Attilio poses in front of the US Capitol Building at CCL’s summer lobby day!

You could say that Attilio Abarca-Bodden was raised by climate change. He descends from Roatan, a small island off the coast of Honduras which is experiencing the impacts of climate change, but was born and raised in Miami, Florida, considered by many to be ground zero in the climate fight in the United States. It’s no surprise that Attilio felt drawn to act on climate, and has been especially interested in the global collaboration that addressing climate change will require. He is currently preparing to enter a master’s program at Florida International University in Global Affairs, and has also been serving as a group leader for the CCL Broward Chapter.

This fall, Attilio will be taking his climate advocacy to the next level as one of our college outreach interns. He’ll be writing blogs to feature the work of students in the climate movement, reaching out to universities to provide presentations about CCL, and finding other creative ways to amplify our work. He is excited for this position because it will allow him to build connections with future leaders and engage in meaningful climate action. Given his global affairs interest, he also hopes to leverage this experience to contribute to larger-scale environmental policy work, such as becoming a policy analyst for a think tank or the United Nations Environment Programme.

In addition to his academic and climate goals, Attilio is also passionate about storytelling, and even has his own podcast where he interviews people about their experiences. He also enjoys working out, running, and swinging kettlebells, probably while listening to Kendrick Lamar. If he ever gets some down time, you might find him reading! We are very excited to have such an ambitious climate advocate and communicator joining our team to bring more young leaders into the climate space this fall.