
A B O U T U S
by Youth & for Youth
The Bay Area Youth Climate Summit is an entirely youth-led activism network that offers in-depth educational, environmental justice workshops and mobilizes local Bay Area high schoolers to create and implement Climate Action Plans (CAPs) in their communities and schools.

our story!
The Bay Area Youth Climate Summit (BAYCS) was born out of a need for effective virtual activism during the pandemic. Originally created by leaders of Lick-Wilmerding's Environmental Club, they gathered together applications for the inaugural BAYCS Youth Advisory Council of 22 students from 15 Bay Area schools in May of 2020. Over the summer, the Youth Advisory Council worked tirelessly to plan the first ever Bay Area Youth Climate Summit on September 12, 2020. The summit brought together over 280 youth from 88 schools and 14 states for a day of workshops, discussions, and Climate Action Planning.


In 2021, we hosted our second ever Bay Area Youth Climate Summit! This time, the summit consisted of both virtual and in-person sections, one on each day so both local and national or international students could tune in. Our in-person summit was graciously hosted at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco.
The Bay Area Youth Climate Summit strives to foster a local community of high schoolers that is empowered to both learn deeply about different facets of the climate crisis and take action. If you are an interested young person, we encourage you to join us in the fight for climate justice!
Since September of 2020, we have run monthly workshops on topics ranging from local air quality inequity to Indigenous climate activism, and an Environmental Science Career Expo. Learn more about our workshops here. BAYCS also continued to support students in achieving their Climate Action Plans. You can learn more about these student-led projects on this page. Additionally, BAYCS worked to support community mutual aid efforts in an environmentally friendly way. From December-February, we donated over $15,000 in hygiene kits that included socks, deodorant, menstrual supplies, toothbrushes, and reusable masks to local community fridges in Oakland, Marin, and San Francisco. On April 24, 2021, we hosted the Earth Day Bay Area Youth Climate Summit that focused on two key themes of policy and action, providing a way for youth to engage in tangible action on Earth Day.
by the numbers!

1k+
newsletter subscribers
3.5k+
total youth engaged
18+
successful CAPs
2.1k+
social media followers
74+
climate-related
workshops
180+
people reached
through CAPs!
meet the team!
featured
alumni

last updated August 2022
Amelia Fortgang, Lick-Wilmerding High School '22
Amelia Fortgang is the founder and former chair of the Bay Area Youth Climate Summit (2020-2022). She absolutely loved her time with BAYCS, whether planning workshops, speaking at climate strikes, or meeting like-minded friends from other schools. She graduated from Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco and is heading to Yale University in the fall to pursue a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and political science.
Amelia continues to work with EarthEcho International, serving on their Youth Leadership Council and formerly working with their water challenge. She is a member of their policy and advocacy committee and will headed to DC this summer to meet with elected officials to advocate for ocean-climate solutions. Next year, Amelia plans to continue contributing to climate opinion research at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. In her free time, she loves to create climate advocacy-related prints and go on hikes around the Bay Area. She can’t wait to see where the new leadership will take BAYCS!
Dory Miller, St. Ignatius College Preparatory '22
Dory is an incoming freshman at UC Berkeley, where she plans to study Political Science (or Legal Studies) and Society in the Environment. In addition to her wonderful experience as the Social Media Co-Lead for BAYCS, she was the president of her school’s Green Team (@sigreenteam) and the Ecological Justice chair for her school’s social justice council. She is the co-founder and co-host of a podcast called “She’s Up Next” (@shesupnextpodcast) that amplifies the voices of other activists and plans to continue recording into college in the hopes of expanding their pool of listeners. Dory is ecstatic to be attending Berkeley and gaining an even wider network of activists, but she also cannot wait to continue helping out with BAYCS when she can!

last updated July 2022

Erika Tam, Lick-Wilmerding High School '22
Erika will be a first-year at UC Berkeley studying Molecular Environmental Biology, hopefully with a focus in Food Studies or Environmental Economics! She plans to continue playing tennis, going on nature walks, and discovering good food in Berkeley. Recently, she has been really interested in researching sustainable capitalism and community gardens! In the fall she will be working for Forest and Flour’s farmers market bakery, so come visit, and if you have questions about Berkeley or college at all feel free to reach out!
last updated July 2022
Oona Clark, San Domenico School '22
Oona will be starting their bachelor's degree in Climate Science at the Oregon State University Honors College starting in September of 2022. They plan on getting involved with different environmental organizations up in Oregon, and getting outdoors to enjoy the gorgeous landscape. At BAYCS, Oona was one of the original team members who worked on the logistics and workshops team to plan the very first climate summit in September 2020. They also enjoy political activism, and were the President of San Domenico's JSA club their senior year. In their free time, Oona is a classical musician and loves to read.

last updated July 2022
last updated June 2022
Christy Vong, Lowell High School '21
Christy is currently a student at UC Davis pursuing a bachelors degree in Community and Regional Development. One area of sustainability that Christy likes to work on is waste recovery and they are currently volunteering with the Food Recovery Network at UC Davis and the Davis Night Market to recover and distribute extra food to people in the community. Christy has also been engaged in a research project learning more about AAPI farmers with the Asian American studies department, and is passionate about supporting equitable food systems.
Mary Mangubat, George Washington High School '21
After graduating high school, Mary decided to study environmental science at Humboldt State University (now California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt) with a concentration in planning and policy. She also has recently declared her minor in sustainable food systems! She spent her first year at college exploring her interests and curiosities that the field of environmental science had to offer, specifically spending her time volunteering at community farms and learning about food sovereignty. As she enters her second year of college, she's looking forward to all the exciting events she will soon be hosting as an environmental educator at Humboldt’s social justice and equity center.

last updated June 2022