Sophia Kianni

At age 19, the Iranian-American climate activist is already having a global effect. She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, an international nonprofit with 8,000 volunteers in 40-plus countries working to translate climate information into more than 100 languages. She represents the United States as the youngest member on the inaugural United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.

Sophia’s work has been featured in news outlets including Forbes, CNN, Business Insider, TIME Magazine, The Guardian, NBC, and the front page of The Washington Post. She was previously a fellow with PBS NewsHour and has written for media outlets including MTV News; Teen Vogue; Refinery 29, and Cosmopolitan. She is a passionate speaker and has addressed people around the country including at Stanford University, Columbia University, Harvard University, and UC Berkeley.

She has been named VICE Media’s youngest Human of the Year, selected as a National Geographic Young Explorer, and chosen for Energy News Network's 40 under 40 List.