This document introduces 20 youth participants in the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Youth Climate Justice Workgroup. It provides a brief biography for each participant, describing their educational and professional backgrounds, areas of interest and experience related to climate change and environmental justice issues. The participants represent a diversity of experiences, from local organizing and policy work to engineering, public health and the arts.

1. Youth Climate Justice
Workgroup Participants
NationalEnvironmentalJusticeAdvisoryCouncil
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Amanda Nesheiwatcurrently works as the Environmental
Coordinator for the Town of Secaucus, New Jersey and is a UN
Representative for the Foundation for Post Conflict Development. As a
youth delegate, she served as the State Department Liaison at the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha,
Qatar. Amanda was trained by Al Gore through Climate Reality Corps to
effectively present information about climate change as a climate reality
leader. Amanda is a recipient of the 2014 UN ATOP Peace Award for her
work in Environmental Sustainability and received the North Jersey
Environmental Innovator award of 2015.
Amber Vignieri is a Communications Coordinator at Elevate Energy. She
previously served as a Communications Assistant at the Environmental Law and
Policy Center. Ms. Vignieri graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola University
Chicago with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. Outside of her professional
endeavors, she is passionate about local food, sustainable fashion, and theatre,
and is on a never-ending quest to find the perfect cup of chai tea.
Anthony Torres is a systems-level thinker, political ecologist, and climate
activist. Anthony has been involved with projects that support intersectional
discourses between social, political, and environmental issues, which have led to
direct political action against fossil fuels in the United States, North India, and the
Ecuadorian Amazon. Anthony believes that transformational movement-building will
be the most important task for climate justice warriors. He graduates from American
University this spring and is working for SustainUS, a national youth climate NGO.
Devin Ralph O. Crowther is a third
year Environmental Studies student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
University (FAMU). Devin is interested in Public Health, Social and Environmental
Justice issues. He is an active participant in helping FAMU and his community to
become a healthier and sustainable place. After he graduates from FAMU in the
spring of 2017, he plans to gain experiences in the aforementioned areas before
pursuing a Juris Doctorate to practice land use law.

2. Eriqah R. K. Vincent is a 2010 departmental honors graduate of Spelman
College, with a B.A. in Comparative Women’s Studies. She currently works for National
Wildlife Federation as the National EcoLeaders Coordinator. She is a Youth and Young
Professional Speaker with the Diverse Environmental Leaders National Speakers Bureau.
After discovering her passion working as an advocate in the environmental movement,
Eriqah will enroll in grad school this fall to begin working towards a Master's of Public
Policy with a Concentration in Non-Profit Management.
Kathy Tran is a doctoral student in environmental health at the UC Berkeley
School of Public Health. Her interest in the health and disproportionate impacts of
climate change began at Emory University, where she completed her Master of
Public Health. During her time there, she had the pleasure of working on projects
with vulnerable populations and collaborating with policymakers in India
and Atlanta, GA. She continues to integrate climate justice into her work and is
committed to translating the results of her work to improve public policy.
Kayla DeVault (Shawnee/Anishinaabee) lives on the Navajo Nation
and works as a Civil Engineer for the Navajo Division of Transportation while
earning an A.A. in Diné Studies at Diné College. A Generation Indigenous
Youth Ambassador and White House Tribal Youth Gathering participant,
Kayla has spoken at UNITY conferences and the 2nd US Universal Periodic
Review at the United Nations, and plans to pursue a PhD in tribal energy
policy. In 2015, Kayla was inducted as a Sequoyah Fellow to the America
Indian Science & Engineering Society for her work on developing a program
model for culturally appropriate, STEM-based projects in tribal
communities.
Malake Getabecha is a first generation American, born and raised in
Denver, CO. He earned his BA at Middlebury College where he studied architecture
and environmental studies. Melake is currently in his fifth year at Groundwork
Denver, where he works to improve the physical environment and promote health
and well-being, through community partnerships and action. He looks forward to
drawing on his educational, professional, and personal experiences to help
address issues of climate justice through the NEJAC Youth Climate Justice
Workgroup.

3. Nikita Robinson is a passionate Climate Change Planning Coordinator
with the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska. In 2015, she graduated from the
University of Alaska Anchorage with a B.S. in Environment and Society. She is
currently coordinating the Aleutian Life Forum with a variety of organizations
focused on building coastal resiliency in the face of climate change in the
Aleutians. Nikita dedicates her time and expertise to engage our youth, outreach
to the greater public to establish a healthier ecosystem, and bring awareness of
climate change and climate justice nationwide as well as in Alaska.
Oforiwaa Pee Agyei-Boakyeis pursuing a Master’s in City and
Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. Originally from Ghana - West
Africa (but currently resident at Philadelphia), she has been involved in climate
change efforts and advocacy since high school. These activities include academic
research, volunteering and leadership positions in the US and sub-Saharan Africa.
Samantha Parker has been an active participant of the Environmental Justice
movement since she was 16 years old. Under the leadership of Dr. Beverly Wright and
Robert Bullard, she has participated in the HBCU Climate Change Initiative for the past 3
years. She was a participant in the 2015 COP 21 Climate Change Conference in Paris,
France. Samantha is currently working on developing a coalition of coastal and rural
communities on climate change with Dr. Fatima Shafei and Dr. Mildred McClain.
Samantha Shattuck is a graduate of the University of California Santa Cruz and
the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE). She
presented at the UNFCCC COP 20 on youth engagement in climate change and has led
workshops on public participation in climate justice at the International Conference of Youth
in Peru and at a Climate Teach-In in Ann Arbor. She is an active member of the Michigan
Environmental Justice Coalition, works as the Program Manager for the SNRE Office of
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and has recently collaborated on EPA Guidance for federal
implementation of health impact assessments.

4. Stefan Sasha Petrovic will graduate from Lawrence High School this
spring before attend Harvard University in the fall. Stefan has worked under the
guidance of and in partnership with Dr. Daniel Wildcat of Haskell Indian Nations
University, the Indigenous Peoples’ Climate Change Working Group and the Rising
Voices: Collaborative Solutions for Climate Science program. Stefan co-founded the
Rising Voices Youth Climate Initiative and is co-authored “The Story of Rising
Voices: Facilitating Collaboration between Indigenous and Western Ways of
Knowing” which will appear in the upcoming book Understanding Vulnerability,
Building Resilience: Responses to Disasters and Climate Change.
William DiGravio is pursuing a degree in Political Science and a dual-
minor in English and Film & Media Studies at Middlebury College. He is the
founder of Students for Climate Action, an award-winning organization that has
connected and educated over a thousand students about the dangers of climate
change. In 2015, he received an official citation from the Massachusetts
Legislature in recognition of his work. Upon graduation from college, he plans to
turn his love of writing into a career in journalism.
Yudith Nieto is a Houston based youth organizer, artist,
and communications coordinator working with Texas
Environmental Justice Advocacy Services. Yudith grew up in the
fence-line community of Manchester in Houston, which
inspired her to become involved in the environmental justice
movement.