Abby Reyes is a writer, systems thinker, and long-time advocate for climate justice, human and environmental rights, and community-led change. As Director of Community Resilience at UC Irvine, Abby leads cross-sector teams focused on building equity-centered climate solutions. Her work brings together scholars, organizers, and public institutions to support frontline communities in shaping just transitions rooted in community power. Abby’s new book, Truth Demands: A Memoir of Murder, Oil Wars, and the Rise of Climate Justice(North Atlantic Books, May 2025), traces the personal and political aftermath of the 1999 murders of three land rights advocates—her partner among them—on Indigenous U’wa territory in Colombia. It’s a story about grief, resistance, and what it takes to keep showing up for justice when the answers aren’t clear.

Abby’s career has bridged legal practice, policy advocacy, and higher education. She’s worked in rural legal assistance in the Philippines, walked alongside Indigenous movements in Latin America, clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and co-chaired the board of EarthRights International. She holds degrees from Stanford and UC Berkeley Law, and is a proud advisor to the National Association of Climate Resilience Planners. Abby believes that the solutions we need for climate and democracy already live in community—and that part of our job is to build the human infrastructure to help those solutions thrive.

In this episode host Beth Bannerman welcomes Abby to The Planeteers Podcast where she explores the vital intersection of personal growth and social and environmental change. The Director of Community Resilience at UC Irvine and author shares how her journey—from legal aid in the Philippines to Indigenous land rights campaigns in Colombia—has shaped her commitment to community-led solutions and the practices that sustain her today.

Key Moments:

• Abby’s transformative path into climate justice and the lessons from her memoir’s powerful narrative
• How integrating inner practices like gratitude and presence fuels resilience in activism
• The essential roles that imagination and "staying" play in our quest for a better future for our planet
• How to connect to the earth, to ourselves and to others and why frontline communities hold the answers to equitable climate solutions

Abby closes with practical guidance on finding your people and sustaining joy in the fight for environmental justice.

Tune in on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or watch the full conversation on YouTube to discover how inner work and collective action can drive real, lasting change.

Cristina “Mitty” Mittermeier is one of the world’s most influential conservation photographers and storytellers — a marine biologist by training, a winner of many prestigious awards including National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Smithsonian Conservation Photographer of the Year, and the Sylvia Earle Medal. She is the founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers and the co-founder of the non-profit SeaLegacy, with her husband, also an award winning conservation photographer, Paul Nicklen.

Cristina is a collaborator with Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative, Sony Artisan and was recently featured in Win or Die, an Emmy-nominated episode of Photographer, directed by Oscar award winners and now available on Disney+. She has worked with over 200 NGOs to help pass historic protections for marine wildlife and continues to support Indigenous-led movements against unsustainable development projects like industrial fishing and oil drilling, through her powerful portraiture. She is also the author of a new book called HOPE, which captures the beauty and the fragility of our word’s biodiversity and the wisdom of those who honor and respect its ancient balance.

Through her lens, Cristina captures not only the beauty of our planet’s wildest places, but the profound connections between people, nature, and survival. Her images move hearts. Her activism moves action.

She’s spent her life traveling to the frontlines of conservation — from rainforests to coral reefs to the ice edges of the Arctic — building a visual legacy that calls us to imagine, and fight for, a thriving future. In this episode, we’ll explore Cristina’s journey — the moments of hope, heartbreak, and resilience behind the camera — and what it means to live a life of purpose in service to something bigger than ourselves.

There are a few people whose ideas ripple across generations— Dr. Hunter Lovins is one of them.

For over four decades, Hunter has redefined how we think about business, economics, and the environment—not as separate forces, but as one interconnected system. She is the Founder and President of Natural Capitalism Solutions, a nonprofit focused on practical, market-based solutions to sustainability challenges.

Hunter has advised governments, Fortune 500 companies, and global institutions, including the Pentagon, EPA, Unilever, the UN, and the King of Bhutan. A prolific author, she has co-written 15 books, including the seminal Natural Capitalism, translated into more than 30 languages and featured in Harvard Business Review. Its follow-up, Climate Capitalism, won the Atlas Award.

She has taught at universities worldwide and currently serves as a professor at Bard’s MBA in Sustainability. A founding mentor of the Unreasonable Institute, she continues to coach social entrepreneurs and impact-driven leaders.

Hunter serves on the Executive Committee of the Club of Rome, and advisory boards for the Capital Institute and other global changemakers. Her work spans from sustainable agriculture and energy to climate policy and economic reform. Recognized with dozens of awards, including the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel), the Rachel Carson Award, and being named a Millennium Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine, Hunter Lovins remains a driving force in the movement for a just and regenerative future.

In our premiere episode, host Beth Bannerman is joined by Iron Butterfly Media co-founders Megan Jaffer and Cadie Hopkins, along with Sarah Scully, host of The Women in the Arena podcast. Together, they delve into Beth’s journey into climate storytelling and the inspiration behind launching The Planeteers Podcast—a show dedicated to celebrating women leading the way in conservation, sustainability, climate policy, and environmental innovation.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How storytelling can drive real climate action

Why women’s leadership matters in sustainability and security

The link between nature, economy, and community resilience

Honest reflections on starting a podcast for purpose-driven change Join us as we explore the power of narrative in fostering understanding and community, and the joys and challenges of podcasting in the environmental space.

Niquole Esters is a trailblazer in environmental conservation who is reimagining our connection to nature. With a deep passion for the oceans and an unwavering commitment to equity and sustainability, Niquole works at the intersection of natural resource management, community empowerment, and economic development. Her extensive background in international relations and policy has fueled nearly two decades of transformative work across Asia Pacific, Africa, and Latin America with Conservation International.

As Director of the Coral Triangle Initiative, she led programs that united nations to protect one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity hotspots, advancing sustainable practices across coral reefs, fisheries, and food security. Transitioning into senior roles in major gifts and inclusive philanthropy, Niquole championed diversity by co-developing Afro-descendant programming and advising on equitable and inclusive strategies from executive leadership to field initiatives. Now, as Vice President of Strategic Engagement at the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, she expands global impact through strategic communications, partnerships, and thoughtful engagement. Off the clock, Niquole mentors and uplifts young Black, Brown, and Indigenous voices while advocating for LGBTQIA+ and marginalized communities. Educated at Washington and Lee and King’s College London, Niquole calls Oakland home – a hub where her vision for an inclusive, sustainable world remarkably inspires us all.

Dr. Sabrina McCormick brings over twenty years of deep expertise spanning social science, filmmaking, and entrepreneurship. As founding CEO of Resilience Creative, she spearheads the creation of powerful climate content designed to engage broad audiences, leveraging both her research background and her filmmaking acumen.

Her academic credentials include more than 55 peer-reviewed articles and two books published in Science, Nature Climate Change, and similar journals. Sabrina’s work has shaped early understanding of climate litigation, the health risks of extreme heat, energy democracy in the Brazilian Amazon, and the social dynamics needed to mobilize climate action. She co-led the largest audience-impact study on climate media to date and served as a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special assessment of extreme events.

Supported by grants from many organizations including the National Science Foundation, CDC, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, her research contributions extend to service on the National Academies’ Climate Communication Initiative. During the Obama administration, she was an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the EPA and Council on Environmental Quality, later advising on the White House Special Report on Climate Change and Health. She has reviewed and guided programming for major philanthropic organizations worldwide.

In television and film, Sabrina was a producer on the Emmy-winning series Years of Living Dangerously, crafting episodes starring Matt Damon and Michael C. Hall. She produced and co-directed Sequestrada, a scripted feature set in the Amazon with Tim Blake Nelson, Gretchen Mol, and Indigenous actors. Her latest short, Burnout, is making rounds at international festivals. An entrepreneur at heart, she founded PandemicProof