Amber is a youth climate justice organizer focused on uplifting intersectionality, community care, and climate hope. Through her work with Sustainabiliteens, a youth climate organization in “Vancouver”, she has led bank divestment actions and climate strikes for hundreds. In September 2022, she organized a climate justice block party, with the goal of bringing the movement together to celebrate all the good work being done while pushing for more from those in power. In addition, she has put together educational environmental workshops for youth and created informational social media content reaching an audience of 8k+, all spotlighting the connections between climate and social justice. Outside of her climate advocacy, she is heavily involved in service in her community, where she leads the Port Moody Youth Focus Committee and Social Justice Club.

Ashton is an environmental scientist and educator committed to empowering communities to take action.

Fuelled by a passion to inspire people to understand, appreciate and care for the environment, Ashton strives to create inclusive and accessible opportunities for everyone to experience nature. In doing so, she seeks to spark interest and bring new people into the environmental movement. With an academic background in atmospheric science, hydrology and human-environment interactions, Ashton is particularly interested in climate action and how community organizing can empower people to make systemic changes. Her other interests include waste reduction and natural disaster response and mitigation.

Ashton currently is the Program Manager of the Lower Mainland Green Team where she engages communities in nature-based activities to connect people with each other and nature, enabling them to take care of themselves, their community and the environment. She also serves on the Fraser Basin Council Youth Advisory Committee, and was formerly a Board Member at Green Teams of Canada before she stepped into her current staff role. Ashton continually seeks new challenges and breaks down barriers to make lasting impacts in the community.

My name is Caio, and I’m from Brazil, where I grew fond of our local biodiversity from a young age and learnt about the environmental issues the planet is facing; this led me to my participation in the COP24 youth #Decarbonize paper and help clean up the Guarapiranga Reservoir. I am an environmental activist and a change-maker. My love for nature and passion for climate justice and environmental conservation pushed me to continue to take action after moving to Canada. As an avid Ocean Wise YouthToSea Ambassador, I strive to spread ocean conservation and engage with my community to increase environmental education and action. As one of the Schooling Fish project co-founders, I helped connect multiple high schools and compensate for the lack of ocean literacy in the school curriculum. At my school, I help implement sustainability as Earthwise Club’s president, continuing to inspire change through engaging activities, games, workshops and managing the greenhouse. I also facilitate cooking classes and garden clubs for kids as Sprouting Chefs’ Youth Committee Head. Other involvements include being an Animal Care Volunteer with the Wildlife Association of BC, assisting birds in rehabilitation and a bird banding trainee with the Vancouver Avian Research Centre.

Maya is a community organizer, city councillor, and climate justice activist. She has worked with grassroots, student-led, and non-profit organizations on a variety of environmental issues including waste reduction, fossil fuel divestment, food security, renewable energy, youth empowerment, environmental education, electoral politics, and climate justice. Over the last year, Maya has been working with a local non-profit organization, Neighbours United, on piloting the world’s first deep canvass on climate and energy, a project that utilizes storytelling and deep listening to build support for government action on climate in industrial towns and rural communities across BC. After running a successful campaign as a climate champion in BC’s 2022 municipal elections, Maya is now the City of Rossland’s youngest councillor. On the side, she is working towards a Master’s Degree in community development through the University of Victoria.

Mireta channels persistence and passion in her dedication to climate justice, circular economy, and sustainability at school, at work, and in her community. In high school, Mireta successfully led a multi-year, multi-stakeholder project to end the sales of bottled water in the school vending machines. Mireta repeated this success at Simon Fraser University, leading a campaign that mobilized the university to eliminate bottled water and other single-use plastics and install 168 accessible water refill stations. Mireta’s academic and environmental projects at SFU earned her recognition as the Faculty of Environment’s Woman of the Year in 2019 and Dean’s Medalist in 2022. Upon graduating with her Bachelor of Environment degree in Resource and Environmental Management and Dialogue, Mireta took on positions as a Policy Analyst with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Circular Economy Team and as a Board Director with the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation. In these roles, Mireta advances solutions to the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and waste and pollution. Mireta is intent on a lifetime of positive contributions to socio-ecological wellbeing in her communities and for the planet.

My name is Saaransh and I have been heavily involved in sustainability initiatives in Kamloops, BC ever since I moved there three years ago to start my Master of Science in Environmental Economics and Management at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). My passion for the environment started as volunteering with Co-Creating a Sustainable BC program and being the President of the TRU ECO club. My Master’s research project is about helping a local, small organization measure its carbon footprint, reduce emissions, and become more sustainable. Moreover, I co-wrote a book entitled “A Study of the Value of Kamloops Parks” with my professor about the valuation of the ecosystem services provided by different parks in Kamloops. This work advances our understanding of the value of urban ecosystems, through an assessment of city parks in Kamloops. In addition, I recently worked with the City of Kamloops and the TRU Office of the Vice President Research to help formulate the Cultural Strategic Plan for the city of Kamloops.

Ashoke Mohanraj is not your traditional “environmentalist”. In fact, his overarching mission is to redefine what it means to be an environmentalist. Ashoke’s journey began in university when he launched the “ispeak4thetrees” podcast which was geared towards breaking down complex issues without academic jargon or political filters. After spending several years supporting local grassroots organizations, he was able to transition into the world of international diplomacy and global climate governance by being selected to be part of the official Canadian youth delegation at COP24 and COP26. During this time, he served as the Director of Programming for the United Nations Association in Canada, Toronto Branch where he supported the implementation of the SDGs in the GTA. Sprinkled throughout his journey he has also been active in entrepreneurship and social innovation working on several ventures ranging from carbon capture and storage to zero-waste packaging. This past summer he published his first children’s book, “Pollinator Man”, which on the surface teaches children the importance of pollinator conservation, but at a much deeper level tries to bridge the gap between masculinity and environmentalism. Ashoke is an incoming 1L student at the Dalhousie Schulich School of Law where he plans to pursue a career in marine and environmental law.

Brighid Fry is a Toronto based singer-songwriter, performing musician and aspiring producer who at 19 years old has released five EPs on her own and with bands Kingdom of Birds and Housewife (formerly Moscow Apartment). Brighid co-produced her critically acclaimed sophomore EP, Better Daughter, released in July 2020 which resulted in a global record deal with Hazel Street Records/Sony Music. She has won a Canadian Folk Music Award, a Toronto Independent Music Award, a Canadian Songwriting Competition award and the 2018 It’s Your Shot Competition. Brighid was recently an honorable mention in SOCAN’s Young songwriter’s Competition. In 2021, Brighid helped to launch the Canadian chapter of Music Declares Emergency and has been helping to drive attention to the climate emergency within the music industry. In 2022, Brighid participated in the first Canadian cohort of the Creative Climate Leadership Program.

Clara is an advocate working in the areas of climate action, sustainability, and youth empowerment. She co-authored a Global Youth Statement for COP27 as a member of the Adaptation Working Group with the youth constituency of UN Climate Change, and is a Youth Ambassador with Plan International Canada’s Speakers Bureau, and Youth Council member with Ontario Nature. Clara was a Youth Delegate and Climate Change Working Group member of YOUNGA 2022, a global sustainability conference, and Youth Panellist with Global Youth Mobilization, an initiative of the UN Foundation, WHO, and global youth organizations. Clara also completed the UNICEF Canada Youth Advocacy Program, co-authored the Climate Change working group policy statement, and interviewed the Governor General of Canada about her views on youth advocacy and climate change at the 2022 Youth Activism Summit. Clara has received numerous awards for her leadership, advocacy, teamwork and volunteer service.

Cogie is an environmental and animal rights advocate pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Globalization Studies at Huron University College. In 2020, they founded Western Environmental Business (WEB), a club at Western University that fosters the next generation of environmentally aware business leaders. From 2021-2022, they served on the Youth Advisory Council for Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, they were the Huron Sustainability Commissioner, and an Ocean Bridge Ambassador. As Sustainability Commissioner they successfully campaigned to make Huron a Blue Community, thus ending the commodification and sales of water on their university campus. In March of 2022, Cogie travelled to Nairobi, Kenya as a delegate to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2). Over the summer, Cogie worked as a Business Analyst Intern in the Royal Bank of Canada’s Amplify program where they won the Industry Disruptor Award with their team for creating a U.S. patent pending product to help the bank reduce their carbon footprint. They are currently working as a part-time Climate Change Business Analyst for RBC and as a Research Assistant exploring humane vegan businesses.

As a youth community leader and science enthusiast, I grew up with a passion for the environment. In recent years, I have explored the realm of scientific research and challenged my creativity by developing innovative climate solutions. In 2022, I placed as a Top 10 Finalist in The Earth Prize, an international sustainability competition with the idea of macroalgae farming in urban watersheds. I’ve also led a team to win an international Sustainability Innovations competition with the project focused on Designing a Sustainable Community Outline. On top of my passion for science, I am actively engaged in community organizations: Friends of Parkway Forest Park and Live Green Toronto. Through implementing eco-painting events and educational TransformTO community garden climate hubs, and presenting food waste workshops, I’ve connected with over 1500 families in climate action. In the future, I plan to continue to find ways to connect my passion for science while creating positive changes, promoting sustainability and spreading awareness on the environmental crisis in communities.

Iman is passionate about environmental justice and ensuring that everyone is able to access environmental education. Iman is a co-founder and board member at Green Ummah, a non-profit that raises awareness amongst Canadian Muslims of the Islamic environmental teachings and to empower them to become leaders in the green movement. Through her work at Green Ummah, Iman has been able to focus on voter education around the environmental space. Iman has been a part of lobbying Members of Parliament to take climate action through policy. For the past Municipal and Provincial elections, Iman was part of organizing environment-focused debates where members of various communities could learn about climate-focused policy points and different candidates’ stances on these topics. Iman has also worked to create multiple education campaigns focusing on each level of government and the delineation of their environmental responsibilities. Iman hoped to continue her environmental advocacy work to spreading education about oceans and waterways and why protecting these spaces is a significant part of tackling climate change. Iman will attend IMPAC5 this year as a delegate to help further this mission!

Lauren is the Co-Executive Director of Regenesis, one of Canada’s largest student-led environmental organizations. She is also 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 entrepreneurship programs and sharing career development resources. Impressively, Lauren has secured more than a 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 a space for a soup kitchen. Lauren has been recognized by Corporate Knights, The Starfish Canada, Metroland Media and politicians for her work. Lauren’s Master’s of Environmental Studies research focuses on investigating the funding struggles of racialized climate justice activists through cellphilm making, and she is looking forward to amplifying these perspectives through her speaking engagements.

Speaking Languages: English and French

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yapvprtaBHG3JqKHOYktrV5F3LIbGXo0/view?usp=sharing

Mae is passionate about preserving the environment, combating climate change, and educating young minds through her work with the Riverwood Junior Naturalists Club. Since a young age she has spent much of her time outside involved in nature, which gave her a deeper understanding and appreciation of the natural world. She is also a published author, having contributed to research for two scientific papers. The first when she was twelve titled “The role of spines in anthropogenic seed dispersal on the Galápagos Islands” and the second when she was sixteen titled “Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover”. Mae is also a Shad alumni, and is now preparing for university where she hopes to continue her work in environmetalism, and help to inspire more stewards of the Earth for tomorrow.

Michelle is a passionate climate justice advocate and community organizer. They firmly believe that we need to overhaul the status quo and create a sustainable and equitable future that puts people and the planet before profits. Michelle has been involved in environmental efforts in multiple areas. She helped spearhead the national Not Going Back campaign with Our Time and advanced sustainability efforts at the University of Waterloo as the first-ever Sustainability Commissioner. They supported student-led, SDG-inspired initiatives as a Programming Coordinator at ReImagine17 and ran as a Green Party of Ontario candidate in June. Michelle brings a critical, compassionate, and intersectional equity lens to all the work she does. Moving forward, they are focusing their efforts on more youth engagement and municipal-level organizing with the Climate Reality Project Canada.

Sriranjini Raman is passionate about reconnecting with nature and creating opportunities for youth to engage in land stewardship. She is the founder of Nurture and Pluriversity, climate literacy programs that empower youth and children to be community leaders. Sriranjini has supported grassroots movements, not-for-profits, social enterprises, and impact firms on Intersectional Environmental Justice in India, Canada and internationally. Her journey started in Bangalore, India as a climate justice organizer, and as a core team member of Fridays for Future India helping the movement scale up to 40 local chapters with over 10,000 youth. She is currently completing her undergraduate degree in Environmental Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo and is a Social Innovator at Green House.

Sriranjini is a Fellow with the Climate Justice Just Transition Donor Collaborative and is interested in resource mobilization channelling the power of climate philanthropy for scaling up innovative projects that empower youth, create livelihoods and protect the planet. Sriranjini’s areas of interest include youth leadership, climate literacy, intergenerational and cross-sector collaboration, climate finance, re-imagining philanthropy and problem-solving using systems thinking.

I’ve been involved in different areas of environmental activism and awareness building since starting my university career at Wilfrid Laurier. There I worked with an organization Called Enactus to help support the growth of student enterprises and projects that were aimed at improving sustainability and social equity. During my time their our school was recognized as having the best canadian entreprneurship project, best Climate Change Project, and the best overall porfolio of projects, moving on to represent Canada on the world stage. During this time I also help found a non-profit organization called Youth Action on Climate Change. This organization helped to educate youth on environmental issues and help them grow their own local iniatives to help mitigate climate change. After graduating from Laurier I went on to found Circulr, a circular econemy startup that is helping consumer packaged goods brands reuse their product packaging in order to reduce their waste impact.

Ella’s passion truly lies at the intersection between environmentalism and social justice. Her passion stems from her own life experience as a young woman of mixed ancestry who grew up in a lower income household. She takes a justice-based lens in her work, focusing on bringing marginalized voices to the forefront of the environmental movement. Ella has been involved in environmental activism for as long as she can remember, both in and out of school. She majored in Honours Sociology and minored in Environment and Society at UBC for her undergrad while acting as the Co-Chair of the Student Environment Centre. Currently she is in the second year of her MSc Degree in Environmental Sociology at the University of Alberta. For both her undergraduate and graduate theses, she focused on bringing the voices of workers in Alberta into the energy transition conversation. Over the years, she has volunteered for multiple environmental organizations including SPEC, Greenpeace, and BCCIC’s youth-led climate change branch, and is currently volunteering with Iron and Earth as she completes her studies. She has years of work experience related to food justice and energy justice, working with a zero-waste business, nonprofits, and municipal and federal government.

The future of today’s youth rests on environmental sustainability, so it’s important that young people are informed and involved in climate change decision-making. To address this, I’m an advocate for education reform that creates climate and environmental literacy as a part of Alberta Youth Leaders for Environmental Education. I’m also the youth representative on the Calgary Climate Panel, informing the city on how to achieve its sustainability goals in a way that includes youth. My most recent work has been establishing a council of youth to lead city-wide environmental initiatives specifically targeted at young people while bringing more diversity representation to the Panel. Furthermore, I lead environmental projects with my school’s Eco-Club and have been involved with Calgary’s Protect Our Winter chapter. These endeavours have spanned 5 years and are motivated by my love of the outdoors as a rock and ice climber, backcountry skier, and general alpine enthusiast. I believe everyone deserves to experience natural beauty, so this summer I worked as an Alberta Junior Forest Ranger to address wildfires and participate in conservation initiatives like tree planting.

Grace Young is a youth advocate, speaker and community builder from Halifax, Nova Scotia. As the Mentorship & Events Manager at Student Energy, she is leading the world’s largest youth-led energy conference, the International Student Energy Summit (SES 2023). SES 2023 will unite hundreds of youth, industry leaders, and members of government in Abu Dhabi in November of 2023 at the margins of COP28. Grace is designing a mentorship program for Student Energy’s youth network of 50,000, engages in youth leadership with global organizations like IRENA, and speaks about meaningful youth engagement for a sustainable energy future on international stages.

Grace’s academic expertise lies at the intersection of gender and energy. She has two degrees from Western University, where she co-founded the institution’s first fossil fuel divestment campaign. Grace’s work and graduate research positions youth as crucial stakeholders in achieving a clean energy future. Growing up on the coast influenced her passion for environmentalism and cooking. She works in a kitchen on the weekends, has recently taken up scuba diving, and is pursuing courses on kelp hatcheries and aquaculture.

Samantha is passionate exploring and implementing about climate solutions at all scales. Her childhood summers spent exploring Ontario’s lakes and forests inspired her to peruse education and action in the environmental sector. She is a graduate student at Dalhousie University, studying coastal climate change adaptation along the Bay of Fundy. She also conducts research exploring environmental regulations for deep sea mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction. She currently manages the Sustainability Office at her university, focusing on expanding the culture of sustainability within campus operations in an intersectional, ecologically aware, and socially equitable fashion.

Jewel Davies (Yekhunashîn/Khatuku) belongs to the Dakl’awedi (Eagle/Killer Whale) Clan of the Inland Tlingit people. She is a member of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, was raised in Teslin, Yukon and currently lives in Whitehorse, Yukon. Jewel is a student in the Indigenous Governance Bachelor’s Degree Program at the Yukon University and a fellow on the Yukon First Nations Climate Action Fellowship. She is passionate about her culture and seeing it become a foundational basis within our systems. Currently climate action is being framed within a Western worldview and lens. Climate action built within a worldview and systems that see ourselves as disconnected from the land, disconnected from parts of ourselves, and disconnected from each other as community are unhealthy and unjust for all humans. We are all intrinsically interconnected to this planet as humans, and our First Nations cultures have been able to hold onto this connection through generations of colonization and is what needs to lead the way today to true climate action, bringing us back into our connections with the land.

Maheep Sandhu’s passion for climate action began when he was a student activist at Carleton University, and has brought him to work as an environmental and energy educator, and later as an international and municipal climate policy advocate. Now, as an advisor to Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, Maheep works to support the engagement and delivery of policies on climate action, including in the energy transition. From his time at Student Energy and the Climate Reality Project Canada, Maheep understands the important role of youth and civil society in advancing collective goals for a more equitable and sustainable future that leaves no one behind. His work has taken him from deploying solar energy technologies in Uganda, to advocating for climate accords in Madrid and Glasgow, to coaching climate and energy advocates in over 20 countries. Maheep is an avid cook and reader. As a resident of Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, Maheep often hikes up Mont Royal and enjoys the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene.

Shir Gruber has a Bachelor of Science specializing in hydrology with a minor in Geographic Information Systems at McGill University. She is a master’s student studying the food-water-energy nexus by measuring greenhouse gas fluxes in wetlands and co-designing solutions to fertilizer runoff with agricultural workers. Shir was a climate march organizer in Montreal in 2019, a TEDxYouth speaker, the author of an academic chapter detailing strategies to integrate environmentalism into the curriculum, and the regional co-director of Sustainable Youth Canada (SYC) in so-called Montreal. Now, she fulfills her role at SYC as a national co-director, where she helps youth create climate action in their community across the country and coordinates participation in international climate efforts.

Shir led a research project facilitating composting implementation at Dawson College between 2017-2019. Since then, her research has focused on local bioremediation and Climate Justice in green spaces within an upcoming municipal park. In 2022, she worked in Trinidad and Tobago at the University of West Indies, researching Caribbean-specific agricultural adaptations to climate change and water conservation. Furthermore, she serves as a member of Natural Resources Canada’s federal youth council, advising the Minister of Natural Resources on the youth perspective of a just ecological transition. By working on the ground and in decision-making spaces, she aims to initiate action on different levels to bolster community efforts

Hello! My name is Tristan Surman, I’m 23, and I live in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. I work with activists and organizations across Canada to amplify their stories through My Media, a communications agency for social change and climate action that I founded in 2019. We’ve worked with 100+ impact-driven organizations—helping raise $2 million and mobilize 30,000+ people for climate action initiatives in the last year. I’m also a documentary filmmaker. I recently got to go across Canada to make four documentaries about climate justice leaders in the country. I get frustrated about the ‘climate narrative’ because it is devoid of the hope and vision that I see everywhere. I get to interact with brilliant people every day and I just want everyone to know: there is hope, there is excellence, there is ingenuity, there is magic out there living in the minds of passionate people who put their boots on the ground every day. The story of the climate crisis is also a story of love and brilliance coming together to forge a more habitable world.

Tristan Surman (he/him) is a strategist whose led dozens of digital campaigns for social change and climate action through his communications firm, My Media. Having helped raise millions of dollars and mobilize thousands of people for policy advocacy—Tristan has a unique view on how digital tools can be used to build movements in the 21st century. All of this is complimented by his experience as a documentary filmmaker—having made films about dozens of activists across the world. Tristan likes to speak about new models of digital organizing, the use of media for social change, and how the nonprofit sector must change to accommodate real movement-building.