The Gen Z Environmental Justice Activist Making History at the White House

For environmental-justice activist Jerome Foster II, the journey toward a more sustainable future begins with a simple yet profound truth: change requires not only addressing current challenges, but also confronting the historical injustices that have shaped our environmental landscape. “We have to make sure that we don’t just think about the science, but also rectify the past,” he says.

Growing up in a world beset by natural disasters and environmental degradation, Foster, 22, decided to take a stand when he was 16. He would often skip school to hold strikes in front of the White House, collaborating with climate-change icons Greta Thunberg and Jane Fonda to transform the public discourse. What started as a handful of students grew into a global movement. “We said our generation will take up the mantle. If politicians and our institutions aren’t going to do enough, we’ll get out in the streets,” he recalls.

Foster’s passion for climate activism propelled him to historic heights in March 2021, when he was appointed to President Joe Biden’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council—making him the youngest-ever White House adviser in history. In that role, he helped launch the American Climate Corps, a federal program intended to place young people in clean-energy and climate-resilience jobs.

He remains focused on an inclusive vision for the future. “In five or 10 years, I want young Black girls and boys to know they have the same chances as anyone else,” he says. He envisions a world where clean air and water are not privileges but rights. And he offers a reminder that rights are intertwined. “If you’re fighting for racial justice, you’re fighting for reproductive freedom, if you’re fighting for women’s rights, all those things are intersectional to climate change.”

Foster’s dedication to environmental justice extends to advising young activists like himself. He counsels them to embrace the slow, often frustrating process of change. “Even if we don’t see immediate results, something tomorrow will appear,” he says. “We’ll see a future where it’s like, ‘We did that.’”

Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com.