How a Musician Became a Climate Action Concierge: Vienna Teng on Fan Engagement, Hope-Based Storytelling & Using Music to Drive Real Climate Action | The Tie-In

About this episode

Vienna Teng discusses her journey from software engineer to musician and climate action advocate, emphasizing empathy-driven problem solving and community impact.

What happens when a software engineer turned sustainability consultant turns musician decides to use her fan base as a force for climate action? Vienna Teng — songwriter, performer, McKinsey Sustainability Fellow, and one of Grist's 50 Climate Innovators to Watch in 2025 — joins Zena Harris and Mark Rabin to talk about the unlikely through line connecting all of her careers: empathy-driven problem solving. Vienna breaks down how she runs climate action workshops inside music venues, why she intentionally keeps the tone hopeful rather than doom-focused, and what it actually looks like to walk a fan from curiosity to real community impact. Including one fan who stopped a solar ban in her township after a single conversation. She also reflects on her years working in clean energy access and waste diversion systems in the Global South, what she learned that she couldn't have learned from the outside, and why she came back to music as the most powerful tool she had. Topics: climate action, fan engagement, hope-based climate communication, music and sustainability, artist activism, clean energy, behavior change, climate storytelling, indie music, McKinsey sustainability, Grist 50…

People in this episode

Hosts: Zena Harris, Mark Rabin

Guest: Vienna Teng

Topics covered

• climate action
• fan engagement
• hope-based climate communication
• music and sustainability
• artist activism
• clean energy
• climate storytelling

Keywords

• climate action
• music
• sustainability
• community impact
• artist activism
• clean energy
• hope-based storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: McKinsey, Grist

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