Thred 100

Meagan Loyst, of New York, is the CEO and founder of Gen Z VCs - an active community of 27,000 investors, founders, and operators from 80 countries. She is a leading voice on upcoming tech and consumer trends and her daily content spans everything from climate change, to gaming.

Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old inventor, won the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge for developing a cost-effective soap that combats skin cancer by harnessing the power of sunlight to kill cancer cells during handwashing.

In the world of sports, heroes are often defined by their medals. Challenging this notion is Vinesh Phogat, the Indian wrestler whose relentless fight against systemic injustice on her journey to the Paris Olympics has encouraged us to reconsider who we identify as sporting icons.

The 24-year-old Palestinian filmmaker from Gaza is wielding storytelling to illuminate realities that are often unseen and unheard in the course of Israel's genocidal war on her homeland. 

Chelsea Miller served as one of Barack Obama’s youngest interns working on domestic policy issues. She started her own nonprofit called Women Everywhere Believe, with the goal of creating opportunities for women and girls of colour to become leaders.

Martese Johnson is a civil rights activist, speaking out against police brutality and police accountability. Martese was violently and unjustly arrested in Virginia, and now uses his voice and platform to educate and prevent people from experiencing what he had to experience.

Jazmine Wildcat is a youth Indigenous rights activist from Wyoming. Additionally, Jazmine uses her advocacy to help improve mental health, suicide and sexual assault rates, as these, too, affect her community.

Beniamin Strzelecki is a passionate advocate for climate action and energy transition. He connects global youth-led energy organisations, collaborates with intergovernmental entities, and conducts research on renewable power generation.

Joice Mendez is a Migrant, social entrepreneur and climate advocate. Focused on water, food, energy justice nexus. Co-founded youth organisations, UN-Water Award recipient.

Saoirse Exton is a Fridays for Future activist. She values traditional languages and stories for Earth's sanctity. 2021 Rise Initiative winner reshaping Irish mythology with diverse perspectives.  

Ayisha Siddiqa champions human rights and tribal land defense. Co-founder of Polluters Out, Fossil Free University. Advocate for marginalised communities, bridging law, environment, and youth climate.

Jevanic Henry is a climate and development professional and advocate. Former Climate Change Special Envoy, UN Next Gen Fellow. Climate finance advocate. AOSIS Fellow at UN Mission.  

Nesha Ichida is a marine conservation scientist at Thrive Conservation and program manager at ReShark, working for StAR Project Indonesia.

Sanjana Nagesh is ethnically Indian but raised in Australia. Nagesh started the Instagram page BrownGirlGang in 2017 as a way of empowering South Asian women by publicising South Asian women’s successes and celebrating their culture.

Shreya K.C. is a climate activist. Shreya is a campaign coordinator at Mock COP, the Contact Point of the Nationally Determined Contributions Working Group for YOUNGO and a Climate Change Champion for UNICEF South Asia.

Deepica Mutyala is a beauty entrepreneur and CEO of Live Tinted from South Asia. Deepica’s career in the beauty industry began with her work as an on-air beauty expert and YouTuber.

Diego Arreola Fernandez is an environmental activist from Mexico City. Diego is the founder of the non profit organisation Green Speaking, which aims to educate young people globally on climate change.

Daniel Chee is an environmental advocate for cleaner oceans in Hawaii. At the age of 17, Dyson founded Project Ocean Hawaii, a non-profit that finds innovative ways of reducing plastic pollution.

Ezra Wheeler, a courageous individual, fearlessly shares their ongoing mental health journey, inspiring others to embrace vulnerability, seek support, and foster a culture of understanding and empathy.

Desmond Napoles, aka Desmond is Amazing, is a pioneering LGBTQ+ youth advocate and drag performer, empowering self-expression and promoting acceptance through their influential platform.

Alex Escaja is an LGBTQ+ activist and acclaimed filmmaker. Through his captivating filmmaking, he fearlessly champions queer visibility and equality, inspiring change and fostering acceptance.

Abe Lim co-founded Purpose Plastics, an independent plastic recycling and upcycling company aiming to tackle plastic pollution. Abe is also part of the Un Environment Programme and a Next Generation Board Member.

Vic Barrett is a climate activist and talented storyteller. Using his panache skill for storytelling, Barrett currently works as a network organizer for Power Shift Network, spreading awareness and educating young people on the climate crisis.

Toby Thorpe is a speaker and climate and community advocate. He is deputy mayor of the Huon Valley Council and has helped develop student-directed and experiential learning programs through the Climate Leaders Program in Tasmania.

Helene Selam Kleih is a mental health activist, writer, and model from South London. Helene is the author of Him + His, which explores mental health, but also specifically raises awareness surrounding male mental health.

Temilade Salami is a climate education and communications professional, author and marine biologist. She has led many youth-led environmental sustainability initiatives across Africa.

Adeniké Akinsémolu is a Nigerian scientist and educator advancing sustainable development and environmental conservation. With expertise in ecological awareness, she drives positive change and inspires others to protect our planet.

Leshan Kereto is a Kenyan human rights activist and community leader working to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in East Africa and educate people on sexual health.

Samela Sateré Awiá is an indigenous Brazilian environmental activist and influencer and the creator of Amazonia Depe, an organisation which aims to protect and conserve indigenous people and the Amazon rainforests.

Artemisa Xakriabá is a human rights activist from Brazil. She is a leader of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, and most of her work’s focus is on the Amazon Jungle and deforestation.

Daphne Frias is a Latina climate justice activist and storyteller guaranteeing we tackle disability and the environmental emergency simultaneously in order to create a just and equal future.

Disha Ravi is a climate justice activist, storyteller, and one of the founders of Fridays For Future India.

Selina Leem is a climate warrior, poet, and spoken word performer from the Marshall Islands.

Holley Somerville-Knott is the CEO & Founder of Tell Someone Who Cares, an organization promoting inclusion and advocacy for disabled individuals.

Isabelle Axelsson is a Swedish autistic climate activist, advocating for environmental and social justice, and fighting for the rights of the autistic community.

Jeremiah Josey is an autistic chef and advocate, promoting autism acceptance and inclusion in the culinary industry and beyond.

Evie James is a trans activist and model, advocating for greater visibility and representation of trans people in the fashion and beauty industry.

Eli Erlick is a trans activist, writer, and educator, focusing on gender justice, youth empowerment, and intersectional feminism.

Fox Fisher is a prominent trans activist, filmmaker, and public speaker, dedicated to promoting trans rights and visibility through their work.

Garvita Gulhati is the founder of Why Waste?, a youth-led organisation focused on water conservation through campaigns, petitions and workshops.

Eric Damien Njuguna is a climate activist. Eric started their activism with Zero Hour and Fridays for Future Kenya when severe droughts in Nairobi impacted their school’s water supply.

Rida Rashid is a climate and water rights activist. She is the founder and chairperson of youth-led organisations Impact Pakistan and Project Aab.

Samaira Mehta is a coder and inventor who founded - and is the CEO of - CoderBunnyz, created to help teach children how to code. She is also aiming to eliminate gender bias and increase the number of women in engineering.

Divina Maloum is a human rights activist from Cameroon. Maloum founded Children for Peace (C4P) to help children previously exploited in some capacity.

Te Manaia Jennings is a New Zealand-based Maori visual artist and activist. She uses her art and her lived experience to tackle issues like mental health, specifically depression and body image issues.

Sophia Badhan is a Netherlands and UK-based mental health activist and speaker who relies on her lived experience and passion to advocate for students and other young people, working to ensure that everyone receives the support and care they need.

Haile Thomas is the youngest Certified Nutrition Health Coach in the United States. Thomas has utilised her knowledge and love for health and wellbeing to create the non-profit organisation HAPPY (Healthy Active Positive Purposeful Youth).

Freddie Pearson is a mental health advocate. Freddie combines his love for fitness and well-being with his passion for the arts to speak out about mental health.

Ishaa Asim is a social justice activist, campaigner, blogger, and public speaker. She served as Youth MP for Manchester, sits on the Greater Manchester Youth Combined Authority, and is a member of the Co-op’s Youth Advisory Panel.

Marina Tricks is a climate activist. She is a member of the Global Majority VS campaign, which took the UK Government to court on the basis that they are violating “our right to life, as well as the right to life of our global human family."

In 2017, Ahmed Alaa was arrested for waving the Pride flag at a Mashrou’Leila concert in Cairo. Ahmed has become one of the leading youth voices speaking up on LGBTQ issues in Egypt.

Emelin Flores is the founder of Rutgers University Chapter of Out In Tech. She helps non-profits improve their security and LGBTQ+ students looking to break into tech.

Yasmin Finney is an English actress. She initially gained attention on TikTok for speaking openly about her experiences as a transgender teenager. Yasmin has spoken publicly about black and transgender youth representation in media.

Jamie Windust (they/them) is an award-winning writer, public speaker, model who intends to spread optimism and empower people through their work. They are the founder and editor of the magazine, FRUITCAKE.

Harrison Gunn is a youth mental health advocate, Changemaker, presenter, content creator and youth ambassador. He is the presenter of his podcast, It’s Good to Talk, described as place of positivity, inspiration, and conversation.

Joshua Williams was the President of the Guild of Students at the University of Birmingham, where he reformed Birmingham’s offer for care leavers, launching the Black Voices campaign.

Zyahna Bryant is a community organiser and activist for racial justice. Bryant’s first contribution to activism was when she was 12 years old, organising a demonstration for Justice for Trayvon Martin and other Black lives lost to police violence.

Sophie Ming is an activist who has organised some of the largest Black Lives Matter protests in Manhattan, including marches for teens and adults and a Black Lives Matter chalk art event for younger children.

Daud Mumin is a voter registration activist and an Eighteen x 18 delegate (an initiative started by actress Yara Shahidi to mobilize young people to vote) from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Naomi Wadler is a racial justice and gun violence activist. Wadler has publicly spoken at a number of protests about gun violence, and the disproportionate number of Black female victims.