BENJAMIN ‘BENJI’ BACKER
Benji Backer is the founder and president of the American Conservation Coalition, the largest conservative environmental organization. Before he founded ACC at the University of Washington, Backer began his career in conservative politics well before he could vote —volunteering for campaigns in his home state of Wisconsin. He has represented a right-of-center environmental viewpoint nationally, including testifying among youth climate activists like Greta Thunberg in Congress. He has been named to the Fortune40Under40, Forbes 30Under30, GreenBiz 30Under30, and Grist 50. ABC News called him one of “5 youth climate activists you need to know.” A frequent contributor to multiple national media outlets, Backer is a board member for BridgeUSA, the Wisconsin Conservative Energy Forum, and the Mainstream Republicans of Washington. He also serves on the American Academy of Arts & Sciences' Climate Change Commission. In his free time, Benji enjoys anything related to the beautiful outdoors and/or Wisconsin's sports teams.