James “JR” Roof was born in New York City and grew up outside of the city in Monroe Connecticut. Leaving home and High School at age 16, JR eventually studied Social and Political Philosophy at The University of Massachusetts in Boston. In 1986 JR started volunteering with the Greenpeace Boston working on non violent direct action campaigns regarding environmental protection and nuclear disarmament. For the next two years, JR held positions as The Boston Canvass Director, Director of the Greenpeace USA Action Department and finally as a Senior Director for Greenpeace International directing The Ships and Direct Action Division.
In 1995/1996, JR helped co found The Ruckus Society in Missoula Montana and served as the Board Chair from 2000-2002. Ruckus came to international attention with its role in the WTO protests in Seattle in late 1999. In 2006-2009 he co founded Climate Ground Zero which fought to oppose mountain top removal of Coal in West Virginia and oppose the tar/oil sands development in Alberta, Canada.
From 2001-2013 JR also produced countless music shows in Missoula mostly notably with an Austin, Texas based band The Gourds, who disbanded in 2013. The last few years JR has worked with Sundance Power Systems part time in based out of Asheville North Carolina
Enjoy this one-hour Living Well podcast where JR shares about his rich history of environmental activism and how we can make a difference moving forward!
