Varshini Prakash

Varshini Prakash (born 1992/1993) is an American climate activist. She co-founded the Sunrise Movement in 2017, serving as its executive director until 2023. She was named on the 2019 Time 100 Next list, and was a co-recipient of the Sierra Club John Muir Award in 2019.

Early life and education Prakash was born to and raised in Massachusetts by parents from Southern India; her father was from Tamil Nadu. She first became aware of climate change when she was 11 while watching news coverage of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which impacted Chennai, where her grandparents lived. Growing up, she wanted to become a doctor.

Career In 2017, Prakash launched the Sunrise Movement, an American youth-led political movement and 501(c)(4) that advocates political action on climate change, with seven other co-founders. Those other founders include Sara Blazevic, Victoria Fernandez, Guido Girgenti, and William Lawrence

In 2018, she became the Sunrise Movement's executive director after the group organized a protest occupying U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office asking that a congressional task force be established to address climate change. In 2020, the organization endorsed U.S. senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary for the presidency. She is also an advisory board member of Climate Power 2020, a group that includes Democrats and activists advocating for increasing the interest American voters take in climate action. She also is a contributor to The New Possible: Visions of Our World Beyond Crisis. Prakash appeared in Rachel Lears' 2022 documentary film, To the End, which focuses on the effects of climate change. The film debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and was presented at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2022.

In September 2023, Prakash stepped down as Sunrise executive director, succeeded by Sunrise activist Aru Shiney-Ajay.

Recognition Prakash was named on the 2019 Time 100 Next list of emerging global leaders. She received Dickinson College's Rose-Walters Prize for Environmental Activism with a college residency in the 2021–2022 academic year.