Molly Kawahata is a strategist, public speaker, advocate, and former Climate Advisor at the Obama White House. She is the Founder of Systemic Impact Strategies, a consultancy specializing in organizational development, climate strategy, and communications. Her life story, depicted in Patagonia’s film, THE SCALE OF HOPE (2022), intimately explores her pursuit of climbing steep ice faces in Alaska, her personal struggle with mental health, and her work to transform societal narratives by infusing them with hope and empowerment. The film has resonated with audiences worldwide, amassing over one million views on YouTube, streaming on Delta Airlines, and being inducted into the permanent collection at the New York Museum of Modern Art. Molly has been asked to speak at institutions such as Google, Nike, Harvard, the U.S. Congress, global IMAX audiences, and the Kennedy Center presidential monument. She is an Advisory Board Member to the Environmental Voter Project and an Advisory Council Member to the AAPI Victory Fund. In her free time, Molly is an avid ice climber, with a particular passion for scaling technical ice routes in Montana and the Central Alaska Range. An introduction to the film can be viewed here.
