Young Leaders
Financial support of up to $50,000 and a six-month program that supports visionary, young leaders who are innovating for our planet.
Young Leaders Receive
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Funding
Cohort Retreat
Leadership Development
Young Leaders Recipients
Bailey Hutchison
Bailey Hutchison is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TruCulture Community Farm & Market, a Black Afro-Indigenous community farm/food enterprise advancing food sovereignty, ecological stewardship, and economic opportunity across the Gulf South. A fourth-generation grower, herbalist, ethnobotanist, and community leader born and raised in New Orleans’ historic Seventh Ward, Bailey’s work is rooted in restoring relationships between people, land, food, and culture through regenerative agriculture and community-centered education.
Bailey holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Ecology and Management from Louisiana State University. Her training includes immersive study at One Family Farm in Trinidad and Tobago, where she deepened her knowledge of tropical agroecology, regenerative agrarian techniques, and diasporic foodways. She is also an alumna of the Braiding Seeds Fellowship, the Young Farmers PLACE Fellowship, and other nationally recognized leadership programs focused on regenerative agriculture, food justice, and equitable food systems.
As the visionary behind TruCulture, Bailey has led the organization from a grassroots initiative into a growing regional enterprise that includes a six-acre regenerative farm in Mississippi, a mobile farmers market and teaching kitchen serving New Orleans, and an expanding educational retreat and living classroom.
Diamond Spratling
Diamond Spratling, MPH is an award-winning Climate DisruptHER, children’s book author, and global keynote speaker. With over a decade in the climate justice movement, she is redefining what it means (and looks like) to be a climate activist. Diamond is the proud founder and executive director of Girl Plus Environment, the national nonprofit that has raised nearly $1 million dollars to ensure Black and Brown women and femmes are leading climate and environmental policies, decisions, and innovative solutions. She is also the author of Sage Sails the World, a children's climate book series following 7-year-old Sage and her dog Benji as they explore Earth’s wonders, uncover climate challenges, and inspire young readers to become environmental stewards. A Detroit native and two-time TEDx speaker, Diamond is a globally recognized voice in climate justice, delivering talks for Hasbro, Columbia, United Nations, the National Academies of Sciences, EarthX, Microsoft, the World Resources Institute, MIT, and more.
Her leadership continues to shape the climate sector, with appointments to the City of Atlanta Climate Resiliency Advisory Board. She was also named a 2024 Tom’s of Maine Incubator Awardee, NRDC 1Hotels Fellow, and a Future Leader Climate Fellow by the Aspen Institute. Her work has been featured in Forbes, CBS, NPR, Essence Magazine, Afro Tech, Inc. Magazine, Black Enterprise, The Bitter Southerner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other leading publications, cementing her influence as a leader shaping the future of climate justice.
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Dylan Zajac
Dylan Zajac is the Founder and Executive Director of Computers4People (C4P), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit he started at age 15 after seeing how many families in his community lacked a computer at home for school, job applications, and everyday life. What began as a local effort has grown into a national organization: C4P partners with corporations and government agencies, including Wayfair, AT&T, The Carlyle Group, Vista Equity Partners, and Prudential, to collect retired technology, securely wipe and refurbish it, and redistribute it free of charge to individuals and families who need it most.
To date, C4P has donated over 8,000 computers, connected thousands of families to affordable internet, and diverted hundreds of thousands of pounds of e-waste from landfills through its circular economy model.
Dylan graduated from Babson College in 2025 with a degree in Entrepreneurship. He has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree (2024), a 776 Fellow, a Sigma Squared Fellow, an Aspen Ideas Fellow, and a member of Prod Cohort 3.0. His work has been featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Entrepreneur.com, ABC, PBS, and NBC, among others. He is based in Hoboken, NJ, where C4P is headquartered.
Elias Aceves
Elias Aceves is, first and foremost, a child of the Mexican immigrant working class. His professional pursuits have always been shaped by this point of view, carrying him on a trajectory of studying political philosophy & alternative development in Latin America at Stanford from 2019 to 2024.
The organization he founded & leads today, the Plurinational Land Reform in CA Working Group (Pluri), emerged from these interests. Over the past 3 years of organizing the group, it has grown nodes across LA, SD, and the Bay Area: coordinating hundreds of people through student cooperatives, tenant unions, and neighborhood associations with collectives of small farmers & farmworkers. Outside of his executive work for Pluri, he also works part-time with Alianza Nacional de Campesinas as a fund development associate, often weaving Pluri's work with the various needs assessed across California's farmworker organizations found within this national network.
Hailey Campbell
Hailey Campbell is a climate policy advisor, negotiations trainer, and educator. As Executive Director of Care About Climate, she leads capacity-building initiatives that equip young people, primarily young women, with the skills and confidence to engage meaningfully in climate policy. A seasoned voice in the UNFCCC process, Hailey is a recognized expert in gender-responsive climate action, equity-driven climate commitments, and community empowerment, translating the complexity of high-level negotiations into tools that empower the next generation to lead.
Hailey's broader leadership includes serving as a UNICEF Senior Fellow on climate education and establishing LCOYUSA, an annual event that convenes emerging young leaders across the US to develop skills for driving national and global climate policy. Her work bridges ground-level advocacy with global diplomacy, building a stronger, more inclusive foundation for future climate governance.
Hitesh Manglani
Hitesh Manglani was born into a multigenerational textile family in India, where he developed a deep connection to the textile industry from an early age. Today, he is a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the founder of Supercarb, the advanced-materials company behind Seaweed Tech™.
Over the past 15 years, Hitesh has worked across nuclear energy, automotive, robotics, food technology, and textiles. He earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from the National Institute of Technology Allahabad and later a master’s in Textile Sciences from North Carolina State University. His career has included roles with India’s Department of Atomic Energy, KTM AG, a South Carolina textile mill, and a Series B food-tech startup, where he led the development and commercialization of a novel protein-based fiber.
In 2023, Hitesh founded Supercarb to develop plastic-free performance fibers from seaweed and agricultural waste. Supercarb has received support from Activate, Cyclotron Road, the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission, and the National Science Foundation, and is backed by Collab Fund, Safar Partners, Betterway Ventures, and Pachamama Ventures. In 2026, Supercarb launched its first commercial product, bringing Seaweed Tech™ to customers.
Juan Sebastian Garcia-Medina
Dr. Sebastian Garcia-Medina was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and left home a week after turning seventeen to build a life in science in the United States. He earned a bachelor's in Human Biology from the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay and dual master's degrees at Case Western Reserve University before completing his PhD in physiology and genomics at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he studied human immune and genomic adaptation in astronaut cohorts including NASA's Twins Study and the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission.
-He is the founder of Khaya Biosciences, which grew from his passion experiments turning industrial waste into high purity nanocellulose through fermentation. The company is built on one conviction: that waste is not a flaw but an asset, and that borrowing the ecosystem's logic of circularity can turn discarded streams into high-value biomaterials and reshape how we manufacture everything from medical products to the materials of daily life.
Outside the lab, Sebastian is an avid motorcyclist, amateur diver, and rock climber.
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Kevin Kung
Kevin Kung is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Takachar. Prior to his start-up, he built Takachar’s core technology as part of his doctoral research in the field of biofuels and renewable energy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with the support from Tata Trusts, J-WAFS, Legatum Fellowship, among others. Kevin had a decade of experience conducting engineering design in resource-constrained settings, including borehole restoration in Uganda, interlocking stabilized construction materials in Ghana, and renewable energy systems in Kenya and India.
Kevin also co-founded a company (Safi Organics) in Kenya that produces carbon-negative, high-yield fertilizer from crop residues, improving farmers’ harvest yields by 30 percent. He helped grow the company to 30 full-time employees, 15,000 customers, and financial break-even.
Lauren Click
Lauren Click is the Founder and Executive Director of Let's Go Compost, a U.S.-based nonprofit expanding affordable, accessible composting through public institutions. Since founding the organization, she has grown the program to more than hundreds of partner sites across all 50 U.S. states, equipping communities with the tools, curriculum, and support needed to build long-term composting infrastructure from the ground up.
Lauren's work focuses on food waste reduction, soil health, environmental education, and circular economy solutions that can be replicated at scale. She collaborates with educators, government agencies, nonprofits, and industry partners to develop practical models that make composting achievable for communities of all sizes.
Her work has been recognized through honors including the U.S. Composting Council's Young Professional of the Year Award, the World Food Forum and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations AgX North America Award, inaugural Stanley 1913 Creators Fund Awardee, and beVisioneers: Mercedes-Benz Fellow. Lauren has served on multiple national committees advancing composting infrastructure, circularity, and sustainable community development.
Margaret Lumley
Margaret is a second-time founder working at the intersection of water, climate, and agriculture. She got her start in electrochemistry at a battery lab at UCSB, then earned a PhD in materials chemistry from UW-Madison, where her research focused on the water-energy nexus. She built her first company, ChloBis Water, through an NSF SBIR Phase I award focused on electrochemical water desalination.
At Roca Water, she has raised over $5M in grant funding and investment and leads go-to-market strategy through extensive customer discovery. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Science and an Activate Fellow.
Marshall Masayesva
My name is Marshall Masayesva, and I am from the village of Hotevilla on the Hopi Reservation. I have been working in the nonprofit sector for the last 10 years and recently made the leap to the for-profit realm. I firmly believe that there is space for both sectors to work together to create effective solutions to the issues we face on the Reservation.
My love for natural building and off-grid systems comes from my upbringing on the Hopi Reservation. My parents used whatever was available to them, including stone, mud, and wood, to build a home for myself and my siblings. This was necessary due to the practicality, affordability, and accessibility of these resources rather than a sense of idealism. With these new endeavors, I hope to build systems of support within the community and relearn the skills of working with our hands and earth.
Sabrina Chapa
Sabrina is a Coahuiltecan born and raised in South Texas and the Gulf Coast (Corpus Christi), is related to the Yanawana, and is the founder of Ties To La Tierra (TIES). TIES is an Indigenous-led ecological justice and Indigenous Futures organization and has been a formal organization since 2024. Sabrina has a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management from the Milano School of Public Engagement and a Bachelor of Science in Geography and Environmental Resources from Texas State University with Honors.
She is a certified fishing instructor with Texas Parks and Wildlife, has a certificate in Indigenous Collaborations from Arizona State University, and is a Movement Rights Emerging Leader. She will be a Certified Texas Master Naturalist in December of 2026. Sabrina is passionate about transformative systems and collective healing from historical harms. She values accountability, matriarchal ways of life, and traditional ancestral teachings of Yanawana and Tap Tai (Mother Earth). She is an avid fisher, hunter, farmer, forager, steward, and intertribal community member.
Jade Algarin
Jade M. Algarín Corcino is a community organizer and agriculturalist from Vieques, Puerto Rico. Their work aims to address environmental injustice in frontline communities by empowering leaders to enact intentional, equitable change. Recognizing the scale and urgency of the moment, they emphasize connection, learning, and acting throughout their organizing and their leading of the No One is an Island coalition. Jade is guided by the principle of "they don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care" as they strive to ensure those most disenfranchised among us feel welcome in the spaces they create.
PROJECT
No One is an Island
No One is an Island is a community-driven coalition space building and furthering efforts that strive for a more environmentally just St. Croix.
Lauren Castelino
Lauren is the founder of the Green Career Centre, where she prepares underrepresented youth for green careers. Over more than six years, Lauren has reached thousands of youth through developing environmental programs and sharing career development resources. Impressively, Lauren has secured more than $1.5 million dollars for BIPOC-led and impact-driven organizations which has financed the creation of scores of environmental events, dozens of green jobs, three community gardens and spaces for community organizing. Lauren has been recognized by Corporate Knights, The Starfish Canada, Metroland Media and several prominent politicians for her vital work.
Nicholas Okafor
Nick Okafor is a strategist, design researcher, and founder of trubel&co, a tech-justice nonprofit empowering youth to use data, design, and technology for advocacy and social change. Its flagship program, Mapping Justice, teaches high school students to design geospatial tools that drive civic action.
He is a graduate student at Stanford University, where his research focuses on liberatory innovation. Nick has also worked at the intersection of civic tech and data science with Sidewalk Labs, Boston Consulting Group, and city agencies advancing racial equity.
A National Geographic Explorer, Nick holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and sustainable development from Washington University in St. Louis. He is committed to ensuring the digital revolution expands opportunity and creates liberatory futures for all.
Allison Begalman
Allison Begalman is the CEO of YEA! Impact, the co-founder of Young Entertainment Activists (YEA!), as well the co-founder and EP of the annual Hollywood Climate Summit. Along with creating USC School of Cinematic Arts' first-ever social impact screenwriting lecture "Call to Action: Writing Stories of Relevance and Social Impact", Allison is currently participating in the Social Justice Partners Los Angeles Systems Change Accelerator. Outside of social impact, Allison writes for television and film--having worked at companies like CAA and Annapurna Pictures, as well as on shows such as Sony TV's PREACHER and Hulu's MONSTERLAND.
PROJECT
Hollywood Climate Summit
YEA! Impact is a social impact agency that produces events, campaigns, and content rooted in the power of grassroots community organizing--with our top issue area of focus being environmental justice because we created the annual Hollywood Climate Summit which has grown into an international watering hole for entertainment professionals, activists, college students, scientists, and other environmental communicators.
Win Cowger
Dr. Win Cowger is the Research Director at the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research. Win is an internationally sought expert for his data analysis skills and has produced software and methodological standards that are highly utilized and cited by the plastic pollution research community. His disciplinary background is in Environmental Science where he studies the sources, transport, and fate of plastic pollution in the environment. Win’s primary objective with science is to identify solutions to plastic pollution and assess their effectiveness.
Danielle Da Silva
Danielle Khan Da Silva is a South Asian-Portuguese scientist-turned-storyteller, award-winning filmmaker, and National Geographic Explorer. She is the founder and Executive Director of Photographers Without Borders and creator of the Reclaim Power mentorship program, with work exploring the intersections of habitat conservation and collective liberation.
Her documentaries have won multiple awards and been published by The Guardian, Patagonia, and The Globe and Mail. Danielle holds degrees in conservation biology, psychology, global studies, and an MSc in Environment & Development from the London School of Economics.
She is also a Sony Alpha Female award recipient, Safina Centre fellow, and Missouri Photo Workshop scholar.
Dyson Chee
Dyson Chee is a youth activist living on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu. In 2018, Dyson founded Project O.C.E.A.N. Hawaii to take on single-use plastics, and since 2019 he has been serving as a director for the Hawaiʻi Youth Climate Coalition (HYCC), a youth-led, community advocacy organization dedicated to fighting for climate justice. Dyson is currently. at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Communicology, Economics, and Political Science. In his free time Dyson loves playing tennis, drinking boba tea, and bodyboarding.
PROJECT
HYCC Club Network
The Club Network is a program of the Hawaiʻi Youth Climate Coalition (HYCC) that seeks to connect environmental and civic clubs across Hawaiʻi in order to work together and to mobilize youth to fight the climate crisis on a local level.
Serena Mendizabal
Serena Mendizabal (she/her) is a Cayuga Wolf Clan-Panamanian woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Serena is a community-based researcher, grassroots organizer, and environmental advocate. Serena began her journey in climate justice and clean energy when she was 18 finding gaps in community consent for renewable energy projects and further explored what climate justice and a just transition can look like in a community of over 28,000 members. From then on, Serena has dedicated her life to Indigenous self-determination, climate justice, environmental health impacts, and clean energy transitions through studies, work, and extracurriculars. Serena is passionate about self-determined community development, action, and futures led by sovereign, healthy nations. Serena is the Just Transition Manager at Sacred Earth Solar, Co-Chair at SevenGen National Indigenous Youth Energy Council, Climate Action Strategy Co-Lead at Protect the Tract, and Course Collaborator for Connecting for Climate Change Action, as well as Board of Director at Student Energy.
Diego Magaña
Diego Magaña is the Executive Director and Founder of MiniNature Reserve, a nonprofit that reconnects people with nature by creating community-led green spaces that reintroduce native plants into urban environments. He blends environmental action with creative outreach, using public spaces to spark ecological awareness and local stewardship.
A graduate of the California Institute for the Arts with a BFA, Diego is also an active musician performing at community events. His dual work in nature and the arts has earned him recognition including the El Concilio Latino Leadership Award, Deja tu Huella Award, and the Ventura County Social Justice Fellowship Award.
Brayan Cruz
Brayan Cruz (He/They) is located on the traditional lands of the Acjachemen people in Santa Ana, OC. As a migrant person, their work is driven by the preservation of culture through seeds and food. Their knowledge comes from their lived experiences as a working-class migrant person, their community, and their culture. Their land work is focused on urban gardening and restorative farming practices in their community. Where they actively support the development of food and seed sovereignty projects.They are driven by intergenerational healing and migrant justice initiatives. Their individual and collective work is part of a greater responsibility. A responsibility to care for the land, cultural knowledge and seeds for the next generations. As an undocumented person, they believe in the access to traditional food and cooking materials as a medium for holistic wellness.
Mackenzie Feldman
Mackenzie Feldman is an environmental activist from Honolulu, Hawai'i. She is the Founder and Director of Re:wild Your Campus (formerly known as Herbicide-Free Campus), an organization that works with students and groundskeepers around the country to advocate for an end to the spraying of synthetic herbicides at schools and a transition to organic land management. Her campaign resulted in the entire University of California system going glyphosate-free, and Mackenzie worked with a coalition to get herbicides banned from every public school in the state of Hawai'i. Mackenzie received the 2019 Brower Youth Award for her work and is a 2022 Rachel Carson Council Fellow. She is also co-author, with her mother Kathy, of the book Groundbakers, which was published in Fall 2022.
PROJECT
Re:wild Your Campus
Re:wild Your Campus is a women-led and youth-run organization that trains students to bring a campaign to their campus to advocate for an elimination of synthetic herbicides and a transition to organic land care.
Charles Hua
Charles Hua is the Founder and Executive Director of PowerLines, a nonprofit working to modernize the utility regulatory system to lower bills and strengthen the economy. He previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy and as a Researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
His work has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, CBS News, Bloomberg, Financial Times, and Politico. Hua has been recognized as a U.S. Presidential Scholar, an Aspen Institute Fellow, and an Energy News Network 40 Under 40 honoree. He holds an A.B. from Harvard College.
Jasmin Graham
Jasmin’s work encompasses the areas of science communication, social justice, outreach, education and conservation. She cares deeply about protecting endangered and vulnerable marine species, particularly elasmobranchs. Jasmin is the President and CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), an organization dedicated to supporting women of color in shark sciences. She is excited to help open doors for more underrepresented minority students to join the exciting field of marine science.
PROJECT
ICONIC Oceans: Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked, Inclusive Conservation of our Oceans
The purpose of this project is to connect BIPOC folks around the world studying or participating in fisheries to share resources, data, and skills to better assess data-deficient fisheries and help promote and support sustainable ocean use in their local communities.
Tez Steinberg
Tez Steinberg is an ocean explorer, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker on mindset, resilience and personal growth. As Chief Engine Officer of United World Challenge, Tez rowed a 7-meter boat across the Pacific Ocean by himself from California to Australia in 196 days over two expeditions that raised $77K in donations for scholarships for peace and $72K for river barriers to prevent ocean plastic. Named “One of the 50 Best Young Minds in the World” by the World Economic Forum, Tez has founded 4 nonprofits and is passionate about harnessing the power of business for positive change.Tez earned his MBA from London Business School and completed undergrad at the University of Oxford and Macalester College. Tez’s leadership has been recognized by some of the world's foremost organizations including The Explorers Club of New York, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, NEXUS Global, Summit Series, and the World Economic Forum.
Cody Ley
Cody Ley is a Michigan-based environmental innovator, farmer, and builder dedicated to creating sustainable housing solutions in harmony with nature. As founder of Hemp 4 Humanity, Cody leads initiatives that integrate industrial hemp into affordable, healthy, and carbon-negative building systems. His work spans from establishing local hemp farming and processing supply chains to developing prefabricated hempcrete panels that reduce environmental impact and increase accessibility to natural building.
A board member of the U.S. Hemp Building Association, Cody combines a background in Environmental Science and Biochemistry with hands-on construction experience to advance the use of regenerative materials in the built environment. Through education, advocacy, and community-based projects, he is committed to fostering sustainable economic growth, improving indoor air quality, and building resilient communities across the U.S.
Apurva Iyengar
Apurva Iyengar is a 20 year old environmental activist and changemaker based in Boston. She is focused on creating a more cohesive and effective youth climate strategy and broadening access to this movement for young people around the world through her non-profit Youth.ify. Apurva is currently a second-year student at Tufts University, pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Environmental Geology. In her spare time, she is a classically trained oil painter and is a member of Tufts’ premier semi-classical South Asian dance team, Tufts Pulse.
PROJECT
Youth.ify
A global platform designed to address the diasporic nature of the youth environmental movement by providing platforms for individual and organization-level collaboration, connection and support.
Jack Hanson
Jack Hanson is the cofounder and executive director of Run On Climate. He has been working to advance climate justice since his senior year of high school. In 2019, Jack was elected to the Burlington, Vermont City Council at the age of 24, breaking voter turnout records in the process. While on Council he championed numerous policies to reduce emissions and lower the cost of living in Burlington, including requirements for landlords to weatherize rental units, renewable heating requirements for new buildlings, a citywide electric bikeshare system, a commitment and roadmap to get Burlington off of fossil fuels by 2030, and more. He started Run On Climate in 2021 to support other local-level leaders and climate activists working to advance climate action in their own communities.
Meghan Wood
Meghan Wood, a Canadian entrepreneur, is the Co-Founder of Raya Power, a Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to making clean, reliable energy affordable and accessible for all, starting with low-to-moderate income households.
A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA and MS in Sustainable Energy, Meghan is a Miller Social Change Leadership Award recipient and COP28 attendee. She is passionate about advancing climate technology through creative business models and innovative product design. Before Stanford, she was a management consultant at Bain & Company in Toronto, where she took greatest pride in forging a lasting partnership between Bain and The Nature Conservancy in Canada. Since then, she has built a top-tier team, secured over $1M in funding, and partnered with community organizations to launch a new solar system—blending analytical rigor, hands-on technical expertise, and a deep commitment to climate solutions and social impact.
Abhay Singh Sachal
Abhay Singh Sachal is a 22-year old Canadian whose research and work resides at the intersection of climate justice, ecoanxiety, mental health, and spirituality. He is the founder of Break The Divide, a non-profit organization that empowers young people to recognize their climate emotions and connects communities to build resilience and share knowledge amidst the climate crisis. Abhay is also one of 10 advisors in the inaugural Environment and Climate Change Canada Youth Council. Outside of his activism, Abhay is currently a student at the University of Regina, completing a Masters of Education in Educational Psychology; a public speaker on climate and mental health issues; and, an avid ice hockey player and pianist.
Amanda Sun
Amanda Sun studies computer science and environmental studies at Dartmouth College. She is the founder and executive director of Green2Go, advisor of Environmental Students of Dartmouth, and a Youth Leadership Councilor on EarthEcho International. Previously, Amanda researched climate futurisms and interned as a stagiaire at École Internationale de Boulangerie, an organic baking school in Aix-en-Provence. Her work can be found on COP26 Youtube, NYC Climate Week, UN Biodiversity Conference, Global Alliance of Universities on Climate Summit, and Good Morning America.
PROJECT
Green2Go
Green2Go is a youth-led, intergenerational movement enabling students at 30+ chapters to implement reusable takeout programs and advocate for zero waste, with the goal to eliminate over 10 million single-use plastics by the end of 2023.
Emma Hudson
Emma Ekua-Bedua Hudson is a biomedical engineer, nonprofit founder, and public health advocate focused on equitable, technology-driven solutions at the intersection of climate change and food insecurity. She is the Founder and President of the Food for Thought Foundation, a nonprofit that deploys climate-resilient vertical farms in schools within food-insecure communities.
Emma has been recognized as a 2023 Truman and Roddenberry Finalist, a Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholar at American University, and is currently a Martin Luther King Fellow at Boston University. She has also participated as a Clinton Global Initiative scholar and served as a keynote speaker at Kid Museum to inspire the next generation of activists.
Keenan Adams
Keenan was a military brat; however South Carolina is considered home. He played college football, studied forestry and wildlife and got a PhD from Clemson University. He has spent the last 15 years working as a land manager and scientist for several agencies in many parts of the country. He started a farm in Puerto Rico to make a positive impact on the land and the community.
Pooja Tilvawala
Pooja is a climate justice community connector who was born in India, but grew up in the US. She has degrees in Economics and International Studies and first worked at the Meridian Institute to advance ocean policy in Mexico and federal climate policy in the US, form alliances to act on plastic pollution, and more. Currently, she is the Founder and Director of Youth Climate Collaborative, a designer for Rivet, a finance team member of the Climate Youth Negotiators Program, and an active member of YOUNGO.She focuses on capacity-building for youth, effective storytelling, intergenerational action, power sharing, and microfinance for youth led action. Her purpose in life is to nurture her curiosity and creativity, encourage herself and others to challenge the status quo, and unite people to improve the quality of life for all.
PROJECT
Youth Climate Collaborative
Youth Climate Collaborative (YCC) is a youth-led global community offering tools and programs to make it easier for youth to get involved and remain involved in climate action, enable intergenerational cogeneration, and increase coordination and collaboration within the youth climate movement.
Jennifer Brandon
Dr. Jennifer Brandon is a PhD marine biologist and ecologist who has spent much of the last decade researching plastic pollution. She has developed multiple new scientific techniques and has been interviewed dozens of times for her expertise in marine plastics, including by NPR, The New Yorker, and the BBC. The HUMPBAC Sensor she is developing aims to be the first real-time sensor for measuring microplastics, making sampling microplastics faster, cheaper, and easier than ever before.
In her career, she has managed projects around multiple aspects of conservation and climate change for various stakeholders, including NGOs, government entities, foundations, family offices, and impact investors. She has worked on various aspects of climate change, from the ecological impacts of shipping in the Arctic, the future of water in California, blue carbon and carbon credits, and the impacts of climate change on African agriculture. Her climate consulting firm, Wild Beacon Consulting, focuses on helping climate investors and philanthropists with their giving strategy and scientific due diligence.
Jenni holds a MS in Marine Biology and PhD in Biological Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego.
James "Rollie" Williams
Rollie Williams is a Brooklyn-based comedian, video editor, and guy with both student debt and a Climate Science & Policy degree from Columbia University. He is the creator and host of the digital comedy series Climate Town which has been described as a low budget Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Over the past two years, the channel has amassed 421,000 subscribers, over 10 million video views, and has won a handful of digital video awards. Rollie now leads a team of 4 as they seek to expand their climate communication footprint in 2023. When he's not creating climate media, Rollie enjoys playing billiards, and recently achieved his dream of commentating at the World Cup of Pool in England.
PROJECT
Climate Town
Climate Town is a YouTube channel that makes rigorously researched journalistic comedy videos about climate change to educate and activate, and get people more comfortable talking about the issue.
Wawa Gatheru
Wawa Gatheru is a climate activist & Rhodes scholar passionate about cultivating a climate movement that is made in the image of all of us. She is the founder and Executive Director of Black Girl Environmentalist, the only national organization dedicated to addressing the pipeline and pathway issue for Black girls, women, and gender expansive individuals in the climate sector.She sits on boards and advisory councils for the Environmental Media Association, Climate Power, Sound Future, National Parks Conservation Association, and EarthJustice and is an inaugural member of the National Environmental Youth Advisory Council of the US EPA - the first federal youth-led advisory council in US history.For her work, Wawa has been recognized as a Glamour College Woman of the Year, a Forbes 30 under 30 recipient, an AFROTECH Future 50, a Grist 50 fixer, a Young Futurist by The Root, a Climate Creator to Watch by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a Public Voices Fellow by Yale, and was featured on the January 2023 digital cover of Vogue alongside Billie Eilish and 7 other climate activists.
Mayela Fernandez Cantu
Mayela Fernandez is the Co-Founder & CEO of EcoPlasticity, a startup developing a biodegradable, seaweed-based coating to replace plastic linings in single-use food packaging. With over five years of experience in digital marketing and an MBA from Cal Poly, she blends business strategy with environmental innovation to tackle global waste challenges. Her work has been supported by grants from VentureWell, Baker & Koob, and other innovation programs.
Passionate about sustainability and the circular economy, Mayela is also an avid adventurer who loves climbing mountains, exploring the ocean, and learning about the natural world.
Benjamin Wong
Benjamin Von Wong's work lies at the intersection of fantasy and photography and combines everyday objects with shocking statistics. It has attracted the attention of corporations, like Starbucks, Dell, and Nike, and has generated over 100 million views for causes like ocean plastics, electronic waste, and fashion pollution. His work has been narrated by Ryan Reynolds, he holds a Guinness World Record for the largest installation made from plastic straws, and he created the centerpiece at the United Nations in Nairobi when the Global Plastics Resolution was successfully signed.
PROJECT
Transforming the Eco-Anxious to the Eco-Engaged
By studying how the world’s best creative activists design projects to support movements, The Activism Studio is going to research, design, and prototype an educational collection of tools focused on transforming the eco-anxious into the eco-engaged.
Sage Lenier
Sage Lenier is a climate activist, public speaker, and nonprofit leader. She got her start teaching her own program at UC Berkeley, which broke records for largest-ever student-led class. She is the Founder & Executive Director of Sustainable & Just Future and was recently honored by TIME Magazine as a 2023 Next Generation Leader.
Jordan Sotudeh
Jordan Sotudeh is an experienced project manager, strategist, and analyst with a Project Management Professional certification. He has supported executive teams at the Department of Defense, NASA, JPL, BryceTech, and commercial aerospace companies, and serves on the Board of Advisors for UC Santa Barbara’s Engineering Leadership Program. His work spans emerging technologies, cost and environmental impact assessments, and interagency workshops, earning him multiple awards for analysis and program support.
Jordan is also the CEO and cofounder of Venaera, a company redefining the HVAC industry with intelligent, modular heat pump systems built for resilience. With heating and cooling accounting for up to 80% of building energy use and emissions, Venaera’s mission is to make climate systems radically more energy-efficient, adaptable, and circular—empowering buildings to thrive in a low-carbon, climate-adaptive future.
Miswar Syed
Miswar is completing his master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, specializing in renewable energy and power systems, at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He is a researcher, published author, inventor, TEDx speaker, and panelist, having participated in numerous conferences worldwide. With experience in both Fortune 500 companies and startups in the clean energy sector, he focuses on lab-to-market processes, scalability, strategic partnerships, and market analysis. His expertise includes renewable energy systems, energy storage technologies, and AI applications in smart grids. Miswar has received multiple international awards for his work and is currently building his venture, Swish, which aims to enhance solar panel efficiency through innovative R&D solutions.
Turner Wyatt
Turner Wyatt is a social entrepreneur focused on reducing food waste and improving our environment and economy. Turner is the co-founder of four award-winning organizations: Denver Food Rescue, Bondadosa, Fresh Food Connect, and Upcycled Food Association. He was named one of the Top 20 Emerging Leaders in Food and Ag, and the waste industry's 40 under 40 award. He is a Fink Fellow, and was chosen by the Mayor of Denver, Colorado to serve on the City's Sustainable Food Policy Council.
PROJECT
Sustainable Acquisition Entrepreneurship
Business model which helps prevent climate change and reduce income inequality by acquiring at-risk businesses, and making them more profitable and sustainable by using more environmentally friendly supply chain inputs, and converting the business into an employee-owned company.
Serena Allen
Serena Allen is the CEO and Founder of AirVitalize, a clean tech company that captures outdoor air pollution to create healthier spaces for the 1B+ people living in regions with trapped pollution. Recognized in 2024 by the Arctic Congressas a High North Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Serena founded AirVitalize after conducting over 1,000 interviews with people affected by poor air quality. She has spent the past three years living in Fairbanks, Alaska—one of the most polluted cities in the U.S.—while deploying solutions in Los Angeles.
Serena is a leading voice in the outdoor air filtration industry and also hosts entrepreneurship workshops for young inventors, participates in speaking engagements, and spends as much time outdoors as possible. She envisions a future where everyone has access to healthy air within a 15-minute walk.
AY Young
AY is a producer, singer, songwriter, entertainer, and entrepreneur. He first began writing poetry at 14, a reaction to the great disparity in Kansas City known as “the Troost divide” While touring the USA, AY learned that over 1 billion people lack access to electricity. So AY began powering concerts using renewable energy, raising awareness about sustainability, and fundraising to bring people electricity. Thus, the Battery Tour was born and has plugged in 17 countries to date.
PROJECT
Battery Tour: Project17
After founding the Battery Tour, powering over 900+ concerts using 100% clean energy and bringing energy boxes to over 15+ countries worldwide, "Project17" was launched. P17 is a conduit for NGOs, Non-Profits, Corporations, Private Sector, and individual citizens of the world to get involved and to plug into solutions for the many challenges identified by the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. AY has made one song for each of the 17 Global Goals. Part of the project will involve lining up a sponsor, an impact partner, and other projects. A total of 17+ performances will transpire through 2023. The proceeds of the music and tour power the impact projects for each of the Global Goals.
Suzanne Pierre, Ph.D.
Suzanne Pierre is an ecologist and biogeochemist who is pairing science with social organizing to address the climate crisis. She is the founder and executive director of the Critical Ecology Lab, a national environmental research and social impact institution producing original scientific research, training professionals and the public, and changing the climate narrative to create pathways to justice and sustainability. Pierre holds a doctorate in ecology and biogeochemistry from Cornell University, and specializes in the cycling of carbon and nitrogen in plant and soil ecosystems across scales. She is based in the California Bay Area.
Jonathan Gilmour
Jonathan Gilmour is the founder of Peregrine Datalab, a data consultancy and communications firm focused on the human health impacts of climate change and the environmental effects of AI and data centers. He currently leads federal data and resource preservation efforts with the Public Environmental Data Partners and tracks policy impacts through The Impact Project.
Previously, Jonathan was a Data Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, a Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the Aspen Policy Academy, an advisor to the Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Initiative, and a Data Infrastructure Engineer at The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.
Do you know a passionate young leader who is working on solutions for the betterment of our planet? Become a nominating organization.
The Young Leaders program is seeking a well-rounded cohort with a mix of representation across geographies, backgrounds, and approaches to sustainability and regeneration.
2026 Nominations are Now Closed.
Reflections from Young Leaders
FAQs
Walking Softer Young Leaders is an impact-focused accelerator program for visionary leaders in their 20s and 30s who are innovating for our planet. Recipients receive up to $50,000 in non-dilutive funding, six months of personalized executive coaching, a cohort-based learning experience, an all-expenses-paid leadership retreat in Lake Tahoe, and a pitch showcase that helps the Young Leaders move forward with their professional development by maximizing exposure, partnership opportunities, and long-term support from the Walking Softer community.
Walking Softer Young Leaders program goals are to:
- Develop: Provide 6 months of customized intensive executive and leadership development
- Cross-pollinate: Bridge for-profit and non-profit leaders, creating the container for peer-to-peer learning that encourages valuable cross-pollination of knowledge across sectors, solution approaches, and lived experiences.
- Catalyze: Prepare Young Leaders for future support pathways beyond Walking Softer, and for long-term engagement as alumni within the Walking Softer leadership community.
- Are Young Professionals in their 20s and 30s.
- Are the Founder, Co-Founder, CEO, or Executive Director of their organization.
- Are based in the U.S. or Canada. Candidates and their organizations must be based in the U.S. or Canada to be eligible.
- Are committed to developing an early-stage project, organization, or business full-time, ideally, for 1-2+ years beyond the program.
- Are committed to creating impact within the climate/sustainability space.
- Have an average annual operating budget of at least $30K in recent years.
Young Leaders are required to fully commit to engaging in and preparing for all sessions. The program's time estimate is 5-10 hours per month over 6 months. A percentage of funding is allocated as a participation bonus. As the success of the cohort depends on collective engagement, receiving the bonus is contingent upon the Young Leader's participation throughout the program.
The Young Leaders nomination process spans roughly seven months. Walking Softer reaches out to nominating organizations to invite them to identify and nominate Young Leaders over a three-month period. After nominations close, the list is reviewed, and selected nominees are invited to fill out a Project Readiness Form. From there, another round is selected to submit pitch decks. Nominees who advance to the next round will be evaluated based on their impact, vision, and leadership background. External experts and executives are consulted in the final stages of the selection process. Finalists will then be invited to participate in a 30-minute virtual interview.
An important note is that we select Young Leaders who already have a strong foundation in their relevant climate and/or environmentally related field. Finally, we aim for a well-rounded cohort that represents a diversity of backgrounds, including urban and rural areas, across age groups, various problem-solving approaches to sustainability, and a balance between for-profit and non-profit leaders.
Each leader will have the opportunity to focus on developing in the areas most relevant to their current stage or needs. Examples of areas we can support include organizational development, strategic planning, financial management, pitch deck development, regenerative business models, impact evaluation and systems thinking, go-to-market strategies, capacity building, and fundraising.
The Young Leaders program focuses equally on the person as the project; all sustainability projects that meet the aforementioned criteria are considered. Examples of project types might range across the areas of:
- Public policy, governance, and regulatory action
- Movement-building, grassroots organizing, and civic engagement
- Community-led climate resilience and adaptation
- Indigenous and place-based stewardship
- Regenerative agriculture innovation beyond technology (e.g., community agroecology programs, traditional regenerative farming practices, cooperative soil restoration initiatives)
- Circular and regenerative systems innovation beyond technology (e.g., community-based repair and reuse programs, local zero-waste initiatives, cooperative circular economy models)
- Conservation, rewilding, and biodiversity protection
- Economic and cultural models that advance climate justice and regenerative societal shifts
- GHG monitoring and climate intelligence tools
- Consumer climate technologies
- Renewable energy and storage technologies
- Electrification technologies for buildings and transportation
- Decarbonization technologies (e.g., batteries, sustainable fuels, CCUS)
- Engineered and bio-based materials innovations
- Tech-enabled regenerative agriculture (e.g., precision agriculture sensors, AI-driven crop optimization, vertical farming automation)
- Circular and regenerative systems using technology (e.g., smart recycling platforms, material tracking software, AI-driven supply chain optimization)
- Regenerative business models that rethink how value and resources flow to support long-term economic and ecological resilience
Funds can be used to support personal and professional needs associated with the project, including salaries and compensation for living expenses, so they can focus on their project full-time.
An early-stage project is typically between two and four years old, though we adopt a flexible definition of “early stage.”
For for-profits, this refers to newly launched ventures focused on developing their product or service, validating market fit, building a small team, and acquiring initial customers, often with minimal revenue and active fundraising efforts.
For nonprofits, it refers to organizations in the initial phase of development that have already demonstrated early traction, established their mission, built programs, and begun to scale their efforts to secure sustainable funding and community support.
The project, organization, or business must be legally incorporated. Projects that are still in “idea” form on paper, with no volunteers and no activities yet, will not be considered. Except in cases where the individual is the founder, the project cannot fall under the scope of normal paid job responsibilities for an organization.
All nominees meeting the eligibility criteria will be formally invited to submit a Project Readiness Form. Two weeks after the deadline, nominees will be notified via email if their application is moving forward to the next round, which is an invitation to submit a pitch deck. The final step will be an application and a 30-minute virtual interview.
We are keeping this number open as we intentionally curate a well-rounded, diverse cohort representing a mix of geographies, solution approaches, and backgrounds. As a guideline, we anticipate awarding a minimum of 10 leaders and a maximum of 15.
50% of the funding will be distributed at the beginning of the program. The remaining 45% will be distributed at the end of the program, and the remaining 5% upon receipt of all necessary and requested documentation, and confirmation of program attendance to all required sessions.
Walking Softer Young Leaders offers up to $50,000 in financial support tailored to each recipient's needs. This non-dilutive funding is structured to empower Young Leaders with the financial resources they need to advance their innovative solutions for the planet.
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