We were lucky to catch up with Jack Hanson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jack, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

One of the first steps we took was to make a professional video outlining our idea and build a GoFundMe campaign around that video. We figured that either a) the GoFundMe would be successful, which would both give us the money to get started and also would indicate that this was an idea that could generate excitement and financial support or b) the GoFundMe would fail, indicating that the idea would need to be refined or scrapped.

Fortunately, we exceeded our goals with the GoFundMe and used that money and momentum to get Run On Climate up and running.

Our other biggest focus in the early days was meeting with as many similar organizations to us as possible to learn about their work and get their feedback on our idea. This allowed us to make sure our idea wasn’t duplicative, and to give deeper specificity to our work to ensure we found our proper niche within the broader climate action ecosystem.

Jack, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Jack Hanson and I’ve been working to address climate change since high school. In 2012 I moved to Burlington, Vermont to take up an Environmental Studies degree at the University of Vermont. During college I was deeply engaged in climate organizing, primarily as a leader in the fossil fuel divestment movement and as co-founder and president of the Renewable Energy Network.

Since graduating in 2016 I’ve worked in a number of nonprofits and advocacy and electoral campaigns. After two years of organizing and lobbying for state-level climate policy, and frustrated by the lack of action by the Vermont legislature, I shifted my focus in 2018 to getting my own city of Burlington to take stronger climate action. This ultimately led to me running for Burlington City Council in 2019. We knocked every door in the district twice, and I defeated an incumbent with record voter turnout at age 24. In 2021 I was re-elected without an opponent. While on Council I championed the successful passage of several climate justice policies including the mandatory weatherization of all rental housing. During my second term on the City Council I launched Run On Climate with two other Burlington organizers, so that we could support the broader local-level climate movement.

Run On Climate’s mission is to accelerate cutting-edge climate policy at the local level in communities across the country by supporting candidates, collaborating with elected leaders, and expanding the influence of climate justice advocates.

Many climate organizations focus on state and federal-level policy and that work is critical. However, work at the local level is also critical, and it can and must happen in tandem with those higher-level policy struggles.

We believe that those who are passionate about the climate crisis can have an enormous impact by focusing on their own community. We are here to support them in that effort.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Over the past few months I’ve been reading The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. It’s been extremely helpful at creating wholeness, presence, living a rich life, and leading from a place of curiosity and integrity. A key theme in this book and in my life over the past few years has been the ability to keep striving for what I believe is right while letting go of attachment to outcomes.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Run On Climate was founded by Carter Neubieser, Sarah Sciortino, and I. Carter and I met during the summer of 2017, when we both worked for a large (by Vermont standards) nonprofit, knocking on doors all over Vermont raising money and building support for climate policies at the state level. It was an office of over 100 staff, so we didn’t really get to know each other until one day when we were paired up to knock doors together. During our shift we raised over $1,000, the most either of us had raised in a day of canvassing. More importantly, we developed a bond and sparked many big ideas together that day, which kicked off a deep collaboration that has led to many remarkable experiences over these past seven years.

Sarah and I met in 2019, when I was running for Burlington City Council. She was a student activist, and we met when I spoke at the meeting of an environmental club she was a part of. She signed up to get involved in the campaign, and helped play a big role in the heavy student involvement that helped lead to my election. We have been extremely close friends and collaborators ever since.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.runonclimate.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runonclimate
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RunOnClimate/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/run-on-climate
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ROClimate
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ROClimate
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/runonclimate

Image Credits

Speaking photo is credited to ChiHackNight