In the face of the climate crisis, immigrant women in New York City are not only survivors — they are storytellers, advocates, and leaders.
Climate Chronicles: Immigrant Women’s Voices in NYC is a storytelling project that centers the real-life experiences of immigrant women as they face the combined challenges of climate change, migration, and daily resilience. Through personal stories about climate change and community strength, this project highlights their voices and visions.
Launched in 2025 by New Women New Yorkers (NWNY) — a nonprofit organization created to empower immigrant women in NYC through holistic workforce development programs — the project takes place in a safe and inclusive space where women connect, grow, and share their personal journeys.
The project began in Spring 2025 with a series of storytelling workshops. Participants explored topics like environmental change, climate justice, and resilience while learning storytelling and public speaking skills. Through writing prompts, story circles, and mentoring, each woman created a powerful audio story — now part of this weekly podcast series.
From a place of justice and awareness, the stories cover everything from disasters to heatwaves, plant-based diets to lost gardens, unity to transformation, awareness to hope. Each episode brings a unique voice and vision, showing how deeply climate change is connected to immigrant lives, especially in a city like New York.
Episodes will be released every Friday from September 26 to November 28, 2025, on Spotify and on our website.
This project is made possible thanks to the financial support of Con Edison and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Their support sends a strong message: that immigrant women’s voices matter, and that they belong at the center of the fight for climate justice and a better future for all.
Intro Episode – Welcome to Climate Chronicles
In this short opening episode, listeners are introduced to Climate Chronicles – Immigrant Women’s Voices in NYC. Host María Dicent shares the vision behind the series and how it was created through NWNY’s Climate Stories Training Program, where immigrant women explored climate justice, built public speaking skills, and developed their own personal stories.
Episode One – Flood
In this episode, Dilenia, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, shares her experience living through Hurricane Ida in her basement apartment in Flatbush, Brooklyn. She thought she had left the hurricanes behind—but when the floodwaters came, her fear returned. This is more than a story about climate change. It’s about resilience, housing injustice, and the strength it takes to protect yourself and your family.
Episode Two – Climate Change: Every Action Matters
In this episode, Loraine, an immigrant from Colombia, shares how her awe at New York City’s skyscrapers shifted when she discovered they produce over 70 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. That realization sparked her journey to learn how buildings can also be part of the climate solution. Her story is about awareness, action, and the power of everyday choices in the fight for climate justice.
Episode Three – The Ground Beneath Us is Shifting
In this episode, Kateryna, an immigrant from Ukraine, shares how the war forced her to leave everything behind and begin anew in New York. As she reflects on rebuilding her life far from home, Kateryna connects the human toll of displacement with the broader crises of conflict and climate change. Her story is about loss, resilience, and the courage to find hope and purpose in a world transformed by upheaval.
Episode Four – A Legacy of Disaster: From Ozone Holes to Chernobyl
In this episode, Olena takes us through a personal journey of discovery. She talks about the environmental disasters that changed the course of history—from the ozone holes to Chernobyl—and how these events continue to affect our planet today.
But it’s not just about the past. Olena’s voice reminds us that resilience and action are the key to facing the challenges of tomorrow.
Episode Five – From Rio to New York: Love, Fear of Flying, and the Cost of Our Choices
Ligia invites us into a journey rooted in memory, courage, and connection. Growing up among the fruit trees in her grandmother’s backyard in Brazil, she learned early on how deeply our lives are tied to nature.
As she moved from Rio to São Paulo and eventually to New York, Ligia faced one of her biggest fears – flying – and discovered how even a single plane ride can spark questions about our impact on the planet.
Episode Six – The Sand Dune
Lorelei from Peru shares a personal story about facing her fear of heights to witness a beautiful desert sunset.
With each step upward,
she didn’t just conquer fear, she reconnected with the Earth beneath her feet
and the sky above.
Her journey is a reminder: When we reconnect with nature, we remember why we must protect it.
Episode Seven – When Changing My Diet Became Climate Action
In this episode, Nicole from Malaysia talks about how switching to a plant-based diet helped her feel better—and opened her eyes to the climate impact of our food choices.
From factory farming to carbon emissions, she breaks it down in a real, honest, and hopeful way. This is not just about diet—it’s about choosing to live in line with your values. Listen to Nicole’s story and find out how one plate can lead to powerful change.
Episode Eight – The Night Tbilisi Stood Together
A flooded city. Lions in the streets. The destruction was overwhelming—but so was the love.
Eteri takes us through fear, loss, and the quiet strength of a city that refused to fall apart. A story about resilience, and what it really means to fight for a community.
Episode Nine – The Song of the Coquis
Let’s meet Rosa from Puerto Rico and her story about the Coquis. The beloved frogs of Puerto Rico are being silenced — both by climate change and by people who see them as noise.
“The Song of the Coquis” reminds us that small voices matter. Let’s protect the Coquis, and our planet, before it’s too late.
Episode Ten – My Little Space Opened Up My New Inner Universe
What can a tiny apartment teach us about life, climate, and personal growth? Paula, from Colombia, shares how living in a small space in New York City helped her transform her daily habits and her mindset.
Listen to her story and discover how her little Casita became a gateway to a bigger, more conscious universe—one full of reflection, change, and hope.
Meet the team behind Climate Chronicles
Maria Isabel Dicent
Maria Isabel Dicent served as the Project Coordinator and facilitator of Climate Chronicles: Immigrant Women’s Voices in NYC at New Women New Yorkers. A bilingual facilitator and storyteller, she led workshops that empowered immigrant women to share their experiences around climate justice and resilience in New York City. In this role, Maria Isabel guided participants in story development, public speaking, and podcast creation, helping them amplify their voices and raise awareness about the intersection of immigration and climate change.
A graduate of NWNY’s We Speak We Lead program (2022), Maria Isabel first joined the organization as a volunteer before facilitating the Bridge to LEAD workshops in 2024. Her work centers on building confidence and advocacy skills in immigrant communities through creative storytelling, leadership development, and community engagement.
Paula Henao
Paula Henao is a Colombian graphic designer with more than 15 years of experience in branding, integrated marketing, and visual storytelling. After building a successful career in Colombia, she moved to New York four years ago, where she continues to grow professionally and creatively.
For Climate Chronicles, Paula led the editing of the podcast episodes and supporting materials, blending her design expertise with a passion for storytelling. She finds ongoing inspiration and community in her work with New Women New Yorkers.