The Climate Finance Fellowship Retreat

Reflections by Angel Silverio, CCN Finance & Operations Committee Member & Sunrise U Mass Organizing Lead

I cannot thank CCN enough for an absolutely amazing and transformative experience at the Climate Finance Fellowship Retreat held in PA. Everything from the place we stayed, the food we ate, and the trainers we met was perfect and I can’t imagine it having gone any better.  Even the other fellows themselves provided such an amazing experience. Having been surrounded by such passionate and amazing people really changed me on a spiritual level, and it changed my entire perspective on what organizing is, and how to make it into something beautiful, and successful. Most importantly, the fellowship is still with me daily through my organizing on campus here at UMass. I made connections that I use frequently to strengthen my hub, but also our movement as a whole. I’ve returned as a strong leader that members look up to, and my Sunrise Hub has never been so developed and built up. I look forward to learning more as I apply everything I’ve learned, and also developing the leadership skills of those around me. My next step is trying to replicate a fraction of the feelings and knowledge that the retreat brought upon me.

Lastly, being able to meet the CCN staff that I had been working with closely for the past several months in person was such a powerful experience. Although we’re back to meeting on zoom, I have a real connection with those on the other side of the screen, and I think these connections will be groundbreaking when it comes to building successful movements over long distances.