Delaney Reynolds is Trailblazing a Path to Change
History is shaped by choices. These choices are often born from responding to the world’s needs or recognizing the possibility of a better future. Women’s history has often required an additional choice: not just to step forward, but to step out of the status quo and the box generations of women have been put in that requires them to remain passive and take a backseat to other leaders.
Ruin to Resilience: How Destruction Led to Action for this 3-Time Plaintiff
Delaney Reynolds has watched the places she loves disappear before her eyes. She has seen her home damaged from hurricanes, felt the surrounding waters of the Florida Keys warm to unprecedented levels, watched the coral reefs near her home bleach and die, and has witnessed the sea level rise consume some of the places she loves most. It was this destruction that compelled her to join Lighthiser v. Trump, a historic youth-led federal climate change case, as a plaintiff.
The Power of an Intergenerational Movement in the Fight for a Safe, Livable Climate
Earth Month is a time to honor our planet and the people fighting to protect it across generations. At Our Children’s Trust, this intergenerational movement grows from the power of youth-led climate litigation, where young plaintiffs work with each other, a team of attorneys, and climate, energy, and medical experts to defend their rights to a safe climate.
In this special Earth Month Q&A, we sat down with Delaney Reynolds, the lead youth plaintiff in Reynolds v. Florida Public Service Commission, who shares how her years-long collaboration with Our Children’s Trust attorney, Andrea Rodgers, has shaped her path in climate advocacy, inspired her academic and career goals, and demonstrated the powerful impact of working with people of all ages.
Florida’s Youth Take Legal Action to End State’s Fossil Fuel Dependence
The majority of Delaney Reynolds’ life has centered around activism and changing the world for the better. A multi-hyphenate advocate, author, educator, lawyer, and soon-to-be Ph.D. holder, Delaney has spent years working tirelessly to raise awareness of the severe threat climate change poses to her beloved home of Miami and to push her government to act with the urgency the climate crisis demands. At 14, she founded the Sink or Swim Project. At 16, she helped write a solar energy ordinance for the city of South Miami, which ultimately passed.