I think we've all had better years

This year mostly sucked: funding being pulled, projects stalling, cold outreach going no where. Ah, the life of an independent.

Zooming out, it's brutal out there for many people: layoffs, a shitty job market, AI taking jobs. All while the climate and democracy is literally breaking down in front of us.

In order for me to see the bright spots, I'm sharing some of my highlights so I can actually convince myself this year wasn't that bad. I know my clients appreciated the work I did. And I know the work we did together is making huge positive impact.

WORK

Another year of continued support for long time clients:

• AirMiners: newsletter and communications strategy for both the AirMiners community and investors 
• Pando Populus: program strategy, branding, and communications work

I worked with Futerra to support one of their clients major clients. I was brought in for naming and branding the client's internal bridge campaign to donors.

I advised a few smaller orgs with creative direction, helping them establish a foundation for their brands as they ramp up for a 2026 launch. 

Climate Designers, my passion project, achieved two major milestones this year:

• We are officially fiscally sponsored by Social Good Fund which gives us the ability to act as a non-profit underneath their organization.
• We launched our first ever donation drive. Donations (which are 100% tax deductible) will cover operational costs so we can focus on creating fresh content for our community. Stay tuned for new events and more in 2026!

CAREER

A few new offerings I launched this year:

• Creative facilitation to help climate projects go from ideas, Post-Its, and being stuck to roadmaps, implementation, and scale
• Advising design studio founders/creative leaders to create their climate strategy for existing clients and win new clients in the sustainability space
• 1:1 sessions that provide guidance for design professionals navigating the climate/sustainability space

I co-produced and co-facilitated events for LA Climate Week, SF Climate Week, and San Francisco Design Week. We covered topics at the intersection of design, creativity, and climate action.

I spoke at a few design schools on the topic of design and climate action.

I joined the IMMA, a community for solopreneurs and solo founders in the social and sustainability space.

I launched a new blog and newsletter on the Ghost platform.

TEACHING

With the encouragement of Elena Pacenti, chair of the MDes Interaction Design department at California College of the Arts, I transformed the Social Lab class I've been teaching since 2018 into a track focused on "climate resiliency". Student groups collaborated with C40 Cities, Post Carbon Institute, and The Prescott Experiment to deliver projects that support the work of these organizations.

For the next cohort in 2026, my class track will focus on "climate & culture". I'm excited for this one!   

WHAT'S NEXT?

Over the last nine months, I had these nagging thoughts in the back of my mind. Some of these thoughts include:

• I'm not seeing the work I believe needs to exist in the world
• I know a lot of talented people out of work and looking for their next thing
• I'm not tapping into all of my skills, networks, resources, and people as much as I could
• We don't need more of the same climate projects. We need to shift paradigms, culture. We need to change behaviors and systems
• Instead of waiting for the "dream project" to fall into my lap, why not make the projects myself?

So, I'm exploring the idea of starting another agency. Think "venture studio + collective agency". More soon, maybe.   

Anyway, here's to 2026. May it be full of abundance, fulfillment, and success to those inventing new futures despite entrenched systems suppressing the work that needs to be done.

Onward!