Like quite a few Australians, Danny Kennedy first tasted environmental activism during protests against Tasmania's proposed Franklin Dam. Protesters there would have noticed something a little unusual about Danny, though: he was only 12-years-old. It was the start of Danny's lifelong drive for social and environmental change.
Danny quickly plugged into the world of international youth activism, to become a youth delegate at the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances in 1990, among other achievements. His university studies led to on-the-ground investigations into oil industry activity in Papua New Guinea. Danny then continued his PNG activism as an employee of Greenpeace, before moving to the USA to found and direct Project Underground, a group which supports communities resisting mining, oil and gas extraction. Next, Danny set up Greenpeace USA's climate campaign in California, which pushed successfully for solar power and other clean energy solutions.
Aside from a very full and active life as an environmentalist, Danny is a widely published author, and was formerly a Triple J correspondent. Danny has served on the Boards of Aid/Watch, the Mineral Policy Institute, the Australian Conservation Foundation and Climate Action Network Australia, as well as the U'wa Defense Project and Pacific Environment in the United States.