Covalence Global
Let's bring youth to the table.
Youth Network Spotlights
Starting in late October of 2022, we spotlight one youth network member each week. We promote their work across social media and highlight their leadership efforts.
Daniel Enock Manoba
Accra, Ghana
Daniel Enock Manoba is a 22 year old undergraduate student at the University of Ghana. He is a verified Certification holder of HarvardX in Fundamental Principles in Leadership. Daniel is very interested in SDGs work. He fights for climate justice and preventing plastic pollution. He also volunteers with Theirworld, Africa Youth Advocate, and Daby Foundation. Daniel holds various positions in youth-led organizations, such as the Vice President of the KONSU-University of Ghana Chapter.
Taylen Reddy
Durban, South Africa
Taylen Reddy is a 21 year old environmental and social justice activist whose work centres around the impact of plastics, both on a macroscopic and microscopic level. As the founder of Zero Waste Durban, Taylen believes youth integration is extremely important for fighting issues regarding climate change and plastic pollution. He also believes in the importance of holding large corporations accountable for mass plastic production and shifting blame away from communities and to these billion-dollar conglomerates. As a biotechnologist, he hopes to use his scientific expertise and research skills to help with the fight against plastic.
Camila Rimoldi Ibanez
Jupiter, FL, USA
Camila is an undergraduate student at Florida Atlantic University Honors College majoring in Marine Biology and minoring in Environmental Studies. She is involved in research focusing on corals and sponges. Her passion for research started in high school, which led her to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair for three years. Her scientific and humanities research projects have both gotten published in journals.
John Paul Jose
Pala, India
John Paul Jose is a social, environmental and climate justice advocate hailing from an agricultural family in Kerala, India. Living amidst nature and experiencing environmental changes have driven him to take action in dozens of organizations as a volunteer, ambassador, advisor, consultant, etc. He is also involved in research and policy development. John is working on building advocacy resources and livelihood-based restoration. He is a TEDx speaker and was a delegate to TED Countdown Edinburgh, TED Countdown Dilemma Series New York, and World Economic Forum Davos. He is also the Youth Ambassador of Arctic Basecamp, Earth.org and High Seas Alliance; Youth Council member at TED Countdown and Sustainable Ocean Alliance; and lastly founder of Livelihood Trust.
Emily Reinhold
New Jersey, United States
Emily is the founder of New Jersey Youth Beyond Plastics, a local chapter of the US-based nonprofit Beyond Plastics. She is a fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund, and in her free time, she works with her NJYBP teammates to advocate for policies related to plastic and sustainability. The goal of their group is to help New Jersey (and ultimately, the US) transition away from single-use plastics and plastic packaging .
Selma Bichbich
Algiers, Algeria
Selma is a social and climate youth activist who has taken part in many programs and organizations seeking change and serving the SDGs by speaking out for youth and justice. She is an SDSN fellow, the contact point of the Human Rights Working Group at YOUNGO, GST Communication at SDG7 Youth Consistency. A board member and co-founder of the MENA Youth Network, the founder of the Together for Blue & Green organization, and a Max Thabiso Edkins Global Climate Ambassador. The delegate of Algeria at the PreCop26 Youth4Climate Summit, an active member of UNEPMGCY, she is also the organizer of the first edition of the MENA Youth Environmental Assembly. In addition to being a member of the MENA Coalition on Youth, Peace, and Security.
Sean Schrader
Florida, United States
Sean Schrader is a graduate student at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg pursuing his masters degree in business administration, and serves as the Campus Governor in Student Government in St. Petersburg. In the fall of 2020, Sean was a member of the USF cohort of the Millennium Fellowship organization in which he worked to provide sustainable toolkits to students containing supplies that could be utilized for school. Living in Tampa Bay, Sean is very passionate about his community and has been fortunate to serve on the Clearwater Charter Review Committee, as well as the St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport Noise Abatement Taskforce.
Meral Kandymova
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan & Seattle, United States
Meral represents herself as a youth ambassador and young leader. She is a climate change, gender equality, and human rights activist. She sees her future portrait as a diplomat or a politician, and because of that since 2020 she started to participate and contribute to range of eco-campaignes by the British Embassy, conferences, programs, and diplomatic events .
Kennedy Onyango Luther
Nairobi, Kenya
Kennedy onyango Luther (Ken) is a Kenyan Environmental Advocate. He is also the Communication Lead of the Wetlands Conservation Organisation. Ken has studied Environmental Studies and Community Development at Kenyatta University. As a youth leader, he is continuously involved with various youth-led organisations such as Wetlands Conservation Organisation, Kenya Inter-University Environmental Student Association, Green Generation Initiative and Kenya Environmental Action Network. One of his achievements is successfully advocating for climate literacy in universities through the Climate-U, Kenya. Under the Green Generation Initiative, he is a pioneer of the Eco-Club Project which aims to raise environmental awareness in primary schools so as to raise young environmentalists. Ken believes that Kenya has the potential to be a leading nation when it comes to environmental conservation.
Neville Agesa
Kwale, Kenya
Neville Agesa an alumni of ubuntu leadership academy. He is an ecologist, and ocean lover. Neville serves as a co-founder of ACEF and the country director for ACEF KENYA Africa Climate and Environment Foundation (ACEF). ACEF is a youth-led organization focusing on mobilizing and empowering African youths to take action for climate change mitigation, environmental protection, and sustainable development. Through serving as the Country Director of ACEF, Neville has mobilized thousands of Kenyans to take action for environmental protection especially against marine plastic littering and unsustainable exploitation of marine resources. He has led his team on projects regarding sea turtle conservation, mangrove restoration, and beach clean-ups.
Iris Zhan
Washington DC, USA
Iris Zhan (they/them) is a Chinese American climate activist from Columbia, MD, USA. They have been a climate activist since 2018. They are known for co-founding Fridays For Future Digital and founding Sunrise Movement Howard County in 2019. Over the years they have specialized in building connections in the movement, helping activists find their place, and lead digital campaign teams. Currently they focus on leading FFF Digital and support local initiatives when possible.
Caroline Nielssen
Trondheim, Norway
Ocean passionate Postgraduate at the University of Edinburgh studying MSc Marine Systems & Policies. During my undergraduate I founded the Oxford Brookes Sustainability Society and attended the Oxford School of Climate Change. Since then, I have been co-organising the Passion for Ocean Festival in my home city, been an intern for the Sustainable Ocean Alliance as well as for The Ocean Opportunity Lab. I just finished my role as project staff working with marine litter picking at Keep Norway Beautiful.
Abhiir Bhalla
New Delhi, India
As an active youth environmentalist at a global level, Abhiir has been working in the field of environmental conservation for over 8 years. Identified by the BBC World News as amongst the foremost youth environmentalists in 2020, his work has been featured in the national and international media. He's currently producing a popular climate change podcast, 'Candid Climate Conversations' for a UK-based think tank, and has been a three-time TEDx Speaker. Abhiir is a Youth Ambassador for Earth Day International and an advisor to the Board of the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC). Following the COP26 Summit, he appeared on BBC World News to represent the Indian perspective with regard to India's 11th hour change in its decision to phase out the usage of coal. Finally and most recently, in June 2022, Abhiir represented India and CHEC at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda.
