Meet Mia: Environment Washington’s New Advocate

Hello everyone! My name is Mia Altieri, and I am the new Environment Washington Advocate. I wanted to share a bit about myself, and what we can achieve together.

I grew up in the urban San Francisco Bay Area, but I spent most of my childhood summers in rural Virginia. Deep in the Appalachian mountains, I fell in love with the tall tulip poplar trees, and the dense green rhododendron. As I grew older and began to understand the impacts of climate change, I wanted to make a difference but assumed that climate action was only effective on a massive scale. What could I do, as just one person? It wasn’t until graduate school that I started to see just how impactful climate action could be at the state and local levels.

In 2023, I attended the UNFCCC’s 28th Conference of Parties (COP28), an international meeting to address climate change and develop strategies for global adaptation and resilience. Being a delegate at this forum was inspiring. But I was also frustrated with the slow-moving nature of the Conference. I wanted tangible results. And the reality is that tangible results happen most often at the state level.

States have been powerful leaders in setting standards and precedents that are later mirrored at the federal level, especially when it comes to the environment. That’s why I have decided to work on environmental issues at the state level, in Washington, where our progress will have great impacts.

Washington State is a unique place of natural beauty and environmental people-power. With places like the lush Hoh rain forest, the rocky cliffs of Mount Index, and the basalt pillars of Frenchman Coulee, it’s no wonder that our state has a proud history of conservation action. We live in a beautiful place because we are steadfast in protecting our beautiful places. I’m excited to build on that legacy of action and advocacy with Environment Washington.

I am working with Environment Washington because I believe that constant pressure builds constant progress. While Washington has been a leader in environmental progress, from our ambitious clean energy commitments to our forward-thinking proposals on reducing plastic packaging, we still have a long way to go.

I will be working on several campaigns to protect, preserve, and defend the Evergreen State’s natural spaces. One of my primary campaigns will be our Beyond Plastic work. I will be working to reduce Washington’s use of single-use plastic, so that we can leave our state, and planet, a better place than we found it. I will also be working to ensure that producers are held responsible for their products, and that our state can properly reuse and recycle materials. In addition to our Beyond Plastic campaign, I’ll be prioritizing efforts to conserve our state’s natural beauty and the wildlife that call it home, like our treasured Southern Resident Orcas.

I’m looking forward to working with Washingtonians and building on Environment Washington’s legacy of achieving real, tangible results for our environment.