Meet our former fellows
Across the world, parents, grandparents, and caregivers are taking climate action to protect the kids they love, children everywhere, and our shared home. The Climate Parent Fellowship aims to support parent-led, intergenerational, and family-centered climate engagement work. It has enabled 27 organizers from 19 countries across the globe to develop and grow their projects, organizations, campaigns, and strategies. To date, Fellows have come from: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Mexico, Poland, Rwanda, South Africa, the Solomon Islands, Vietnam, Uganda, the UK, and the US. We are recruiting for our 2024 Fellowship cohort, which will commence in early 2024. Find out more and how to apply here.
The 2022/23 Fellows
The second Fellowship cohort was made up of 15 individuals from 13 countries. It includes creative campaigners, grassroots organizers, communicators, indigenous leaders, artists, and educators. The second group began the Fellowship in July 2022.
Aphrodice is an environmental communicator based in Rwanda. He facilitates climate action and environmental conservation work in grassroots communities. He believes awareness raising and advocacy can support communities’ mindset and behavior change. He has established a network of parents, teachers, and caregivers in Rwanda who are interested in working across generations with children to share climate knowledge and push for a brighter future.
Astrid is a mother, lawyer, and gardener, born in Colombia and now living in Mexico. She is one of the founders of Mamás y Papás por el Clima in Mexico, a network of parents working collaboratively to address the climate crisis. Astrid brings more than 25 years experience in environmental law, human rights, and indigenous rights to her community and the global movement. She aims to grow her group to become a larger, more inclusive, and diverse movement of Mexican parents working together for climate justice.
Aydah is from Solomon Islands and her passion is social services and community development. Through her voluntary role as Coordinator of the Network for the Indigenous Peoples Solomon (NIPS) she works with rural communities in provinces of Solomon Islands. She facilitates workshops as well as documents and learns about traditional knowledge and practices including: conserving and restoring forests, mangroves, streams, reefs, marine resources, and climate resilience. Aydah is also working on ways to share the voices of children from Solomon Islands in policy spaces.
Bhavreen is an inspiring and experienced campaigner who is pushing for clean air in India and beyond. She is a co-founder of Warrior Moms, which brings mothers together across India to call for clean air for the sake of their children’s health. Bhavreen has spearheaded other public movements and campaigns in India to call for action on environmental justice issues, such as ‘My Right To Breathe’ and ‘Delhi Trees SOS’. Her campaigning is motivated by her twin daughters and her concerns about Delhi’s excessively polluted air.
Chandra is an artist and animator who uses creativity and joy to bring people into the climate movement. A lead organizer with Sunrise Kids NYC and Climate Families NYC for the past two years, she has been working to build the group’s strategy and to promote visibility for multiple campaigns. She has helped stage highly creative, family friendly climate actions, including a recent demonstration outside of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s country home. Her mission is to use creative methods and materials to foster hope and momentum for a brighter, more sustainable future.
Chryso is co-founder of UK climate group, Mothers Rise Up. A freelance prop-maker by profession, she uses her skills and creativity to drive climate campaigns. She has created a wind farm outside Number 10 Downing Street, a giant phoenix for the parent delegation at COP26, and most recently a Mary Poppins inspired climate flashmob outside Lloyd’s of London, which went viral on Twitter. She is looking forward to sharing ideas about how art and music can shape bold and colorful climate actions and grow the visibility of parent climate organizing.
Dora is an activist and maker with a background in anthropology, public health, and indigenous rights. In 2016, she started Zurciendo el planeta, a collective that uses artivism, mending, and urban agriculture to engage people in discussions around a regenerative and equitable future. Through community meetings, workshops, and their ‘Forest of Hope’ embroidery project, the collective now connects women in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. Through the Fellowship, Dora will focus on expanding the collective and its impact through the touring of the ‘Forest of Hope’ mural.
Herbert is a husband, father, environment scientist, and social entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of Rural Environmental Sustainability Initiative-RESI, a social enterprise promoting clean cooking, environment, and climate education in remote rural communities of Uganda, East Africa. He is also the writer of a series of children’s books – ‘James the Steward’, ‘Keeper of the Forest’, and ‘Powerful Queens of Gando’ – which aim to educate children about climate and nature stewardship. He is passionate about intergenerational climate change activism.
Leanne is a co-founder of Australian Parents for Climate Action and a key coordinator within Parents for Future Global. She is also a member of the Knitting Nannas – a collective using knitting and artivism to campaign for the preservation of Australia’s land, air, and water. Leanne has deep knowledge of using creative campaigning and legal processes to stop gas projects in her region and works on fossil fuel campaigning globally. She is passionate about intergenerational climate justice and leaving a better world for those who come after us.
Kelo is an inspiring Nigerian youth advocate for sustainable development and climate action. He is the founder of Gray2Green Movement and campaign coordinator for Mock COP as well as policy co-lead for the Global Coordination Team at YOUNGO and Director of Students Organising for Sustainability International. Kelo has been actively involved in intergenerational climate organizing through Parents for Future Global and Parents for Future Nigeria. He is experienced in high level policy spaces and his focus is strengthening youth engagement and intergenerational influence in climate governance.
Maren is a psychologist from Hamburg working on management, marketing, and science. For the past several years, Maren has played a central role in helping to build Parents for Future Germany. She is involved in local activism and serves as the national delegate of the local Parents For Future group in Hamburg. Maren was raised in a family strongly engaged in environmental issues and is mother to a teenage daughter. She is passionate about working towards a livable future for all our children.
Marji is a research scientist studying the impacts of tropical cyclones and climate change on the world’s coral reefs. Combining her love for coral reefs and growing concerns for the climate, she founded Kids Care About Climate, a major public engagement project that includes an international drawing contest, educational workshops, a touring exhibit, and colorful costumes. Marji believes that fun, creative educational programming can engage young children and open up pathways of involvement for their parents, grandparents, and teachers in climate solutions.
Rayana is a young Brazilian and political scientist working to achieve climate justice. She is Umbandista, an Afro-Brazilian religion, and believes that faith and the environment are connected, because she finds her spirituality in nature. Rayana is a Youth Climate Leaders Fellow and Care about Climate volunteer. Her work through the Fellowship will strengthen conversations and dialogue on climate change between religious leaders and youth in Brazil.
Rose is a community climate advocate, promoting gender friendly climate
resilience initiatives in Kenya and across East Africa. She co-founded two women led
organizations – Women in Water and Natural Resources Conservation in Kenya
and Women’s Climate Centers International across East Africa. Through the two
organizations Rose has mobilized and formed a network of women climate accelerators
through the establishment of community climate centers. These centers bring men, women, boys, girls, and families together to address climate related challenges and build a sustainable future.
resilience initiatives in Kenya and across East Africa. She co-founded two women led
organizations – Women in Water and Natural Resources Conservation in Kenya
and Women’s Climate Centers International across East Africa. Through the two
organizations Rose has mobilized and formed a network of women climate accelerators
through the establishment of community climate centers. These centers bring men, women, boys, girls, and families together to address climate related challenges and build a sustainable future.
Yasmina founded the organization PERI BUMI in 2021 to empower mothers across Indonesia to act on climate change. She believes that environmental problems start at home and parenting with connection is a key. With a background in early years education and social work, Yasmina’s work combines education, parenting, and nature connection. One of her goals is to help guide mothers to understand the holistic way of parenting based on connection and to link this with zero waste and sustainability.
The 2021/22 Fellows
Our first Fellowship cohort ran from July 2021 – June 2022 and was composed of 12 women from 11 countries: Brazil, Canada, Ghana, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Vietnam, the UK, and the US.
The group met monthly for community building meetings and/or training sessions about storytelling, media training, fundraising, team building, and volunteer management.
Alicia founded Parents for Climate Aotearoa in 2019 to empower parents across New Zealand to act on climate change. A strong advocate for climate justice, she is working to ensure local parent-led climate groups embed equity, social justice, and racial justice in their foundations. She is passionate about ensuring all children will have a livable climate.
Amuche has been using art to educate people about environmental concepts and sustainable lifestyles for over a decade. She is a member of Parents For Future Nigeria and is actively involved both in expanding the movement in Nigeria and as an organizer in Parents For Future Global. Amuche is also a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, where she teaches sculpture and cultural and creative arts.
Gargi is the outreach lead of the Bengal Clean Air Network, the co-founder of Kolkata Clean Air, and an active member of the Warrior Moms network. Gargi is passionate about her love of her city of Kolkata, about cycling, and about getting out into nature. Her early work on mother and child health in the rural districts of Bengal continues to inspire her work today.
Kamila is a documentary filmmaker and one of the central organizers in Rodzice dla Klimatu (Parents For Future Poland). She is developing a short film series called Fumes of the Black Gold, which features people whose lives are deeply affected by coal and the climate crisis. She is working closely with ex-miners, youth, and families on the film project, including those living in the shadow of the Bełchatów power plant.
Le Nguyet has inspired and has been inspired by her daughter, who is now a key voice for youth climate engagement in Vietnam. For the last three years, Nguyet has been establishing an active environmental family engagement program with support from local NGOs. Her work combines education and connection to nature, and she is looking forward to growing her program with support from the Fellowship.
Mariana is the co-founder of Familias pelo Clima in Brazil, an active climate-parent group that works closely with Fridays For Future Brazil. The group has had success with litigation and has delivered some eye-catching creative actions. The Fellowship will enable Mariana to strengthen Familias pelo Clima, engage new volunteers, and tell the stories of parent activism in Brazil.
In 2019, Natalie co-founded the community organization For Our Kids Montréal, which mobilizes and supports parents, grandparents, and their families to take collective action on the climate crisis. Bringing a background as a facilitator, organizer, and manager, Natalie strives to create welcoming and empowering spaces for activism and justice movements that are more accessible, effective, and sustainable for the long haul.
Patience leads policy-level advocacy at the Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND), working to ensure that the voices of young people are heard and included in Ghana’s climate plans. As a Climate Parent Fellow, she will lead her team in the expansion of parent engagement and intergenerational work on climate change.
Sandra’s climate engagement began after she found herself and her family surrounded by bushfires in her home country of Sweden. Sandra supported the first youth climate strikes in the UK and has spent the last two years building Parents For Future UK. A photographer with a background in fashion and arts, she is passionate about telling the stories of parent climate activists in new and creative ways.
Thingreiphi is a leader from the Tangkhul community of the Naga people in remote Northeast India. She is passionate about raising the voices of indigenous women in decision-making spaces. Through the Fellowship, Thingreiphi aims to engage indigenous women to ensure that their concerns are included in state-wide climate action plans and build stronger connections between indigenous communities and the climate-parent movement.
Winona leads Families for a Livable Climate in Missoula, Montana. Her group is focused on bringing more families into the climate movement, reaching out across differences, and engaging in one-on-one conversations to build community will for climate action. With a background in communications, Winona sees climate art and storytelling as a regenerative practice, a way to make connections with each other and create meaning in our lives.
Xoli has been working with schools and intergenerational groups in South Africa on environmental awareness for over 10 years. She has worked in-depth with children from townships, inspiring them to live sustainability and supporting them to be climate activists. Through the Fellowship, she will expand and connect her work across generations, from youth to grandparents.