Johann Holt, 29
Sense and sustainability | Political activist
 

Story by Kevin Garnett
Video by Caroline Zilk
Photo by Chiara Della Cava

Johann Holt jokingly says, “I’m not happy if I’m not busy.” But his laundry list of pursuits lends credence to the declaration. Holt worked as the campaign manager for 3rd Ward City Councilor Karl Skala in the 2007 election and as Eco Avenue coordinator for the Columbia Earth Day Coalition. His work with Missourians for Safe Energy and the Ozark chapter of the Sierra Club also reflects his passion for the environment.

Holt takes his responsibilities seriously. “People often will burn brightly for a short interval and then burn out, rather than sustain their activism,” says Mark Haim, director of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks and co-founder of Missourians for Safe Energy. “Johann, on the other hand, has been consistently active for seven years in a sustained fashion.”

Currently, he’s writing Living Sustainably Without Living in a Cave, what he calls a coffee-table primer filled with photos, diagrams and simple tips for energy conservation. Thus far, he’s about three chapters in and plans to finish the book by spring. Ideally, it will hit bookshelves in spring 2009.

Holt cites his Methodist upbringing as a reason for his commitment to the environment and social-justice issues. He still relies on the basic values he learned growing up and has taken to heart the belief that “we need to protect creation.”

Although he’s taken a brief step back from activism to take care of his newborn daughter, Holt looks forward to having a full schedule again. Until now, he has been working myriad part-time, pinpoint-focused projects, but he will soon plunge back into a broader full-time job. He’s set his sights on changing how voters think. It’s not the simplest of tasks, but for a man who equates being busy with being happy, it seems just about right.