Dineen O’Rourke
East Quogue, NY
Encouraging non-violent, direct action
Dineen works with SustainUs, a youth-led organization that has been advancing the participation of young people at major United Nations conferences for 20 years. This year, she is leading a youth delegation to participate in the upcoming United Nations climate change negotiations in Bonn, Germany (COP23), and has trained a team of 14 youth from across the United States to participate in the conference. Last year, she was a delegate and team coordinator at COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco. Her work with youth is centered around storytelling, direct actions, and partnerships with other international youth and climate delegations.
In addition to her international organizing, O’Rourke is active in her local and regional fossil fuel resistance movements. She has mobilized opposition to two fracking projects in New England, and participated in protests against the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline. She is also the co-founder of the Sugar Shack Alliance, a nonviolent direct action organization that has trained hundreds of activists in western Massachusetts to disrupt the fossil fuel industry.