Congratulations to Josie Thompson, the winner of the 2023 MAGI / Wildwood Lions Environmental Leadership Award. Josie perfectly exemplifies the qualities of commitment, innovation, and leadership in addressing environmental issues.

All four years of high school she has been a leader in the school’s Human Rights Club, drawing attention to how a changing climate affects human rights around the world and how to take action.

Junior year she took her passion for this issue off campus to attend the Alzar School, a semester school focused on outdoor education and environmental leadership. In addition to studying with a small group of other students on the Idaho campus, the students spent six weeks in Patagonia for a global perspective.

Senior year, Josie founded an initiative called “Students for Change” to encourage Mahtomedi High School students to form their own educated opinions on controversial topics and engage in difficult conversations. One of the three sessions focused on environmental sustainability and how to take action. For the third session she was able to bring Congresswoman Betty McCollum to campus to speak about her experiences as an elected official respectfully discussing controversial topics with constituents and political colleagues around the risks  of sulfide-ore copper mining near the BWCAW.

After graduation, Josie plans on studying Environmental Policy at Puget Sound University, aiming for a career in Environmental Law.