Jessie Diggins, a celebrated Olympian, is making her presence felt in Washington, D.C., as she brings her four medals to Capitol Hill. Her mission? Advocating for the protection of our environment, focusing on clean air, clear water, and a sustainable planet.
Diggins, who holds the title of America’s most decorated cross-country skier, is affiliated with “Protect Our Winters”—an organization led by athletes passionate about environmental conservation. This group recently formed a coalition that traveled to the nation’s capital, aiming to engage lawmakers in discussions centered on the pressing need for robust climate, water, and pollution policies, which they believe have weakened under the Environmental Protection Agency since President Donald Trump reassumed office.
In a candid interview, Diggins expressed her sense of duty to utilize her platform for fostering environmental change. “I don’t want to stick my head in the sand and ignore the world burning,” she emphasized. For Diggins, it’s imperative that future generations—including her great-grandchildren—have the opportunity to embrace outdoor activities like building snowmen and cross-country skiing, all while enjoying clean air and water during their hikes, fishing trips, and camping adventures.
This year marked Diggins’ retirement from competitive skiing, culminating in a bronze medal win in the women’s 10-kilometer interval start at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026. These Olympic Games heightened concerns among athletes over climate change and the rapid melting of glaciers, highlighting the risk posed to winter sports by global warming.
Reflecting on her visit to Washington, Diggins called it a “beautiful, full circle moment,” underscoring the importance of using her achievements to fuel meaningful dialogue. She views successful interactions with lawmakers as a stepping stone toward bipartisan initiatives that could empower the EPA moving forward, especially amid a Congress currently inclined towards supporting the previous administration’s environmental stance.
“We’re trying to advocate for solutions that are going to protect us long term, and training and racing through four Olympics, that was a very long-term thing, you know? It’s not quick, immediate gratification, you work and you work and you work,” Diggins said. “I think it’s a nice reminder of like, it’s OK that we are looking for solutions for the future.”
Coalition includes athletes, scientists, storytellers
It’s not the typical lobbying group. Professional ski mountaineer Brody Leven only owns a suit to go to Washington with Protect Our Winters. But, he said, they are the ones who can hopefully bring people together around policy solutions to climate change.
“We’re good at looking at adversity in the face and still moving forward,” he said. “And we’re good at knowing something is going to be hard and trying to do it anyways.”
They plan to meet with Democratic and Republican members in both chambers. Olympians Jaelin Kauf, Gus Schumacher, Bea Kim, Julia Kern and Olivia Giaccio are involved, Protect Our Winters said.
During the Trump administration, the EPA has revoked a scientific finding that underpinned the fight against climate change, moved to roll back limits on toxic wastewater from coal-fired power plants and announced other cuts to federal limits on air and water pollution as it promotes fossil fuels. These changes clash with the agency’s historic mission to protect human health and the environment.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said they are “ driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age.” Doing so, he said, will save trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and hidden taxes, which in turn will make the cost of living more affordable and reignite domestic manufacturing.
Environmentalists say the EPA under Zeldin has abandoned its obligation to protect the public from dangerous greenhouse gas pollution at a time when climate change is creating greater risks of extreme weather, including stronger hurricanes, more dangerous floods and more intense wildfires. Legal challenges to a range of EPA rule changes have been filed by states, cities and public health and environmental groups.
Protect Our Winters looks beyond the Trump years
Ben Gubits, vice president of campaigns and advocacy for Protect Our Winters, said they expect the federal government to protect the health of American citizens and the planet. POW has lobbied Congress for about a decade, including several visits in 2021 and 2022 when it advocated for passage of a landmark climate bill. President Joe Biden signed the so-called Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
“We are really thinking about a long-term and positive vision for the future, and how do we rebuild these critical institutions beyond the Trump years,” Gubits said.
Stuart Nissenbaum started working at the EPA early in Biden’s term and left a year ago. He’s part of the coalition, too. Nissenbaum said he thinks being in Washington with Olympians will help bring attention to their message. They are masters of their craft and they wore the U.S. flag while competing, which should resonate with members of Congress, he added.
Nissenbaum said he’ll convey to legislators that clean air and clean water is bipartisan, and they should adopt policies grounded in science to protect the environment.
“Clean air and clean water isn’t something that we should take for granted,” he said. “It affects every single person.”
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