doi:10.7916/kb1e-md12Oral history interview with Courtney E. Hight, 2021Hight, Courtneyoral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesPresidential campaigns--United StatesBP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010Environmental justice--United StatesEnvironmental policy--United StatesClimatic changes--Government policy--United StatesHight, CourtneyObama, BarackCouncil on Environmental Quality (U.S.)Sierra ClubCourtney 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 organizer 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