We’re excited to welcome our new CEO Angela Huston Gold, as our founder Katie transitions to Executive Director. In her first blog, Angela shares why she joined The Resilience Project, her vision for supporting young changemakers to stay in the movement without burning out, and how she plans to protect what makes our work powerful while helping it reach even further.
Having been in activism and changemaking spaces on and off since my school days, I know the weight of deep ‘world grief’ and how vital it is to rest and reconnect to build collective strength for the long haul.
Despite persistent injustice and setbacks, I hold tight to the vision of a future where people and planet can thrive. And I know that when we come together, we have the potential to achieve huge things in pursuit of climate justice – and young people are at the heart of this change.
When I first heard about The Resilience Project and the organisation’s mission to empower young changemakers to activate resilience and find community, I knew I wanted to be involved. We need to help more young people stay in changemaking work without burning out, while growing the movement in depth, diversity, and breadth. I’m so excited to be stepping into this role, especially knowing the big shoes I’m filling as our incredible founder, Katie, transitions from CEO to Executive Director.
Our Story So Far
A by-youth and for-youth organisation, The Resilience Project was set up by Katie when she was just 24 after experiencing burnout as a young climate activist. She recognised how important it was that her peers had a space to decompress, reflect, and connect with others – and so The Resilience Project was born.
Over the last five years, Katie has led the organisation from its beginnings in Bristol to reaching over 50,000 young people across the globe – giving them the tools they need to activate resilience within themselves and support their peers to do the same. Now, as the organisation reaches new heights, Katie made the strategic decision to bring in new leadership to ensure we keep growing and reaching more climate and social justice minded young people in need of care, community and resources.
But while the shape of our core team is changing, we remain deeply committed to our founding mission and to protecting the role of young people as both the heart and brain of our movement. Working closely with our International Board of Youth, a priority for my first year in position is to future-proof our youth led governance model and anchor our community of young people’s voices in our decisions at every level. We are scaling and adapting our programmes to be more intersectional and aligned to today’s needs, and trying new ways to provide organisational support to help youth drive the change they want to see.
As I step into this role, my goal isn’t to change what makes The Resilience Project so powerful, it’s to protect it, nurture it, and help it reach even further. Together with Katie, our Board of Youth, and our incredible team, I want to make sure more young changemakers have the resilience they need to stay in this movement for the long haul.
The Resilience Project redefines activism by creating rare and courageous spaces for care, community, and solidarity. Joining feels like coming home, and I’m honoured to carry Katie’s bold vision forward into this next chapter.
To learn more about Angela’s background, check out her profile on our Meet the Team page. You can also learn more about our youth leadership by visiting our Board of Youth and East Africa Steering Committee pages.
