2025 Plant Futures Impact Report: Leading with Joy
The word that keeps surfacing when I think about 2025 is joy.
One moment captures it for me: a cold, overcast January day in Washington, D.C., when 80 students from 10 universities gathered for our first-ever regional Plant Futures Summit. The sky was gray, but inside the room the energy was vibrant and contagious. Students who had only known each other through screens finally met face-to-face, exchanging ideas, exploring new career pathways in food systems, and building friendships that would carry them through the year ahead. It was a beautiful way to begin 2025.
And none of us knew then how far that spark would travel, as our community and impact grew in San Francisco, New York, Miami, Mexico City, Warsaw, Nairobi, and everywhere in between.
The impact of what we built in 2025 has been extraordinary: our student chapter network grew to 110 university chapters, our global expansion accelerated, we deepened culture-change work as a core pillar of our mission, and we began developing our first Spanish-language curriculum so Plant Futures can reach even more communities. We also reached a milestone we’re especially proud of: our newest course was offered and accredited across the entire University of California system.
I want to name a special shoutout to the people who made this impact possible: my team, my Planty family. You inspire me every day with your talent, creativity, and the way you lead with compassion and care. Finding "the others," people who share this vision and show up for it wholeheartedly, is the greatest gift I could have asked for in this lifetime, and it’s what we want for all of our students.
We hold all of this while also acknowledging the heaviness of the world. The scale of suffering is staggering - against humans, animals, and the planet that holds us all. In that context, choosing joy, care, and connection isn’t small. It’s essential.
This report celebrates what we built together in 2025: a movement rooted in love, powered by joy, strengthened by community. To everyone who has been part of this moment with us - thank you for your involvement, for your belief, your support, and your commitment to a future that nourishes everyone.
With Gratitude and Plants,
Samantha Derrick,
Executive Director, Co-Founder
