Six Conversations with Changemakers During Hollywood Climate Summit

I attended the Hollywood Climate Summit this past week, where I spent three days connecting with Changemakers across all entertainment industry sectors, immersed in panel discussions, and exploring the importance and power of storytelling in the climate space. During the event, I had the opportunity to speak with six founders in the environmental movement and learn about their work and why they were attending the Hollywood Climate Summit. Every conversation and panel discussion deepened my understanding of how the entertainment and creative industries can catalyze real change through storytelling.

Dan Thorman - Collidescope Foundation

Dan Thorman is one of three co-founders of Collidescope Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering social impact organizations and their leaders. Dan shared that the Foundation’s mission is to help develop Changemakers and start-up organizations by “creating structure by mentorship to demystify the process.” In September of 2024, the Collidescope Foundation hosted the very first Los Angeles Climate Week with over 120 registered events! After the LA wildfires of 2025, LA Climate Week became a space for community conversations around futureproofing and climate resilience. One of Dan’s key takeaways from the Hollywood Climate Summit is how the event is “expanding and educating within industry verticals” and the community it fosters. It was a pleasure meeting Dan and learning about his passions for architectural restoration and renovation, intergenerational collaboration within the climate community, and people.

Amanda Lapham - Hey Climate

Amanda Lapham is the co-founder of Hey Climate, a climate action social club. With a background in community organizing, Amanda partnered with Shan Gupta to put together a social club that focused on taking climate action together by “making the climate [space] cool and inviting.” Through their bi-weekly, in real-life events in the Los Angeles area, Hey Climate has partnered with local organizations to host workshops, support initiatives, and complete projects. With a passion for community, Amanda appreciates how the Hollywood Climate Summit also brings people together. Amanda's commitment and Hey Climate’s mission to bring people together who care about the environment left me feeling hopeful and inspired to deepen my own involvement.

Kenzie Curran - Wear and Repair

While attending LA Climate Week during 2024, Kenzie Curran and Isa Spies recognized a gap in events related to sustainable fashion. They decided to start Wear and Repair, a community where they host clothing mending classes and networking events. Their goal is to promote closet lifecycle extension and sustainable habits through education and community building. Kenzie shared that she is passionate about this mission because “fashion is one of the industries that touches every single person, every single day.” Kenzie was attending Hollywood Climate Summit to connect with other creatives and learn about more sustainable practices. I admire Wear and Repair’s commitment to hands-on education through workshops.

Diandra Marizet - The Intersectional Environmentalist

During the summer of 2020, Diandra Marizet set out to ensure that conservation and environmentalism would be “more of a movement than just a moment.” She took to her social platforms to affirm and uplift communities beyond traditional conservation, and went on to co-found The Intersectional Environmentalist, an eco-media platform that inspires through education, storytelling, and art. Diandra is hoping to connect with storytellers who are “building narratives that are making us belong to each other more deeply,” during Hollywood Climate Summit. I am excited to see the mini documentaries, short films, and print media that Diandra and The Intersectional Environmentalist will put forward in the future.

Joel Bach - The Years Project

Joel Bach is the founder of The Years Project, a strategic digital communications organization and campaign accelerator in the climate space. As a Hollywood Climate Summit partner, Joel is excited to get more people involved and looks forward to collaborating with more creatives. Joel has a proven commitment to storytelling over the course of his career through his work on 60 Minutes and The Years of Living Dangerously. I admire Joel’s passion for people and their stories and how he has brought together storytellers, filmmakers, strategists, and journalists to create impact in the climate space.

Gayatri Sehgal - Bodhisattvism

With a Master’s Degree in Yoga Studies and a passion for climate resilience, Gayatri wanted to make an impact in the climate space and offer support to other changemakers. They started Bodhisattvism to help Changemakers, who can often be overwhelmed, connect with yoga practices and mental help resources. Gayatri noted that Hollywood Climate Summit has been a great experience for connecting with organizations and Changemakers and having conversations around climate resilience - because “to understand climate resilience, we need to understand what resilience means to ourselves.” It is so interesting to me to hear about Gayatri’s work and the role yoga can play, it really goes to show the interconnectedness of all industries in the climate space.

For me, Hollywood Climate Summit reinforced the idea that storytelling does more than simply entertain - it informs and educates. Climate action is not confined to scientists, policymakers, and academia. Video games, books, movies, music, fashion, and culinary arts all have the capacity to relay climate narratives. I left Hollywood Climate Summit feeling grateful for the important conversations I got to experience and to be a part of a community full of storytellers that are making an impact in climate action!

-Allyssa Salcedo