Inaugural Council Members

Ethan Kelly is a Communications Strategist with a passion for reaching people where they are. Originally from Prince George’s County, Maryland, Ethan is the son of a Filipina immigrant and a product of the public school system. A senior at Harvard College studying Government, Ethan also served as the Vice President of the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics and worked in First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s office on her Communications Team. Ethan’s journey into communications began with founding “Let’s Talk Elections,” a YouTube channel dedicated to breaking down complex electoral trends and making them understandable for everyday audiences. With a focus on data-driven analysis and historical context — his channel helps foster political literacy among tens of thousands of viewers across the country every day. He recently served on the Rapid Response team for a Presidential campaign, where he specialized in digital media creation on TikTok, helping grow the account to nearly 6 million followers. His work focuses on making politics relatable and accessible to Gen-Z audiences, blending pop culture with policy to spark engagement. At his core, he believes in the power of strategic communication to inform, inspire, and mobilize.

Hikaru Wakeel Hayakawa is a Caribbean and Japanese American social entrepreneur and climate activist. He is the Executive Director and a founding director of Climate Cardinals, one of the world’s largest youth-led climate organizations, mobilizing 16,000 volunteers across 134 countries. He developed its signature translation program in partnership with Translators Without Borders and Google Cloud. In 2023, Climate Cardinals became one of the first youth-led organizations to secure six-figure funding from Google’s philanthropic arm. Hayakawa represents Climate Cardinals on UNESCO’s Youth Climate Action Network Steering Committee and has spoken at events hosted by Harvard, Columbia, Google, and the United Nations. His work has been featured in Forbes, Grist, and Teen Vogue.

Isaias Hernandez is an environmental educator and content creator from Los Angeles, and the founder of the Queer Brown Vegan media platform. Isaias grew up in a community that faced environmental racism and his experiences led him to believe that everyone should learn about the environment through an intersectional lens. He’s spent the last 4 years creating environmental education for digital mediums to help teach anyone, and everyone, about intersectional environmentalism in an accessible way. His authentic storytelling and informative blogs, videos, and graphics have captured the attention of organizations such as Vogue, Harvard, The White House, and earned him an audience of over 100,000 on Instagram. Isaias’s work has been published and referenced by numerous media organizations, thought leaders, businesses, and nonprofits. He’s helped to elevate impact campaigns, bring awareness to current events, highlight meaningful research, and educate the next generation on climate issues, all while maintaining a recognizable and appreciated vulnerability that centers his own humanity and intersecting identities. Whether Isaias is communicating the importance of queer ecology, or drawing attention to the connections between racial and environmental justice, his work has helped expand what it means to be an educator and helped transform the climate movement.

Kalpana Arias is a guerrilla gardener, technologist, nature rights activist and food grower, writer, speaker and the founder of Nowadays, a social enterprise fighting for urban nature. Alongside Nowadays, Kalpana campaigns for the right to grow and nature rights through urban gardening projects and tech policy reforms, has been researching technological ecologies for over 7 years, delivered a global TED talk, spoken at the United Nations, featured on Evening Standard's 30 under 30 list of Climate Activists On A Mission To Save London and Vogue, and is a trustee for GROW charity. Kalpana is currently an environmental consultant for corporations and governments and works with leading charities, institutions, brands and grassroots change-makers.

Maya Penn is a 23 year old award-winning environmental activist, eco-designer, founder, keynote speaker, artist, animator, 3 time TED speaker, and author. Starting in 2008 at just eight years old, Maya has been working in sustainability and climate justice for 15 years. She studied biomimicry which has shaped her work in sustainable design as well as ESG consulting. Maya is certified by University of Cambridge Business School in Circular Economies and Sustainable Strategies. Maya has received a commendation from President Barack Obama for outstanding achievement in environmental stewardship. Being an animator and filmmaker, Maya made history at 16 years old during the Obama administration when she was commissioned to create an animated film for the opening of the first ever digital report presented to congress, which was to get an American museum of Women’s History built in Washington. Maya has been a worldwide environmental change maker, educator and activist for over a decade, with talks that have been translated into over 100 languages and used in curriculum. Maya has taught biomimetic design classes as well as circular design classes with FutureLearn. Maya was awarded the Coretta Scott King A.N.G.E.L. Award, as well as honored the SCLC Drum Major for Justice Award. Through her own nonprofit Maya's Ideas 4 The Planet she has launched humanitarian and environmental justice initiatives in the US, Haiti, Senegal, Somalia, and Cameroon. Through her climate-storytelling focused production company Upenndo! Productions, Maya is centering job creation for black, brown, indigenous, female, disabled, and LGBTQ+ artists in creative industries. Maya is directing an original environmental animated short film titled ASALI: Power of The Pollinators, Executive produced by JuVee Productions. 

Melanie is a Gen Z science communicator and a dual-degree student in Biochemistry and Forensic Science at The University of Texas at Austin, set to graduate in May 2025. She has built a dynamic platform that bridges science and storytelling, making complex topics accessible and engaging for broad audiences. Through her popular online series, including ""Is That a Good Way to Get Rid of a Body?"", ""Sexy Science"", and ""Could That Kill Me?"", she’s cultivated a following of curious minds who share her love of learning and her flair for the unexpected. Beyond the screen, she is a passionate advocate for sustainability, gender equity in STEM, and education accessibility. Having grown up in an under-resourced, rural community, she experienced firsthand the barriers to quality science education. That experience now fuels her mission to democratize access to STEM education for low-income and rural students, creating opportunities she once wished existed for herself. Her impact has moved beyond digital platforms and into the classroom. She has been invited as a guest speaker in university courses, where she shares her personal story and insights on science communication, equity in education, and building a purpose-driven platform. Whether online or in person, her goal is the same: to inspire the next generation of scientists, communicators, and changemakers—especially those who have been historically left out of the conversation.

Nala Amirah is a founder and youth professional working at the intersection of socio-technological and socio-economic trends in decarbonization, women’s economic empowerment, and environmental education. Her work bridges research, policy, and social impact to advance sustainable workforce development, just transition strategies, and education reform. At 15, she founded Green Welfare Indonesia, leading a women-driven team integrating environmental education into Indonesia’s formal curriculum in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment. Under her leadership, the organization has authored five environmental education textbooks and modules for K-9 students and engaged over 85,000 Indonesian youths, ensuring future generations are equipped with climate literacy and workforce-relevant skills. In academia, Nala’s undergraduate research explores gender-responsive workforce development in Indonesia’s renewable energy transition to identify pathways for inclusive and equitable employment. She also serves as a Sustainability Consulting Intern at a Japan-based climate tech company, supporting research and client success for the company’s SaaS and AI-powered climate enterprise software. Moreover, Nala was a co-author of the Green Jobs 2045 Indonesia Outlook, a strategic report highlighting projected employment opportunities in Indonesia’s green economy by 2045. The report, presented to Indonesia’s President and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in 2024, outlines critical skills needed to prepare Indonesia’s workforce for a just and resilient transition. Her global leadership spans policy and advocacy, where she was one of the first WSIS Youth Campaigners to curate the Youth and ICTs in Climate Change track for ITU and the youngest 2022 Southeast Asian nominee & selected member of UN Women’s 30 for 2030 list. As a global speaker, she has paneled over 50 discussions with UN Women, UNHCR, UNEP, the EU, and ESCAP, covering climate governance, youth and technology, women’s leadership, and the future of work in sustainability. She is is also a two-time TEDx speaker and COP28 delegate.

Nebiyou Timotewos is a 20-year-old humanitarian, author, and community leader, recognized with multiple international awards, including the Diana Award, National Hero, Youth Role Model of the Year, and Canada's first-ever Youth Community All-Star. Born on October 18, 2004, in Hawassa, Ethiopia, Nebiyou was one of seven children. But he grew up with four siblings, as two of his older brothers tragically passed away as infants. After his father resigned as mayor to avoid corruption, the family opened a café to make ends meet until his father joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At age seven, Nebiyou moved with his family to Yemen, where his father served as a diplomatic accountant at the Ethiopian embassy. When war broke out, Nebiyou faced traumatic events, such as the loss of loved ones, while his home and school were bombed. As the conflict escalated, his father and coworkers kept the Ethiopian embassy open, helping over 6,000 people evacuate. In 2015, Nebiyou’s father was honoured with the National Hero Award. The family later relocated to Ireland and eventually settled in Canada, where they spent seven months in a shelter. Despite challenges, Nebiyou excelled academically and graduated high school with honours. Nebiyou is currently a third-year student at York University, pursuing a Global Political Studies major with a minor in Human Rights and Equity Studies, alongside a Professional Certificate in Public Administration and Law. He is also pursuing a certificate program at MIT, studying "The Science and Business Behind Biotechnology." At 15, Nebiyou began volunteering with Secord Youth Council to assist homeless individuals. In 2023, he founded Brothers4Brothers, a program for young men focused on breaking the stigma surrounding mental health. In 2024, he founded Communities Care, an organization dedicated to addressing the immediate needs of youth, which has supported over 2,500 young people worldwide to date. In 2025, he founded The Kindness Loop, a media outlet dedicated to sharing only positive news. It has reached hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to date. His "Kindness Tour" inspired 10,000+ people and raised funds for orphans. Now on his "Stronger Together" world tour, he aims to raise money for scholarships to help African street youth transition into classrooms. His work continues to uplift communities as he advocates for a shift toward a social-purpose-driven model, where individual and community success are interconnected—guided by his slogan: "There Is A Power in Kindness."

Oscar Armando Lopez III is a researcher, writer, and artist from the U.S.-Mexico border whose work spans public policy, youth advocacy, climate action, and multilateral diplomacy. He currently serves as the UNA-USA Youth Observer to the United Nations, where he represents American youth in global forums and helps advance youth priorities within UN processes. Oscar holds a B.A. in Government and a B.B.A. in Business Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. His commitment to inclusive policymaking has led him to roles across sectors, including the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he advanced federal climate policy and Goldman Sachs, where he worked to expand access to venture capital for women and minority-led businesses through the firm’s $1 billion Launch With GS initiative. In 2025, Oscar was selected to represent the United States at the Y20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he will serve as the Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability delegate, working alongside young leaders from across the globe to shape policy recommendations for G20 leaders. Oscar also serves as a Young Advisor to the Story Lab, a flagship initiative of the Unlock the Future coalition, hosted by the United Nations Foundation. In this role, he provides strategic input on content development to ensure that global storytelling initiatives—on issues such as climate justice, youth empowerment, and economic reform—resonate with young people and influence decision-making on the world stage. Oscar has served on several boards, including Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation’s Advisory Board, where he championed mental health equity in Latinx communities and supported the foundation’s $3 million Kindness in Community Fund, helping direct funding to 65 youth-led mental health initiatives across ten countries. He also serves on the Laredo Food Policy Council, where he helped pass a plan to alleviate food deserts in South Texas. A longtime advocate for digital equity, Oscar was selected as the youngest-ever Google Public Policy Fellow in 2019. His research on the effects of the digital divide on low-income communities led to a formal filing with the Federal Communications Commission focused on improving nationwide efforts to close the digital divide. In response to growing concerns about water scarcity in his hometown, Oscar co-founded the El Río Es Vida Coalition, a collective of scientists, organizers, and community members working to protect the Rio Grande and secure long-term water access for border communities. As a student leader, Oscar was the first student of Central American descent to serve as Speaker of the Student Government Assembly at UT Austin and helped allocate over $41 million to initiatives that improved mental health resources and campus diversity. His research has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, and his photography has been exhibited throughout the country. He has spoken and been featured at international forums including the Clinton Global Initiative, the Concordia Summit, and the the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ World Food Forum.

Pamela is a documentary photographer and explorer from Mexico, who has built a body of visual work centered on climate justice and gender equality. With degrees from Parsons School of Design and the University of the Arts London, Pamela has combined her unique background in product design and expertise in photojournalism to weave design thinking with storytelling, crafting impactful frontline narratives that inspire action and foster climate optimism. She received the Getty Images scholarship to pursue her MA in Photojournalism at London College of Communication and has earned recognition from The British Journal of Photography, LH Horton Jr Art Gallery, Photographer’s Forum, and Photofusion’s SALON/21, among others. Pamela was also selected from over 15,000 applicants as a Climate Storytelling Fellow with CNN and the Rockefeller Foundation, joining a distinguished cohort of 15 young journalists committed to spotlighting the profound impacts of climate change. She is one of the founders of Climate Words, an online lexicon advancing climate literacy through definitions written by frontline experts. The project equips individuals to speak and act on the climate crisis by providing accessible definitions from scientists, Indigenous leaders, policymakers, and other key voices. For her work with Climate Words, Pamela received The Young Climate Voice Award 2023 from The World Around and was honored as a Young Explorer 2024 by The Explorers Club and Adventure Canada. Pamela is also the co-founder of Latinas por el Clima, a collective of young people from Latin America fighting for intersectional climate justice. Together they amplify the voices of girls, women, gender-diverse individuals, and marginalized communities; promoting ecofeminism, political advocacy, and climate education to highlight how the climate crisis disproportionately impacts these groups in the Global South. Pamela is an International Fellow of The Explorers Club, an Arctic Angel with Global Choices, a member of Protect Our Winters Creative Alliance, and a local Arc’teryx Ambassador. Through these roles, she continues to amplify climate action and inspire collective change.

Pooja is a rising leader in climate justice and intergenerational equity, and a community weaver. She graduated in 2018 from American University in Washington, DC, with degrees in Economics and International Studies, specializing in Justice, Ethics, and Human Rights. She has been active in her community since her childhood years, and has since found her place in the global climate movement. In 2020, she became the Founder and Executive Director of Youth Climate Collaborative, through which she creates pathways for youth worldwide to realize their full potential in climate leadership. Her team has supported thousands of youth with programs that increase their access to climate mental health resources, housing and passes to attend life-changing convenings, media training to effectively communicate their climate stories, technical support to accelerate their initiatives, strategic coordination for international climate policy events, and more. She is also the Founder and CEO of Jaali, a soon-to-launch digital social impact platform, which leverages AI to connect changemakers of all ages with each other, funders, and opportunities to advance their action, democratize information sharing, and strengthen collaboration for the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, in 2023 she co-founded the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, and has since co-organized over 230 events across 7 cities to mobilize a global movement for culture-based climate action. Further, she helps design climate grant programs, advises organizations on youth engagement and strategy, and is conducting innovative research to create a guidebook of intergenerational decision-making models to encourage their wide adoption across sectors. She firmly believes that together, we can improve the quality of life of all.

Qiyun is a prominent climate communicator and illustrator from Singapore, who is best known for founding The Weird and Wild, an Instagram page that uses engaging visuals and comics to make climate information accessible. Qiyun’s passion for the environment began in childhood and deepened overtime eventually leading her to pursue a degree in environmental science at the National University of Singapore. In 2018, she noticed a lack of accessible climate information and launched The Weird and Wild to experiment with digital storytelling. She has since created over 400 visuals, including comics on key scientific reports, collaborations with researchers on explaining bioluminescence, wet bulb temperatures, weather patterns and more. The Weird and Wild aims to empower people with knowledge to take action by bridging the gap between experts and the public. While her work is global, she takes great care to present information that is contextually relevant to her country and region, Singapore and Southeast Asia, as this information is not often made accessible. Beyond visuals, Qiyun is also an active commentator on media platforms, international speaker and workshop facilitator. She also co-hosts Climate Cheesecake, a podcast exploring environmental issues from a Southeast Asian perspective. Through her visuals, Qiyun engages in climate advocacy through policy and behavioral change initiatives. She has worked with civil society groups to create infographics on issues like carbon tax and net-zero targets. She also collaborated with local authorities to install marine biodiversity signboards at Changi Beach, promoting responsible public interaction with fragile ecosystems. She consistently works on explainers to technical climate jargon such as COP conferences, new technology and policy announcements. She is currently the Senior Communications Manager at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but has a background in sustainability consulting and strategy advisory at Deloitte, Unravel Carbon, and a stint in the Economic Development Board of the Singapore Government. Qiyun also sits on the Board of the Resilient Cities Network. She is also a National Geographic Young Explorer and recognised a BBC 100 Woman of Impact and Influence. Believing that climate literacy drives meaningful change, Qiyun is inspired to blend the science and arts to improve climate literacy.

Rashika previously worked at the USEPA, working on the global plastics treaty negotiations and on international lead pollution. She obtained her Master’s of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and is now working on climate storytelling, documentary filmmaking, and community organizing.

I am an Environmental Justice expert, climate movement leader and consultant to the United Nations. I served as an Expert Reviewer for the IPCC AR6 report and founded Justice Environment, a social impact consistency focused on climate change and sustainability. A firm believer that democracy can be utilized to impact out climate, I have mobilized millions of youth and BIPOC to get out and vote on issues like climate change, social justice and voting rights. My campaigns have collaborated with icons like Al Gore, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Taylor Swift. I have researched the impacts of climate change on the ground in the Indian Himalayas, worked on Harvard University’s inaugural Sustainability Plan, am an Advisor to the National Parks Conservation Association and discovered a new hybrid species in French Polynesia. I have written for National Geographic, PBS and the World Bank, and have spoken at the United Nations, US Department of State and TEDx. My goal is to create a greener, more equitable, more sustainable world and to mobilize people into making that happen.

Saiarchana Darira is a climate and mental health activist. She works as the Co-Executive Director of OneUpAction International, a youth-led organization focused on accelerating and implementing climate solutions through climate mental health, environmental justice, cultural awareness, and nature-based solutions. She helped build the organization's "Youth Solutionists In Government Fellowship," centered on inspiring youth to advocate for equitable climate policy and build local youth-led climate commissions. She is a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum, where she works in implementing sustainability projects throughout New York City centered on equity. One of her biggest passions is strengthening youth policy participatory processes, where youth hold an active voice in co-creating policy. She worked on a global policy campaign for the United Nations called "Turn It Around! Flashcards for Education Futures," which featured the climate policy visions of hundreds of youth across the world. Through artwork and poetry, this project aimed to bring the artists, poets, and creatives into the climate policy space. She was able to share these policy visions with world leaders such as Antonio Guterres, Amina Mohammad, John Kerry, and Simon Stiell. In addition to this, she served on the 5th Cohort of the U.S. Youth Action Council for United Nations Ocean Decade, where she works on various campaigns in the U.S. to drive youth support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including campaigns to advise members of Congress to support the UN's climate agenda, efforts to audit which companies pollute the most in the U.S., and interactive ways to get youth's input on how the UN could better address protecting the oceans. She also has experience doing biodiversity research for NASA in California, where she examined the role of AVIRIS satellite data in supporting local conservation efforts. She additionally did clean energy research for the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she examined the role of international trade for renewable energy in benefiting the economies of countries across the world. She also did climate research for the Global Mental Health Lab, where she examined the role of mindfulness in helping environmentalists navigate burnout, ecological grief, and climate anxiety. As a recent graduate of Columbia University's Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program, she is passionate about developing holistic solutions to address the climate crisis.

Named one of the most influential climate leaders in New York, Shiv Soin is the Co-Executive Director of TREEage and the Youth Lead at TED Countdown. Under Shiv's leadership, TREEage has grown into a force in New York by building a membership base of over 1,000 students across all five boroughs of NYC. As a leading youth organizer, Shiv also sits on the Steering Committee of New York Renews, a coalition of 390+ environmental, justice, faith, and labor groups across the state. He has worked extensively on political and electoral campaigns in New York and co-authored several policy proposals, ranging from creating 100,000 green jobs by 2025 to larger environmental frameworks for the New York City Council and the state government. Shiv’s local organizing experience drives his international work at TED Countdown, TED’s climate initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. At TED Countdown, Shiv leads global youth engagement strategy and curation. Shiv is also a graduate of New York University.

Wawa Gatheru is a GenZ climate activist and 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. In addition to her role at BGE, Wawa sits on boards and advisory councils for Greenpeace USA, EarthJustice, Climate Power, Sound Future, National Parks Conservation Association, and Nest Climate Campus. Wawa is also 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 L’Oreal Paris Woman of Worth, a 2025 Trailblazer by the Sierra Club, a Climate Creator to Watch by Harvard, and has been named to several notable lists - including Forbes 30 under 30, Ebony Power 100, Harper Bazaar Japan’s Most Powerful People, the Independent’s Climate 100, Grist 50, and AFROTECH Future 50 - and is an established public speaker who has presented at Harvard University, The Washington Post Summit, and the New York Times Climate Forward. She most recently featured on the January 2023 digital cover of Vogue alongside Billie Eilish and 7 other climate activists.