ORGANIZING

Confronting power. Building movements.

Current work

Jo leads and collaborates on campaigns spanning climate justice, racial equity, political organizing, and cultural change — each centering systemic transformation.

  • Co-founded in 2016, The Progressivists is a digital media platform speaking directly to more than a million followers who refuse to accept the status quo. The platform content rejects simplistic and reductive binaries that have led to stagnation and exceptionalism, and centers the dual work of building new systems while surviving within current ones — prioritizing creation of alternatives, not just critique of what exists. Jo's work with The Progressivists has included coordinating advocacy campaigns (detailed below), amplifying grassroots movements, and building digital infrastructure that connects progressive communities with the tools and information they need to organize and take action — turning passive audiences into active participants in the fight for systemic change.

  • As Communications Director for Climate Defiance, Jo leads messaging strategy for a direct action climate organization that confronts the politicians and CEOs destroying our planet. Climate Defiance disrupts fossil fuel industry events, confronts corrupt politicians in the spaces where they think they’re safe, and refuses to let climate criminals operate without accountability. The work centers the principle that asking nicely hasn’t worked — real change requires making the powerful uncomfortable, disrupting their business as usual, and building a movement that can’t be ignored.

  • Jo is currently developing FictionToAction — working with beta testers, with plans to launch in early 2026 — a relational organizing framework that transforms everyday spaces like book clubs, watch parties, and living rooms into practical training grounds for community organizing. The project meets people where they are, helping them find authentic ways to contribute to transformative change without requiring overnight radicalization. FictionToAction uses the power of trusted relationships and existing social spaces to build organizing capacity, turning story discussions into strategy sessions and casual gatherings into movement infrastructure.

Previous campaigns

  • Each year, more than 20 million people are forced to leave their homeland due to climate change. Jo developed and led this advocacy campaign for climate refugee protections, working with The Progressivists’ audience and coalition partners to pressure elected officials on compassionate climate migration policy.

  • The Progressivists supported Peter Welch’s successful 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, organizing a rally in Vermont with Senators Bernie Sanders and U.S. Representative Becca Balint. Jo helped lead the grassroots mobilization, connecting progressive communities with the campaign and amplifying Welch's platform on climate and economic justice across digital channels.

  • Countries in the Global North produce the majority of emissions, while countries in the Global South suffer disproportionately from climate impacts. Working with The Progressivists’ audience and coalition partners, Jo developed and led lobbying efforts demanding elected officials commit to immediate planning and implementation of an equitable and just transition to renewable energy, centering the principle that those who caused the crisis must lead — and fund — the solution.

  • In early 2020, Jo created and led this campaign advocating for mandatory comprehensive history curriculum that centers Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities in educational institutions. The work recognized that achieving racial justice requires honest reckoning with white supremacy and systemic racism, and that future generations deserve accurate historical education reflecting the full breadth of human experiences and contributions that have been systematically excluded.

  • As part of The R Collective and Levi's® ‘Denim Reimagined’ project, Jo helped educate consumers on sustainable fashion care through a digital campaign accessible via scannable garment labels. Her contribution focused on connecting fashion consumption with climate impact and providing practical guidance on reducing environmental footprint through the global #wearandcare initiative, reaching audiences across Asia Pacific and globally.

  • Black American women die from preventable pregnancy-related complications at 3-4 times the rate of white women. British Black and Pakistani people are more than 2.5 times more likely to die of COVID-19 in English hospitals than white people. The life expectancy of Indigenous Australian males is 8.6 years lower than non-Indigenous males and 7.8 years lower for females. Jo created and led this advocacy campaign with The Progressivists’ audience exposing systemic medical racism, organizing grassroots pressure on healthcare institutions and policymakers to address these stark disparities and implement equitable healthcare policies.

  • One million single-use plastic bottles are sold around the world every minute. Jo worked on #HydrateLike, a collaboration between Sierra Club and Lonely Whale championing sustainable hydration alternatives. Specifically, she coordinated ‘24 Hours For Change’, a round-the-clock global amplification campaign during the initiative's final 24 hours, organizing content and messaging across time zones to maximize reach and impact of the call to end reliance on single-use plastics.

  • The over-policing of Black, Indigenous, and women of color directly contributes to their disproportionately higher rates of charging and imprisonment for minor offenses compared to white women. Jo created and led this advocacy campaign demanding elected officials address the systemic racism driving mass incarceration of women and mothers from marginalized communities, organizing grassroots pressure for criminal justice reform that centers racial equity and family preservation.