The Creative Conversations: Brian Stilwell
The following post is the first in a series I'll be doing titled The Creative Conversations. My goal is to interview individuals who have careers that inspire creativity in themselves and the people they work with.
I was delighted when I asked Brian for an interview and he said yes. I've worked with Brian on a number of occasions side-by-side with him in educating others on climate action and the solutions to problems we face in our society.
I hope you enjoy this post and please leave feedback on what you think of The Creative Conversations as this will be a long-running series that I want to make sure readers enjoy
Brian Stilwell joined the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) team in 2011 and became an Associate Program Director in 2013. During his time at ACE, Brian has directly educated more than 70,000 high school students with the ACE Assembly and trained more than 800 youth leaders. Today, Brian manages ACE's Boston, New York, and Raleigh regions where he is responsible for program implementation, regional strategic planning, partnership development, fundraising, and regional student action campaigns
When not kickin’ it in schools around the Northeast, Brian can be found loving everything that is outside, singing & drumming up a storm, cruising the streets of Boston on a bike, juggling a soccer ball, enhancing his climate nerdiness, and eating as much ice cream as humanly possible. With an unwavering belief in the power of youth to bring about positive change in the world, Brian can't wait to see what future this generation is going to create!
Going into this interview I was so excited to be on the questions end. I had the opportunity to work with Brian multiple times at the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit at Tupper Lake's Wild Center, as well as the Boston YouthCAN Summit held at MIT.
Brian is one of the most energized people that I know and always has a positive attitude and wide smile that is absolutely contagious. He works for the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), an organization that sends speakers all over the U.S. to different schools to educate students about climate change and climate action.
Now, the ACE assembly isn't like most climate action assemblies you'll see. ACE has an engaging animated presentation that every speaker knows by heart and is completely in time with. They focus on discussing solutions to large-scale problems we're facing currently, in an attempt to get youth energized, organized and active in their communities, rather than preaching the end of the world.
I first met Brian in 2011 at my first Adirondack Youth Climate Summit -- this was the first time I saw the presentation. I've seen it 6 times since and not once has it lost its enthusiastic message that you can make a change, however the animated presentation isn't the same as it's always been.
When I finally got on the phone with Brian, I had so many questions I barely knew where to start, so I figured let's start with his childhood. In asking what Brian's creative hobbies were as a kid we talked about his love of soccer, drumming, dancing and singing, and being involved in chorus and band throughout school. Brian truly was a creative and active individual as a kid, and it's no wonder many of those hobbies have stuck with him through today. Of course today while holding his career as Associate Program Director for ACE, Brian has expanded his creative repertoire to include freestyle rapping as well.
When Brian was younger, and before he started working for ACE, Brian worked at the Ithaca Youth Bureau.
To say Brian got involved would barely do justice -- he was coming up with a ton of creative solutions at the time, particularly with e-waste. Brian organized the Youth Bureau to be able to collect old electronics, fix them up, and sell them cheap to local people without computers.
When Brian began working for ACE the problems got bigger, yet he stood and still stands his ground, fighting tough problems with creative ideas every day. When Brian started, one of the larger problems ACE had was engagement after the how did you keep kids involved in ACE when ACE wasn't there? It turns out the answer was in cell phones. Now, when attending an ACE assembly, kids will be instructed to take out their phones and text a number they see on the screen if they'd like to keep in touch. By texting the number you'd sign up to receive automated texts from ACE talking about current initiatives and cool projects going on across the country.
As Brian continues to work for ACE he finds creative thinking is apparent in almost everything he does stating, "Every day is a challenge that requires creativity and innovation."
A lot of Brian's work is in education and working as a non-profit with a low budget. You've got to be able to frame things correctly if you want students to be engaged, and you've got to think smart and use your budget wisely if you really want to impact the Goliath-like companies involved in the oil, coal, or automotive industries.
However Brian and ACE have no fear and go head on into battle, partnering up and linking climate justice organizations around the country to fight against climate change, and they're making great progress.
Some of the creative solutions they've developed include a now digital form of their amazing assembly. Schools where an ACE representative isn't close enough to present in person still need to be educated on climate change, so ACE figured out a way to now be able give their assembly anywhere in the world.
ACE also develops challenges for kids such as the Get Loud Challenge which invites youths to do something for climate justice, then post it on social media as a means to spread the word that action is important and cool.
As we closed up our interview, I had one final question for Brian:"Do you know your purpose?"
Brian replied with a truly inspiring answer, "My purpose is to help save the planet, to help make social, economic and climate justice a reality for everyone," and this answer is why from now on, I am referring to Brian as a climate superhero.
Thanks to Brian Stilwell, I've stayed interested in climate action; he showed me opportunities to travel and meet new people through it, and ever since that first assembly I've been infinitely grateful.
I'd like to thank Brian for taking the time to do this interview with me. He answered every question with so much enthusiasm and positivity -- I was smiling the whole conversation just talking to him. I feel comforted and empowered, knowing that it's creative individuals who are leading the youth of this nation into a reality where climate justice can be achieved.
If you'd like to learn more about ACE, I recommend you check out their site at acespace.org.
Brian also suggests if you're a youth that wants to take action for climate justice you can also check out imatteryouth.org and powershift.org. You can also text ACE to 30644 to join their student network.
I invite you all to share this interview and talk about the Alliance for Climate Education with your friends as well.
Keep it Creative!
