Leilani Münter is a biology graduate who eventually became the unusual combination of a race car driver and environmental activist. Since 2006, Leilani has been using her unique voice in the racing world to fight for environmental issues. With years of dedication to environmental issues, she has become a recognized leader in the environmental community. Discovery’s Planet Green named her the #1 eco athlete in the world, Glamour Magazine called her “An Eco Hero,” ELLE Magazine awarded her their Genius Award, and Sports Illustrated named her one of the top ten female race car drivers in the world.
Leilani also made three trips to Japan in 2010 and 2011 as a volunteer for Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project, spending several weeks in the small town of Taiji documenting the dolphin slaughter depicted in the Academy Award winning documentary “The Cove.” In 2011 Leilani organized for the Empire State Building to be lit up red, in honor of the memory of the thousands of dolphins whose lives have been lost in the cove. She flipped the switch alongside director of “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos, world renowned dolphin activist Ric O’Barry, and actor John Leguizamo. She later took her dolphin activism to the race trck when she drove “The Cove” race car to Daytona and gave away 1000 DVDs of the film to race fans.