By Jordan Howes, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy 

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is mourning the loss of Rafe Pomerance, a longtime member, colleague and friend whose life’s work helped shape the modern climate movement and whose presence deeply influenced both our organization and my own path into environmental advocacy. 

West Virginia Highlands Conservancy’s communications coordinator Jordan Howes reflects on Rafe not only as a nationally significant climate leader, but as a mentor and steady presence during her early years in this field. 

When I came into environmental advocacy in 2024, I did not yet have a deep background in the work or an established network in the movement. I was still learning how these systems functioned and where I could fit into them. Rafe was one of the first people who made that space feel accessible. 

I first encountered his name after joining the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, when I began learning more about the people and history shaping climate and conservation work. At the time, I did not yet connect his name to the full scope of his decades-long influence on climate policy. That understanding came later, as I worked more directly alongside him. 

I first met him through Go North Alliance calls, where I quickly realized I was speaking with someone whose experience had helped shape major chapters of climate policy. Despite that history, he carried himself with humility and an openness that made it easy to engage with him directly. He never made the work feel out of reach or intimidating. 

Over the past several years, Rafe served as a steady presence in the Go North Alliance, the coalition working toward securing a northern alternative for Corridor H from Parsons to Davis. In those meetings, he was often the de facto facilitator—helping guide conversations, offering historical context and consistently pushing discussions toward constructive next steps. Working alongside him in that capacity was both grounding and instructive. 

It was during that time that I suggested him as a speaker for the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy’s 2025 Fall Review, where he delivered a presentation titled “The Launch of the Climate Movement and Where We Go From Here.” Hearing him speak in person made clear just how much experience, perspective and history he carried into every room he entered. 

Rafe’s environmental career began in 1972 with work on urban environmental issues. In 1973, he launched the National Clean Air Coalition and served as its coordinator for five years, helping build early momentum for stronger air pollution protections. By 1975, he joined Friends of the Earth to advocate for clean air reforms and later served as its president into the early 1980s. In the late 1980s, he became a key figure in international climate policy, including early efforts to establish global emissions reduction targets that helped shape the trajectory of climate action worldwide. He later served in the Clinton administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment and Development, contributing to U.S. climate policy and international negotiations that would inform the Kyoto Protocol. In more recent years, he continued his work as a Distinguished Senior Arctic Policy Fellow at the Woodwell Climate Research Center. 

At every stage of that long career, what stood out to me most in our conversations was not only his knowledge, but his humility. He made space for questions. He made space for learning. And he treated the work not as something finished, but as something that still required people willing to stay engaged. 

One of his most enduring messages came at the close of his Fall Review presentation, when he quoted Joe Hill: “Don’t mourn. Organize.” It is a line that carries so much volume and it feels even more meaningful now. 

Olivia Miller, interim executive director of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, shared her own reflection on Rafe’s passing: “I’m incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with Rafe and be able to call him one of my greatest teachers and friends. His ambition was boundless, and to him, there was no challenge too big to overcome. Rafe stood ten toes down for the cause in every way, and I learned so much from his wisdom, wit, and courage. We all owe a huge thanks to Rafe for his life of advocacy to protect all living beings. You are deeply missed, my friend.” 

I also share my own gratitude in this moment. I first worked at the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy beginning in 2024, and Rafe was already part of the broader work I was stepping into through Go North Alliance conversations and organizational partnerships. As I learned more about his history and contributions, it became clear just how foundational his role had been in shaping the climate movement long before I encountered him. 

That understanding only deepened as I worked alongside him. Rafe was not only a figure in the history of the movement, but a generous presence within it. He was someone willing to engage, to explain and to encourage those of us still learning how to contribute meaningfully. 

I am deeply grateful to have known him, to have learned from him and to have worked alongside him. His guidance helped shape my understanding of what long-term environmental advocacy requires, especially here in West Virginia. 

He will be deeply missed, and his words, example and commitment will continue to guide the work we carry forward.