POW’s New COO Ryan Laemel on Joining POW: “It’s The Missing Link in the Climate Conversation

Photo by Donny O’Neill

This year POW had a lot of big wins, including welcoming Ryan Laemel as the new Chief Operating Officer. Ryan is a climate and energy leader who brings his expertise in decarbonization and climate tech to the team. We sat down with Ryan at his home in Basalt, Colorado, to learn more about why he wanted to work for POW, what he sees as the organization’s unique strengths and his goals for 2025. If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll join us in this important work. 

You’ve spent your career doing important work in the climate space, most recently at RMI and Third Derivative. What compelled you to join Protect Our Winters?

Ryan: The first reason is a personal connection to the outdoors. Whether it’s skiing or climbing, my two favorite activities, I think a shared love of the outdoors connects us to something bigger. POW’s mission to inspire, unite, and activate people to protect the places we love is a big reason why I joined. The outdoor recreation economy is huge—there are 175 million people who engage in outdoor activities—and there’s huge potential to activate that constituency, the Outdoor State, for climate action. 

We already have most of the solutions that we need to solve the climate crisis—most of the emissions reductions required by 2030 can be achieved cost-effectively using technologies available today—but we lack the cultural and political will to adopt them. POW’s approach and strategy are important at this moment in time: The Outdoor State can convince policymakers to act on climate. I believe in systems change, and a critical way to do that is through collective action. 

I also think that climate has a PR problem and that POW is one of the few organizations that can break through that by telling stories that reframe climate action in a way that’s relatable, uplifting, and emotional. 

What else do you think is unique about POW?

Ryan: POW is a missing link in the climate conversation. In the US, we already have a lot of groups working on the solutions and accelerating implementation, and I think we’re missing a large group of people who are willing to raise their voices and talk about what solutions they want to see from our political system. POW is so good at building that social and political will.

POW thrives because of our diverse, trusted outdoor voices: Four Alliances of 200+ athletes, almost 100 brands, 40 scientists, and 50 creatives. The Alliance includes Olympians like Jessie Diggins, artists like Max Lowe, and indigenous leaders like Len Necefer. They all bring authenticity and reach and advocate for what they want to see in the climate movement. POW is great at finding multiple entry points and avenues toward the same goal.

Another thing I love about POW is its ability to have approachable conversations through sport and connection to nature. When you don’t start a conversation immediately about the climate crisis and the action we have to take, it can help build relationships on a human level, acting like a bridge between cultures and divides. The team has also built close relationships with important decision-makers with different backgrounds and beliefs because of this unique ability. 

What are some big wins the POW team made this year?

Ryan: We held 65 Stoke the Vote events across the country, we lobbied on Capitol Hill multiple times, and in the 12-week period leading up to and through the 2024 election we had 500 social posts by Alliance members. We’ve also entered new domains: We met with the Senate Budget Committee for the first time, Graham Zimmerman spoke at the Bloomberg Green Festival, and our CEO Erin Sprague went to climate week in NYC and SF. We gave grants that led to films like Footprints on Katmai. We helped get the Energizing Our Communities Act introduced into Congress. The Biden Administration announced the protection of 28 million acres in Alaska after a BLM comment period, which received 15,000 comments and 10% of them were from POW.  

I look forward to going to Lobby Days in DC. A team just got back from Capitol Hill and they had 33 meetings with members of Congress and their staff. POW is great at being consistent about lobbying efforts and showing up to remind elected officials why the outdoors matter, why the Outdoor State matters, and why climate action to protect those places and their constituents matters. 

You’re six months into your role as COO, what’s on deck for next year and what are you excited about looking forward? 

Ryan: POW was integral in helping to pass the IRA and we’ll work hard in 2025 to save it. In the US today, renewables are over 30% of installed power generation capacity. The cost of these technologies has become so competitive that they’re almost administration-agnostic. There’s already been almost $350 billion of announced IRA investments, and 85% of that has gone to Republican districts. Of 1,000 clean energy business leaders, some 85% consider the IRA important to their company’s growth. Our team will be doubling down on making sure we preserve the IRA’s provisions and the economic progress it has driven so far.

We’ll continue doing what we know works: Providing outdoor enthusiasts with inspiring creative content on climate, leaning into our cross-partisan roots, building social and political will, organizing the Outdoor State’s unique potential for influence, and supporting and elevating trusted voices in advocacy work. I think we’ll be expanding some of the areas in which we operate to potentially include community building, new sports, and bolder campaigns. 

I’m excited about building a movement that unites all these outdoor voices and communities to take action on climate. Next year we’re going to be investing more in the aspect of building community, which has been integral to POW’s success since Jeremy founded it in 2007. 

Any advice for the Outdoor State as we head into 2025? 

Ryan: First, go outside! Do what you love and reconnect with that source of passion that ultimately brings you to a movement like POW. Also, remember we’re still climbing the same mountain, even if our position has shifted a little bit, and we’re still heading for the summit. Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of our voice in the climate movement. Our voices matter, and they probably matter more than ever in the next 2–4 years. One of the most cost-effective actions you can take to help decarbonize the economy is to use your voice and be an “imperfect advocate.” 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.