Introducing the 2025 Grist 50 list

When Nivi Achanta graduated from college in 2017, she was looking for a way to get politically involved. Her only trouble was finding an area of focus to dig into. There were so many horrible things happening, she felt, that it was difficult to narrow her scope. “I thought, OK — climate. The climate crisis is number one. It’s a common thread that affects all the other things that I care about,” Achanta said. “It’s going to be so simple. There’s a million different answers for education and housing and health care, but climate change is something we all agree on.”

This, she quickly realized, was not true. But, undaunted by the deniers and delayers, she set out to build an organization to connect people by focusing on fun, low-lift ways to engage on climate issues in their everyday lives. Achanta launched The Soapbox Project in 2019, first as a weekly newsletter that later grew into a virtual community aimed at fighting climate loneliness — and loneliness in general. It’s since grown to 8,000 subscribers and over 300 paying members, and has expanded to physical spaces in Seattle and New York City. By fostering a friendly, social space to learn about local issues, Soapbox aims to create a more durable climate movement based on strong community ties and focused on the areas where people have the greatest ability to effect immediate change — locally.

Some of the events Achanta has organized include a Q&A on stormwater management in Seattle, with a local stormwater engineer; a water-resilience party, where attendees dined and discussed resource management; and a climate-conscious fashion show — all mixing education and action with fun and good vibes. “We want to be basically the equivalent of a climate church,” said Achanta.