About Green Corps
Green Corps trains organizers, provides field support for today’s critical environmental campaigns, and graduates activists who have demonstrated the skills, temperament and commitment to fight and win tomorrow’s environmental battles. With over 400 graduates, Green Corps has been the country’s most respected training program for environmental organizers for over 30 years.
Why organizing?
Threats to our environment are omnipresent. Another year sets a new record for plastic waste. Another scientist warns we’re experiencing mass species extinction. Another report documents unprecedented biodiversity loss in important ecosystems, from boreal forests to coral reefs.
We already know many of the solutions. But without organizing — without building both political will and public momentum — solutions remain buried under plans, proposals and good intentions.
Effective social movements are built by effective organizers. To combat these environmental threats we need people who can run effective campaigns, inspire popular support and push for concrete action.
The Green Corps programs
At Green Corps, we recruit the most passionate, determined new or aspiring environmental organizers and recent graduates from across the country. After considering thousands of applications, each year our admissions team selects a small cohort with a driving commitment to make the biggest impact they can for our planet. We offer two training programs, both of which equip emerging organizers and leaders with the skills and support to build a more sustainable world:
Our flagship Organizer Program is a one-year, paid training experience that combines seven weeks of intensive classroom instruction with real-world campaign work on at least three environmental campaigns across the country. Participants graduate with the skills, experience and network to launch successful careers in environmental and social change.
For those just beginning their journey to make change for the environment, our Campaigner Program is a four-month crash course that blends classroom learning with hands-on campaigning and introduces participants to organizing through a single campaign. Top performers may be invited to continue on to the Organizer Program or pursue roles with partner organizations.
Our network
Green Corps is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.
Throughout The Public Interest Network, we believe that a clear vision, commonsense ideas, a fact-driven case for action, and the power of bringing people together are the necessary ingredients to any successful effort to solve society’s problems. Click here for things you should know about our network when you apply.
Our director
Renee Wellman, Executive Director
Renee oversees operations, training, strategic planning and campaign outreach for Green Corps. Renee got her start as part of the Green Corps Class of 2017 and later served as an assistant organizing director and organizing director for the program. She has directed field efforts on behalf of the Wilderness Society, the National Audubon Society and Toxic-Free Future, among others. Prior to joining Green Corps, Renee was a student activist and athlete at Northwestern University, where she studied social policy. She currently lives in Denver.
Our board
Douglas H. Phelps
President and Executive Director, The Public Interest Network
Faye Park
Executive Vice President, The Public Interest Network; President, PIRG
Andy MacDonald
Vice President, Senior Organizing Director, The Public Interest Network
Leslie Samuelrich
President, Green Century Capital Management
Wendy Wendlandt
President, Environment America
Bernadette Del Chiaro
Senior Vice President of California, Environmental Working Group
Tom Mooers
Executive Director, Sierra Watch
Awards and scholarships
Green Corps is proud to offer scholarships and awards to some students, which are made possible through the generosity and support of Green Corps alumni and their families.