About
Change Narrative Builds capacity in the climate justice movement through the power of our stories.
Working with individuals, organizations, government and community groups to bring creative climate programming that balances the science with art, empathy, and emotion as critical translators in this time.
Change Narrative is committed to shifting dominant and damaging narratives in mainstream climate communications. Including the voices of everyday people and centering stories typically excluded from critical discussions and decision-making on climate change. Including Black, Indigenous, People of Color, low income, LGBTQIA, people with disabilities, and others that experience a disproportionate burden of the impacts.
Advisors
Assistant Professor Environmental Studies and Director of Sustainability
Macalester College
Jothsna Harris
Jothsna (she/her) is the founder of Change Narrative LLC and through the power of storytelling she partners with frontline activists, artists, movement builders, and community groups to co-produce the tools to reshape climate narratives and advocate for justice. Her efforts ensure that voices historically excluded from climate conversations are heard, valued, and feel a sense of agency to drive real solutions. With over a decade of experience, Jothsna has designed and implemented award-winning climate change programs rooted in community, centering personal stories and other values-based ways that resonate, coaching thousands of people to find compelling narratives to share at live events, on radio, and in print media. Jothsna led the creative process and co-edited the 2020 book, Eyewitness: Minnesota Voices on Climate Change, is the Producer of the 2022 MN Fringe Festival ‘Venue Pick’ show Changing the Narrative: Climate Stories for Justice, and the recipient of the 2023 Creative Climate Communications Award from the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership. Jothsna is named a 2023 Obama USA Leader, part of a cohort of 100 changemakers across the Nation working to strengthen democracy. Jothsna currently serves on The Great Northern Festival Board of Directors
Project-based Team
Natalie Rivas
Natalie (she/her) is a Miami-based bilingual strategist, facilitator, and policy advocate with over a decade of experience advancing climate resilience, public engagement, and equity across Florida and beyond. She has led impactful programs in the nonprofit, corporate, and public sectors, including building a national model policy hub that serves over 300+ advocacy groups and sitting on the Miami-Dade Climate and Heat Health Task Force. Natalie served as a global education and science ambassador for the U.S Peace Corps in Cameroon and continues to mentor young girls abroad. Her passion is bridging community-building, storytelling, and policy analysis, with a focus on amplifying voices often excluded from decision-making. In 2025, Natalie partnered with Change Narrative to support Rising Within: A Meditation for the Future, a one-episode podcast, and contributed to the program design and facilitation of a community-based workshop of the same name, which she piloted during the 2025 Florida Climate Week with support from the VoLo Foundation. She currently supports Change Narrative’s work as a project-based partner.
Leslee Gutiérrez Carillo
Leslee (she/they) is a Twin Cities-based environmental justice and climate mobility advocate working on ensuring forced climate displacement is given the attention and urgency it requires. Currently completing a Master’s in Environmental Law and Public Policy at UMA in the State of México through a hybrid program, while residing in Minneapolis. Proudly, the firstborn child of immigrant parents in a large Mexican family. They have shown up in the fight for liberation as a community organizer, strategist, caregiver, and facilitator. The vision they subscribe to of the future is an ambitious one that takes the collective power of the masses, which they believe is strengthened through storytelling. In 2022, they partnered with Change Narrative as a featured storyteller in the award winning MN Fringe Festival Show, Changing the Narrative: Climate Stories for Justice. Currently, Leslee is supporting Change Narrative’s work around Environmental Justice Cumulative Impacts Bill Implementation as a project-based partner.