Oral history interview with Courtney E. Hight, 2021
Abstract
Courtney Hight discusses her work on the Obama 2008 presidential campaign, for which she worked as a field organizer, regional field director, and Florida youth vote director; in the Obama administration, in which she served as special assistant to associate director of land and water ecosystems in the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) from 2009 to 2010; and as an environmental org anizer and activist during the years of the Obama administration, including as the executive director of the Energy Action Coalition from 2010 to 2011 and, since 2011, at the Sierra Club, in roles including deputy national political director and director of the democracy program. Hight describes her journey to becoming an activist and organizer; remembers notable events and efforts from the 2008 campaign in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida; and recounts the process by which she secured a position in the administration. She outlines the responsibilities of her position at CEQ, her impressions of the government's engagement with energy companies during the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the significance of her education in the actual operations of government agencies and departments to her later activism. Reflecting on her transition out of the administration and her return to activism, Hight focuses on her efforts to organize young people and enter into coalitions with aligned organizations to pressure the Obama administration to increase and accelerate its climate action, and push President Obama to adopt new language when speaking publicly about fossil fuels. Hight details her engagement with administration officials, a notable meeting in the White House which President Obama attended, and the methods and actions of the Power Shift Network coalition. Also discussed are opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline extension; the increased prominence of environmental justice concerns in environmental activism and Hight's collaborations with environmental justice and indigenous organizations; and the connection between progress on environmental policy priorities and the strengthening of basic institutions for democratic participation, including voting
Presidents--United States; Presidential campaigns--United States; BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010; Environmental justice--United States; Environmental policy--United States; Climatic changes--Government policy--United States; Hight, Courtney; Obama, Barack; Council on Environmental Quality (U.S.); Sierra Club
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
47 pages
Note (Biographical)
Courtney Hight is an organizer and activist. Hight worked on President Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in a number of roles, culminating as the Florida youth vote director. From 2009 to 2010, Hight joined the White House Council on Environmental Qu ality, working as special assistant to the associate director of land and water ecosystems. In 2010, she left the administration to work as the executive director of the Energy Action Coalition. At the time of the interview, Hight is director of the democracy program at the Sierra Club
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on October 20, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Courtney E. Hight, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023