Nial Andrew Parmanan

PhD student at CUNY School of Law

Intern at GOLES 

Why are you excited to be part of this fellowship?

I am a second-year law student at CUNY School of Law. I am in law school to become an advocate for my community in New York City, where I was born and raised. In anticipation of my career as a lawyer, I want to gain more experience working directly with my community. Climate change is an ubiquitous issue for every living organism on the planet whether it is openly acknowledged or not. I am eager to help climate justice advocates reach their goals as such goals are in the interest of the public good.

What climate justice issue is most important to you and why?

When I was 7, I watched a documentary on TV called Earth 2100, which showed a future where New York City was destroyed by floods brought on by climate change. That image haunted me then, and it still stays with me today. It sparked my awareness that climate change poses a serious problem to every facet of the planet, even my own home.Climate change poses an imminent and existential threat to every community; however, those on the margins of society are and will be the first to have their lives upended by such forces of nature. Rising water levels if left unchecked with leave maps outdated and leave communities such as my home of Manhattan completely submerged.