The Head of School Award

The Head of School Alumni Award recognizes distinguished service to the community that exemplifies Palmer Trinity's values - commitment to the moral, spiritual, intellectual, physical and creative growth of all members of our community.

Delaney Reynolds, class of 2017, exemplifies these values through her passionate work in environmental advocacy, a pursuit whose foundation was laid in part during her time at Palmer Trinity School where she was an active member of the Wildlife Conservation Club, was President of the Eco Club, a member of the Marine Club, a Director of our Coral Lab, and even led the initiative to build the solar power system that's on campus at the Falcon's Nest. Delaney was also a proud member of our thespian troupe, a longtime member of our women's basketball team and, as a senior, received numerous recognitions including being awarded our Schools prestigious Jean Elle Shehan Bowl Award and winning the Miami Herald's Silver Knight award in Social Science. 

Delaney continued to pursue her environmental passions at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science while double majoring in Marine Science and Coastal Geology and minoring in Climate Policy. She's especially proud of having received the Roberta Bosey Fulbright Foote Prize, the University's highest environmental award, for her leadership including her work that led to the installation of a massive 93-kiloWatt solar panel system atop the campus Field House athletic facility.

Today Delaney is a dual degree graduate student at the University of Miami's Abess Center for Ecosystem Science & Policy where this coming May she will graduate with her law degree (J.D.) and in 2026 will earn her PhD.  Even as a busy graduate student she continues her active campus involvement as a member of the Environmental Law Society, a Law Fellow, member of the Bar & Gavel Society and just this past December served as the Head of Delegations for the United Nations COP 28 meetings that took place in Dubai. 

Delaney's academic work aside, it's her environmental work that makes a difference to all of us and that she's most proud about. Growing up between the bustling city of Miami and a serene island in the Florida Keys, No Name Key, Delaney's life mirrors the state she calls home—surrounded by water, igniting her passion for the environment. 

As a student right here at Palmer a decade ago, she founded her nonprofit organization, The Sink or Swim Project, with the goal of educating people about our climate crisis and as a political advocacy tool to enact the type of change that our society will need to undergo in order to solve that crisis and save special places all over the world including right here in South Florida. 

In the past 10 years, The Sink or Swim Project has engaged millions of people all over the world through her website, blog, school and community lectures, television, and social media. One of her longtime themes is that “Kids Get It” and that message serves to make clear that young people like those of us here today understand the science that proves fossil fuel use is polluting our atmosphere and oceans and that our generation must address the problem before it's too late. 

Her policy work has seen her lead the historic climate change lawsuit Reynolds v. Florida; conceive, co-author, and help implement Florida’s first ever municipal solar power mandate; advocate for changes within Miami Dade County that led to its inaugural climate budget funding and first Chief Resilience Officer; and most recently led the statewide Petition that resulted in the Florida Department of Agriculture creating rules to shift our state’s electrical energy system to becoming 100% based on sustainable sources by 2050.

She has given a popular TEDx Talk, has addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City, appeared with actor/musician Jack Black on the National Geographic Channel's Years of Living Dangerously, with renowned world explorer Philippe Cousteau on Xploration Awesome Planet on FOX, and with Vice President Al Gore on MTV's An Inconvenient Special Town Hall as she works to inform and educate people about our climate crisis and the dire risks that places like South Florida face. 

Delaney has been honored with the inaugural National Geographic Teen Service Award, the Miami Herald's Silver Knight Award for Social Science, the University of Rochester George Eastman Young Leaders Award, the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, amongst other honors. 

Delaney's commitment to environmental advocacy is not only admirable but also pivotal in inspiring positive change for our planet.