Ariza Nanji

Planet Forward Correspondent | University of Michigan

Major / Minor: Environmental Justice

Graduation Year: 2027

Much of my childhood was spent in my parents’ smoke shop in Kansas City, which became an unexpected classroom. Surrounded by customers from different backgrounds, I watched people build trust by sharing experiences that challenged assumptions and stereotypes.

Those conversations sparked my interest in understanding how stories can create connection and build solidarity. At Swarthmore College, where I studied Peace and Conflict Studies and Economics, I kept returning to one question: How do we move from imagining a more just future to actually building it?

Over time, I found my answer not only in academic theory, but in the work of organizers and activists who taught me that lasting change begins with relationships. Stories are often what transform those relationships into collective action. That lesson became especially clear through my work with the Good Energy Collaborative in Philadelphia and Chester, where I worked alongside environmental justice leaders and residents in communities facing pollution, health inequities, and economic disinvestment.

Now, as I pursue my MS in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, I realize more than ever that the climate crisis requires not only technical solutions, but spaces for healing, connection, and collective imagination. O., a healing justice coordinator with Philly Thrive, often reminded us that “nothing can be functional unless it’s also fun.”

That idea shaped how I approach organizing. We need intentionally created opportunities for joy, connection, and storytelling alongside advocacy and direct action. My experiences have showed me that storytelling is essential to movement building. Stories help us see ourselves within larger struggles, recognize our interdependence with one another and the earth, and begin to heal generations of trauma.

As I continue working toward environmental justice, I hope to tell stories that inspire belonging, amplify voices too often left out, and create space for collective freedom dreaming.