We have entered the final 25% of the year! These last months move us towards colder weather and slowing down in order to help put things into perspective and see what matters most. So we’re bundling our gratitude and joy to recognize El Sealey as the October Climate Hero of the Month!
Like many heroes in the movement, El’s care and connection for the planet and people stems back to younger days. “I have got master of public health from CU Denver (Anschutz) in 2022 and have been concerned about the impact of climate change on public health and our global ecosystems since high school, which is what made me seek out opportunities to get involved in shifting public policy to get away from fossil fuels.” said El.
It was then in February 2024 that El got started with 350 Colorado. Initially exploring a few different statewide committees and campaigns, El got active by signing petitions and using their voice to hold legislators and regulators accountable.
Eventually El landed in our Fracking Action Committee and has been nothing short of an awesome member since then! Not only does El regularly attend our committee meetings on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays on Zoom, but they enthusiastically engage in committee discussions and planning, asking great questions of our guest speakers, and even facilitating the committee meetings on a couple of occasions. El also has served as our committee’s representative for reporting out on our committee’s activities at the monthly 350CO Statewide Leadership Meetings.
In addition to keeping fossil fuels in the ground, El is invested in policy and being active to help pass and/or block bills at the legislature. Even though they had only been a part of efforts with 350CO for about a month at the time, they joined efforts for Climate Lobby Day in 2024 and participated in our largest, annual event. In their Senator group they met with legislators and discussed the importance of various climate bills, like SB-159 that would have created an off-ramp from fracking and stopped issuing new permits to drill for oil & gas. And while it sadly didn’t pass, it did help set a historic precedent that lays the groundwork for change in the future!
During the legislative session this year, El showed up again as a strong leader. Before Climate Lobby Day their Senator group had 4-5 other members to work with. But on the day itself, for one reason or another, El was the only person in the group. Instead of shrink back, El stepped up, working with our teammates to figure out the best approach for the day. They were gracious, calm, and strategic, and ended up working with other groups that also needed some members. They were a part of the cold press conference on the capitol steps too, holding banners and building up good energy with the group!
One extra special project El took on was restructuring 350 Colorado’s regulatory tracker! The regulatory tracker is a critical tool that helps 350 Colorado and our partners watchdog and participate in state and local government decision making around rules and regulations. El created a new Google spreadsheet version of our regulatory tracker that allows for more efficient and thorough tracking of Colorado regulatory activity related to climate, and they even created a whole new feature that allows anyone to submit information regarding regulatory activity through an easy Google form.
“El always shows up with authenticity, creativity, and can-do energy to take on volunteer roles and tasks in our campaign,” said Bobbie Mooney, Beyond Oil & Gas Campaign Director, “We are so lucky to have El on our team!”
“I am involved with Indivisible, a nonviolent nationwide pro-democracy movement. I also host workshops for household and community emergency preparedness and resilience building,” says El. If anyone is interested they can watch the webinar version here, filmed and edited in collaboration with the nonprofit American Resiliency. (all workshop materials including teaching materials for hosting your own workshop are included on the AR website, linked in the video description.)
In their spare time El enjoys hiking, rock climbing, writing, making music, embroidery, and spending time with their cat, Carol.
Thank you so much El for all the ways that you have showed up and supported efforts! We appreciate your good energy, commitment, and dedication beyond words. Thank you for being a leader we can always count on while dealing with the ever-changing landscape and uncertainties of the climate crisis!
Written by Chelsea Alexander and Bobbie Mooney