Happy New Year! A fresh start is upon us, with possibilities for growth, wins, and good times. We’ll undoubtedly see challenges too, but with a Climate Hero like this month’s, who sets the bar high for us, we’re sure to meet those challenges head-on with energy and tenacity. Three cheers for the first hero of 2026, Frannie Monasterio!
Frannie initially entered the 350 Colorado orbit in 2019 after signing a petition. Which comes at no surprise, as she has previously worked on and contributed to other environmental and social justice issues too, including defending imperiled species, and tribal access to clean water, and reintegrating human sex traffickers into society.
Things really took off in the spring of 2025 when Frannie joined 350 Colorado for their annual Climate Lobby Day after hearing about the opportunity from Everyone Outdoors Colorado (formerly Next 100 Colorado), a coalition dedicated to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in public lands.
She was a part of the group for Senator Jessie Danielson, and despite it being her first time participating in this event, Frannie stepped up into an important leadership role. With 8+ members of varying backgrounds in citizen lobbying, Frannie supported everyone to ensure that teammates had a positive experience where everyone could engage and ask questions. She took extensive notes on the conversations that were had with legislators, and followed up promptly with 350CO staff afterwards to share them. From that moment on Frannie used her leadership skills in a number of incredible ways, including plugging into the Legislative Action Committee.
Soon after, Frannie began attending the 350 Metro Denver Team meetings. With the guidance and support of 350’s Chelsea Alexander, Frannie later joined as a Leadership Council Member in April 2025 as a means to channel her grief over the mismanagement and inaction surrounding climate change. Since then she has made positive waves on the team!
Like creating the team’s first ever ‘Campaigns Dashboard’, an incredibly handy tool to help us stay organized in all the moving parts of our different campaigns. Ideas like that are so important for our collective organizing to ensure new people can easily plug in and see the big picture. Frannie is an incredibly strategic thinker, usually 2-3 steps ahead of the rest of us, considering what needs to be implemented to make things run more smoothly.
Throughout the year Frannie consistently attended monthly in-person team meetings. She took initiative to help create agendas, lead sections of the meeting, and connect with new people so that they felt welcomed. On top of her team player mentality, Frannie excels at creating a fun and connective space for people to be a part of. She can truly meet anyone where they’re at and get to know them within minutes, ensuring that each and every person is either engaging, taking action, or laughing!
Frannie also did just that every time she tabled with us in 2025. She came to various events across the metro Denver area, connecting with new people and encouraging them to either join campaigns and/or the 350 Metro Denver Team. Tabling and outreach is not something everyone can do easily, especially their first time, but Frannie makes it look easy! She is approachable, sincere, and able to make the time pass quickly.
“There is so much I admire about Frannie. She is passionate, hilarious, honest, dedicated, and always ready to fire up others when forward momentum energy is needed. If the movement had even 10 Frannie’s in it, we would make some serious positive changes, and very quickly!” – Chelsea Alexander, 350 Colorado Movement Building & Volunteer Director
In September 2025, Frannie was also a major supporter of the Climate Leadership Workshop that was put on at the Washington Street Community Center. She arrived early to help set things up, moved slides along during the day and took notes, and provided valuable input and energy to the group. On top of all of that, she stayed until the very end to clean-up and pack out. Frannie is the definition of dedication, and having someone like her that you can count on no matter what is a true gift to 350 Colorado and the climate movement.
And from this fun workshop emerged a new local campaign that the Metro Denver Team is currently working on! Meetings for the campaign kicked off in October, and a few other ones happened as well. And when scheduling challenges came up, Frannie stepped up to help lead meetings and ensure things stayed organized. She follows through on many moving parts, and brings an attention to detail that is astounding. (P.S. – Interested in learning more about this cool campaign? Email chelsea@350colorado.org to get started!)
“Frannie exemplifies the mindset of “If you want it, go and get it” and we are so happy to see her recognized as Climate Hero of the Month!” – Matt Gose, Promoting Climate Solutions Coordinator
Frannie also attended 350 Colorado’s annual Convergence & Strategic Planning event in Boulder! Every year we have staff, board members, interns, and volunteers that come together to share ideas and expertise as we build out the following year’s strategic plan. The day was enriched with Frannie’s presence as she contributed thoughtfully in discussions and activities. With her incredible background and knowledge in grassroots organizing, we are extremely lucky that she was there.
In her free time, she enjoys volunteering for 350 Colorado, hanging with her friends from the Denver Asian Scene, and an arguably unhealthy amount of karaoke.
Thank you SO much Frannie for making 2025 a great year! Your dedication, ideas, and leadership have strengthened the movement both locally and statewide, time and again. We can’t wait to see what 2026 has in store for you and our organizing efforts together!
Written by Chelsea Alexander