Generations of Change: An End-of-Year Reflection with Youth Plaintiff Jeff and His Mom, Laura
November 19, 2025
Jeff (left), little brother Nate (right), and mom, Laura (back). Photo by Eillin Delapaz-Aceves.
When Jeff first became a plaintiff in Held v. Montana, he was six years old. His mother, Laura, remembers telling Jeff and his little brother Nate, also a plaintiff, about the case during bathtime. Now, at nearly twelve, after the groundbreaking win of Held v. Montana, Jeff is again stepping into the national spotlight as one of the youth plaintiffs in Lighthiser v. Trump, a case that could shape the future of climate policy for generations.
For Jeff and Laura, their love of the planet is rooted in the places they love. In Montana, Jeff remembers exploring Strawberry Butte, “in the middle of nowhere,” where he’d find wild raspberries on the trail. Now, living in California, the family explores Mount Baldy. “It’s a different landscape,” Laura says, “but it’s the same feeling: being in nature, connected to the world in a way you can’t be when you’re sitting at Starbucks.”
Those moments—picking wild raspberries, playing in the river, and going on off-trail adventures — are what they’re fighting for. As they take their passion for nature from the outdoors to the courtroom, their family journey embodies something powerful: democracy in action.
Growing Up as Plaintiffs
“It’s been a great learning experience for all of us,” Laura reflects. “Watching them go from not really having any idea about any of the intricacies of the case, to now being quite versed in it, has been really a proud moment for me.”
For Jeff, that growth has been just as transformative. “When I was six, I had no idea what I was doing whatsoever,” he laughs. “But as the case has gone on, I’ve learned why it’s important, and a lot more about the environment through the experts between the two cases I've been in."
That learning became empowerment. Moments before the start of the Lighthiser trial in September, Jeff and the other youth plaintiffs gathered for a Trauma-Informed Care circle: a space to ground themselves and share openly about the journey ahead. Jeff says, “when we were sitting in that conference room in the hotel in the circle, that was really nice and we shared our feelings about the case and why we were doing it, and I felt powerful.”
Nate, Jeff and their attorneys, heading to court in Helena, Montana for the first-ever youth-led climate trial. Photo by Robin Loznak.
The Power of Intergenerational Partnership
Laura loves watching youth and adults come together across generations. “Everyone brings something unique. Adults bring experience and education, and kids bring passion and their sense of rightness.”
As an environmental lawyer, Laura has always worked for environmental justice, but she admits her sons have taught her something new about hope. "I thought...maybe it’s too ambitious, maybe it’s too big. But of course, [the kids] just knew, ‘this is what I love, this is what I want to protect, and this is what’s right.’ Their innocence led the way.”
Jeff spoke on that intergenerational partnership after the Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Held v. Montana. “It definitely felt powerful, getting to share me and my brother’s story with someone who could make a difference for us.”
Intergenerational partnership often outlives us as individuals. Laura and Jeff shared they recently chatted in the car about his great-grandparents immigrating to the United States, and how that shaped the lives of generations after them. Laura says it’s the choices we make now that will affect future generations. “It’s actually quite powerful when you think about it, and about that intergenerational alliance that we have; not just with the people who are in the world we live in, but who will come after us.”
Jeff and Nate speaking at a press conference after court proceedings at the Montana Supreme Court. Photo by Robin Loznak.
Changing the World
When asked what advice they’d give other families, Jeff doesn’t hesitate:
“You can make a difference if you want to. Whether you think you can or you can’t, you should try, and you should keep believing in what you believe.”
Laura adds:
“You don’t have to know everything about politics or government to stand up for what you love. Just speaking up creates power and alliances that change the world.”
Together, they see their family’s story as part of something much larger: a thread in an ongoing intergenerational tapestry of democracy and change.
Jeff walking to court for the first hearing in Lighthiser v. Trump in Missoula, Montana. Photo by Eillin Delapaz-Aceves.