the board, Daniel stepped into the co-chair role for the Suncor Action Committee at the beginning of this year. Each month he helped develop agendas and lead monthly meetings with other organizers, even bringing in some special speakers for the group. Just recently Daniel stepped down from the co-chair role, and in that process he continued to collaborate and support next steps in restructuring the space. His care for this work is evident, and it so incredibly appreciated!
Daniel believes that it is important to focus on the big picture while remaining laser focused on local issues affecting your family, neighbors, and community. The goal being not to dominate the public policy stream, but to influence it in a positive way, in ways that promote fairness, transparency, human rights, and our inherent right to clean air, water, healthy food, high quality education, healthcare, housing, and equal access to recreational opportunities and personal/community development. In a world rife with inequality, war, greed, corruption, and groups set on domination and supremacy, there is no shortage of opportunities to get involved, fight back, and create a better future for ourselves and the planet.
“Daniel is the kind of person you want to be around. He is easy to talk to, reassuring in his calm demeanor, and very kind!” – Chelsea Alexander, 350CO Movement Building & Volunteer Director
Daniel spends his spare time growing his garden and “food forest”, located in one of the most polluted zip codes in the United States. Using “syntropic” and “permaculture” methods based in agroecology (ie. mimicking nature and natural systems), Daniel has created a thriving, sustainable edible landscape with over 70 fruit and nut trees, dozens of flowering and fruiting shrubs, ground covers, tubers, and 100s of types of vegetables, that feeds himself, his family, his neighbors, and local flora and fauna. He hopes for his food forest to be “proof of concept” and a laboratory of learning for other similar agroecological projects to take root throughout Northeast Denver and Commerce City. He believes that modeling sustainable solutions based in agroecology and sound soil science can help vulnerable communities like his adapt to the changes in our climate and begin to repair the harms from decades of environmental injustice.
He is currently a project manager in local government managing projects and programs for parks, trails, and open spaces in Commerce City and is pursuing a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Colorado in Denver.
Thank you so much Daniel for all the ways you’ve contributed and have supported this important work and the people in it! Our team and the movement at large are lucky to have a passionate and dedicated person like you, bringing their best skills and creating more connections with the land that provides for us. We can’t wait to see all the incredible things you continue to do!
Written by Chelsea Alexander and Micah Parkin
Want to be our next Climate Hero of the month?
Join the climate movement and shine with your unique skills! Email volunteer@350colorado.org.