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, Indigenous climate activism, and an Environmental Science Career Expo. Learn more aboutour 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 tosupport 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!

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1k+

newsletter subscribers

2.4k+

total youth engaged

15+

successful CAPs

2k+

social media followers

50+

climate-related

workshops

180+

people reached

through CAPs!

meet the team!

Amelia Fortgang

Chair
Amelia Fortgang is a senior at Lick-Wilmerding High School. She discovered her passion for climate justice and ocean conservation advocacy through participating in citizen science efforts and connecting with other youth around the world.

Amelia founded and chairs the Bay Area Youth Climate Summit, working on workshops, outreach, and climate action planning. Along the way, Amelia has had the opportunity to speak with everyone from San Francisco's Mayor Breed to youth from New York to students at her own school.

In addition to the Summit, Amelia also currently serves on EarthEcho's Youth Leadership Council, co-leads her school’s environmental club, and works on Fridays for Future Digital’s outreach and social media teams. When not thinking about the environment, she loves drawing, printmaking, hiking, and roller skating. She is excited to continue to grow with BAYCS and advocate for our planet and its people!

Erika Tam

Vice-Chair & Newsletter
Ever since she was young, Erika has been passionate about issues such as zero-waste living, sustainable food production, sourcing renewable energy, and much more related to climate change. Erika helps co-lead Lick’s Environmental Club and also runs a plant-based food Instagram (@eat.w.erika). Recently, some of her favorite recipes have chia seed pudding and tofu fries! When not thinking about the environment, Erika can be found cooking, watching Netflix, making posts on Canva, or eating! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Hannah Merickel

Logistics
Hannah is a co-leader of LWHS’s Environmental Club. She loves surfing, spending time at the beach, peering into tide pools, and studying aquatic ecosystems. She is most passionate about marine protection and waste reduction. From a young age, she has participated in many marches for the climate and loves watching nature and climate change-related documentaries. Hannah also loves to play soccer, softball, and enjoys baking and drawing. She is thrilled to be organizing the Summit and is excited for you to join!

Dory Miller

Social Media
Dory is a senior at St. Ignatius College Preparatory. Whether it’s the beach, the woods, or a lake, Dory loves connecting with nature and its many wonders. For that reason, she wants to do everything in her ability to combat the dangers of climate change that our planet increasingly faces. As a passionate activist within her local and school community, she has focused her efforts on educating herself and others on issues like fossil fuel divestment, environmental justice, and how to live a more ethical and sustainable lifestyle. She hopes to pursue a career in journalism and science communication and is currently the president of St. Ignatius’s Green Team (@sigreenteam), as well as the co-host of a podcast called “She’s Up Next” (@shesupnextpodcast) that amplifies the voices of other activists. She can’t wait to organize the fall summit for a second year!

Kyan Shlipak

Workshops & Website
Kyan is an environmental activist focused on air quality disparities. He co-founded the Particulates Matter project and has interned for AethLabs and UCSF sustainable health. He loves math, distance running, dogs, and the technical arts.

Oona Clark

Logistics
Oona is a senior in high school at San Domenico School. They started getting involved with climate activism as a freshman, with their local Sunrise hub, and then became a member of the first YAC at BAYCS at the end of their sophomore year. Oona loves to read, write, and hopes to study climate science in college

Emily Lao

Social Media & Website
Emily is a junior at Berkeley High School. She's been interested in climate change and the environment since she was young, and loves to learn more about what she can do to help our world. She loves going outdoors, especially to beaches and lakes. Besides helping the environment, Emily also loves to bake or draw (and code!). She is so happy to be a part of the team and is always inspired by the amazing youth on the team.

Alyssa Goldfield

Newsletter, Outreach, Grants & Sponsorships
Alyssa is a junior at Alameda High School. Her passion for climate change an activism started when she attended a YES (Youth for the Environment and Sustainability) in the third grade. Since then, she’s attended several other climate conferences, hosted a workshop at the 2017 YES Conference, was the youth keynote speaker at the 2018 YES Conference and spoke again later that year at the Global Climate Action Summit hosted by then Governor Jerry Brown. Alyssa took some time off with her family to travel the world and loves learning about new cultures. When not learning and advocating for the environment, she can be found reading, cooking, playing tennis, or having deep conversations with her friends about philosophical topics where answers are yet to be found.

Lena Huang

Workshops & Website
Lena is a junior at Galileo High School in SF. She recently joined the climate movement and immediately wants to do everything to save our planet. She has started with small steps, by asking her family to use more reusable bags and water bottles. Now, she volunteers at Heron’s Head Park in the Bayview district doing habitat restoration and community outreach. In addition, she is also a water challenge ambassador at EarthEcho doing water monitoring and advocating for our oceans. I am passionate about environmental justice, ocean conservation, and many more topics. She loves being in nature. During her free time she goes hiking with family and friends often!

Faline Howard

Outreach
Faline is a senior at Half Moon Bay High School where she is an active member in their environmental club. She volunteered at the SF Zoo where she learned about the animals and how to inspire the conservation of their populations. Last summer, she participated in Pepperwood’s TeenNat program where she learned about the diverse, changing climate and how to document various species to share with the community. Girl Scouts has influenced her love of bees after developing bee gardens for the restoration of Sonoma County after the fires in 2017. This year, she is working on her Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouts.

Natalie Heller

Workshops
Natalie is sixteen years old and a junior at Lick Wilmerding High School. She is very passionate about the environment whether it is thinking and talking about sustainable shopping or diving off the shore of Maui. From a young age, she has loved to have bake sales and host readathons to try to protect and preserve our planet. Outside of school, Natalie loves to go biking, hiking, backpacking, or just be outside!

Bruno Kai Ong

Workshops
Bruno is a rising junior at Lick-Wilmerding High School. His passions include environmental justice and sustainable urban planning. Outside of school, Bruno enjoys biking, reading, painting, and running cross country.

Alexis DeBusschere

Social Media & Website
A rising junior at Miramonte High School, Alexis is a part of an environmental club at Miramonte where her and her club members, help reduce plastic waste through their project HEART and went to city council to propose a ban for styrofoam with a few other club members. Alexis has been interested in animals since she was young and her passion for the environment grew even more as she got older. Other activities Alexis enjoys are shopping second-hand, trying new vegetarian recipes, and spending time making art. She is very excited to work with other students who are also passionate about the environment as a BAYCS member!

Aliyah Miller

Social Media & Outreach
Aliyah Miller is a junior at Jesse Bethel High School. She is very passionate about injustice and climate change since Elementary school. Her hobbies is taking photos of wildlife and volunteering to help her community. Still she continues to learn about variety of climate change issues.

Aarya Chowdhry

Social Media
Aarya is currently a 10th-grade student starting her academic year at San Domenico School. She is a keen learner and a writer. Aarya is enthusiastic about her career in literature and wants to explore the world of literature and language. She is also a debater and a social media motivational writer. She likes music, absolutely loves to sing, and believes that the good you pass on to the world brings you back the same amount of good in your life. The world can only be a better place if you decide to be good and do something good hence to be good is the new motivation.

Finn Does

Newsletter
Finn is a sophomore at Marin Academy High School in San Rafael. Although Finn had always cared deeply about the climate, he wanted to better support the Bay Area community—and other communities through spreading awareness about the inequities and disparities exacerbated by the climate crisis. He felt that BAYCS’s diverse group of passionate youth made it an ideal organization to work with. In addition to Finn’s position at BAYCS, he leads small teams at his high school environmental club and runs the student newspaper—educating his community in the concept of greenwashing and food waste management. He is passionate about climate advocacy, journalism, literature, and social justice.

Meredith Foster

Newsletter
Meredith is a junior at St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco and is a member of her school’s Green Team. She serves on her town’s Climate Action Committee as head of student outreach. In this role, she leads a team of student ambassadors at local schools who help the Committee promote climate campaigns in their school communities. Meredith enjoys running, hiking, and exploring the outdoors, as well as singing and playing the piano and guitar. She’s excited to be involved with the Summit and collaborate with fellow young people for climate action.

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Elise Priesman

Social Media
Elise Priesman is a sophomore at Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. She has been passionate about taking care of animals and the Earth from a young age, which has led to her interest in climate activism. Elise is exceptionally interested in preserving endangered wildlife and creating a sustainable lifestyle. She loves working with other young individuals who share the same passion for environmental justice! Elise is a member of her school's green team and in her free time she love to bake, swim, go to the beach, snowboard, and play guitar.

Mateus Kim

Social Media
Mateus is a sophomore at Lick Wilmerding High School and is a part of the social media team on BAYCS. He likes to produce music and take his dog on a walk. Mateus is passionate about helping the climate and leaving wherever he goes a better place than where he found it. He just started getting into helping the climate through an organized team. He is excited to meet new people and find ways he can help the climate.

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Ariel Fu-Chen

Newsletter
Ariel is a sophomore at Lick Wilmerding High School. She is passionate about climate activism, particularly ocean conservation; in addition to her role on the BAYCS team, she is a member of a small student=led group called the Modern Marine Activists. She loves soccer and also enjoys surfing, making art, and watching Studio Ghibli movies.

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Sophie Merickel

Newsletter
Sophie is a sophomore at Lick. She loves connecting with nature though hikes, surfing, and camping. She has been passionate about the climate from a young age, is an active member in her school's environmental club, and is working to help start a sunrise hub at her school to take action for the Green New Deal. Sophie joined BAYCS in 2022 and is excited for the oppotunity for continual learning and growth during her time here. In her free time she loves to read, bake, make ceramics and snuggle with her puppy.

Vivian Deng

Social Media
Vivian is a current sophomore at Washington High School. Just a few months ago, she discovered her passion for climate justice by learning about how the Earth is being immensely impacted by global warming. Ever since then, she has put in her best effort to reduce her carbon footprint by riding public transportation more often, purchasing more organically made foods, educating and encouraging her family and friends to start utilizing eco-friendly methods and more! She hopes with BAYCS she can express her interest for the well-being of Earth and play a more crucial part in the global climate movement!

Cassidy Chan

Social Media & Outreach
Cassidy is a sophomore at Alameda High. From an early age, she learned the importance of environmental preservation, and she has since developed a strong passion for environmental advocacy, particularly in sustainable fashion. She is a current officer in her school’s environmental club, Amplify, where she aids in the transformation process of her city to become more sustainable. In 2022, she joined BAYCS to contribute with other students like herself to address the climate issues and take the initiate in solving these existing issues in our community. She enjoys drinking matcha lattes, thrifting, listening to music while reading, watching movies and shows in her spare time.

partners

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featured

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