About:
Griffith Pugh is the founder and host of The Young Ike, a podcast and community dialogue project exploring today’s complex environmental challenges through conversation.
Griffith studies political science at Haverford College. Alongside his academic work, he has built experience in journalism and social entrepreneurship. In high school, he served as opinion editor and a member of the editorial board of his school newspaper, where he developed an appreciation for the journalistic process—and for the power of storytelling to shape public understanding and elevate overlooked issues. That background deeply informs The Young Ike’s approach.
Griffith co-founded Green Crew in the wake of the pandemic, when he and a group of friends noticed a pattern: many young people cared deeply about the environment but lacked a clear outlet or community to turn that concern into action. So they built what they wished had existed.
Now entering its fifth year, Green Crew has engaged thousands of youth across Minnesota in hands-on, high-impact conservation service and leadership development. In 2025, the organization was featured in The New York Times.
Similar to the origins of Green Crew, Griffith sees another pattern today. The environmental movement of the 2010s, he believes, fundamentally fell short—too often grounded in political wonkery rather than rooted in local communities, shared values, and a lived sense of environmental interconnectedness. At the same time, much of today’s environmental dialogue unfolds online, within algorithm-driven spaces that reward division over understanding. Griffith believes that productive conversations about where we go next must start in the real world.
Through The Young Ike, Griffith explores the messy realities of our changing environmental landscape through conversation—both on the podcast and through live community events. He brings a sharp but open-minded lens, creating space for nuance in an era that too often demands black-and-white answers.
Contact - griffith@theyoungike.org