Jerome Foster II, Youngest-Ever White House Advisor, Announces Unreleased Debut Book: Through These Lenses

Jerome Foster II, the climate activist and youngest-ever White House advisor, is writing his first book.

He announced on Instagram that his debut, Through These Lenses, is on the way. It's a collection of essays, field notes and firsthand accounts drawn from a decade of speeches to world leaders and frontline communities.

Publishers Marketplace reported the deal on October 26. Ben Rosenthal acquired world rights for Stonefruit Studio, a young adult imprint of Sourcebooks. The deal was made by Mia Vitale and Sarah Passick of Park, Fine & Brower Literary Management.

According to the listing, the book is inspired by Foster's speeches at the World Economic Forum, the UN General Assembly and the White House. It examines the systems behind the climate crisis and sets out paths forward.

Who Is Jerome Foster II?

Foster is a TIME Next Generation Leader and the youngest person ever to serve on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. He began campaigning on climate at 13 and learned from Congressman John Lewis at 16. He protested outside the White House for 80 consecutive weeks before later advising a President of the United States.

"I have stood on both sides of the White House gates, first demanding change, then advising on it,"

Jerome Foster ii via Instagram (@jeromefosterii)

He grew up in Washington, D.C., and says his interest in the planet began as a child, looking up at the stars from his grandmother's yard. Many of his speeches were written on the way to school, in museums and between protests.

Foster's path to the White House began right outside its walls. As part of the Fridays for Future movement, he held weekly climate strikes in front of the White House and kept the protest going for more than 80 weeks. In 2020, he founded OneMillionOfUs, a youth voting organization that worked to mobilize young people ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

That work caught the attention of the Biden administration. In March 2021, Foster was appointed to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, becoming the youngest White House advisor in history and the first member of Gen Z to advise the administration. In April 2023, he was reappointed for a second two-year term.

On the council, Foster pushed for the communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis to have a voice in federal policy. He advocated for key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, supported the Justice40 Initiative, and called for race and age to be considered in the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, a mapping tool that identifies the communities most affected by climate and environmental harm.

He has also been willing to criticize the administration he advised. When it approved the Willow Project, an oil drilling development in Alaska's Arctic, Foster called the decision "a betrayal to my generation and our collective future."

Foster is also a co-founder of Waic Up. His message to young people has stayed the same throughout: "Age is not just a number, age is my superpower."

Through These Lenses brings those experiences together, from the protests outside the White House gates to the policy debates inside them, and offers young readers a firsthand look at what it takes to push for change.

The day after the announcement, Foster thanked supporters on Instagram, saying the response "has meant more to me than I can put into words." He said he hopes the book shows young readers that their voices matter and that they belong at the table. The book is currently unreleased and will be published in due course; a release date has not yet been announced. Follow Jerome Foster II for updates on Through These Lenses.