Natalie Mebane always knew she enjoyed the outdoors and wanted to make her career protecting the places she loved. She grew up loving both the U.S. and the Caribbean and has family in both. She has a bachelor’s in environmental science and policy from the University of Maryland College Park and a master’s in strategic leadership towards sustainability from the Blekinge Institute of Technology. She found her passion for organizing after attending the first Power Shift conference in 2007. Since then, Natalie has worked for the government of Trinidad and Tobago at the Environmental Management Authority and for the 5th Summit of the Americas, she has been a grassroots organizer with campaigns in VA and PA, she worked at Sierra Club as the dirty fuels lobbyist, and is currently the associate director of U.S. policy at 350.org, working to keep fossil fuels in the ground. She credits Rev Lennox Yearwood’s speech at Power Shift 2007 for recruiting her to the movement.