The Rural We: Paige Ruane

Psychotherapist, art therapist, documentary film and media producer…these are all occupations in Paige Ruane’s career path that have led to her current role as cofounder and codirector of Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley (PCA). She grew up in New York City and moved to the Hudson Valley in 2015. Prior to her move she worked on independent short and long-form films and was associate producer for the documentary feature film “God Loves Uganda,” which premiered at Sundance in 2013. More recently, she has hosted a radio show (Oxide Radio) out of Radio Woodstock.

The radio show was the beginning of digging into how money is foundational to how we treat the planet and each other. I became more interested in how to stave off the effects of climate change, repair natural systems, and reduce emissions. I teamed up with a couple of colleagues and started Partners for Climate Action. Its mission is to cultivate and support local ecological leadership and action. In 2019 we did a landscape analysis to get a better understanding what was out there in the Hudson Valley dedicated to climate change, then started a planning process to begin the organization to fill in the gaps we’d identified. We want to help Hudson Valley communities focus on climate change at the local level, giving them the tools to adapt and mitigate it.

We have several different programs, and one of them is Local Champions, which completed a successful pilot in 2021 with six alumni Local Champions. We have now opened applications for our second cycle. The program is open to cities, towns and villages within Dutchess Columbia, Greene and Ulster counties. We work with towns that have taken a pledge to become Climate Smart Communities in New York's Climate Smart Communities program. Our Local Champions program offers training and technical assistance to volunteers designated by their municipality as their Climate Smart Communities Task Force Coordinator, jumpstarting the town's ability to address climate change.

We know it can be complicated for people to understand New York's Climate Smart Communities Program, and it’s a lot of work. Our organization provides funding, training and peer support, and fellowships for applicants if money is a barrier to their participation. We have someone who will coach members on grant writing and management, and we’ll have meetings via Zoom and in person.

Partners for Climate Action is a funding initiative of The New World Foundation; we also do our own fundraising. For anyone who’s interested in becoming a Local Champion, we will be having a free information session online on Tuesday, March 29 at 7 p.m.