Summer youth leadership program in Los Angeles: meet our Climate Fellows

Amanda Shu

Amanda is a junior at Harvard-Westlake School, where she serves as co-president of the school Envirothon team and co-founder of the mental health awareness club. Deeply passionate about climate change and social equity, her long-term goals include pursuing a career involving environmental sustainability. She is a Stanford Deliberative Democracy Lab Climate Fellow and co-founder of Project ReLeaf, a native habitat tree-planting initiative building fire-resilient communities across Southern California.

Beyond environmental work, Amanda has played on the school tennis team and is a violist with the orchestra, performing at Boston Symphony Hall and with Youth Orchestra Los Angeles-LA Philharmonic. She is a Harvard-Westlake Kutler Fellow whose research studied the revival of traditional Thai music and theater as a form of modern cultural expression and identity.

Through the Coro Youth Climate Fellowship, she aims to develop the advocacy and networking skills necessary to scale her climate initiatives and drive systemic change.

Ashley Sanchez

Ashley is a junior at Arleta High School, where she’s involved in nearly every extracurricular and academic program her school offers. Even then, she still seeks out new opportunities in order to broaden her horizons and aid those around her. Ashley dedicates herself in every activity she’s involved in—assuring that her full effort and devotion is present. She holds a passion towards aiding her environment whether it be her community or ecosystem. She plans to study environmental engineering, in hopes of tackling environmental issues while also investing in volunteer work that supports people’s welfare. Ashley is determined to become the first in her family to obtain a Doctorate. She hopes to gain valuable experience and skills from her Coro participation that will further support her goals.

Belinda Pablo-Cardozo

Belinda is a student at Ánimo Jackie Robinson Charter High School, where she participates in drama activities such as performing plays and creating monologues about problems that affect people. She hopes to bring awareness to situations people tend to ignore by talking about it or sharing a post to those she knows. She wants to create an experience for herself where she can learn new things from her peers.

Blake Stephenson

Blake is a freshman at Vistamar High School. They have been working towards becoming an environmental scientist for most of their life, always focusing on science and taking care of the environment. When they’re not advocating for protecting nature, they’re making music or working on big art projects, from crocheting to cosplay. Through this internship, they are aiming to learn more about how they can continue to care for the planet, building knowledge to help boost a future career in environmental science. They have spent their whole life advocating for and helping the environment, and only plans to do more as they get older.

Destiny Barranco

Destiny is an 11th-grade student at Ánimo Jackie Robinson Charter High School, where she proudly serves as social manager and actively participates in Link Crew and ASB. In these leadership roles, she helps foster school spirit, encourages student involvement, and supports her peers through meaningful activities and events. Destiny is dedicated to academic excellence and works hard to maintain strong grades while preparing for college. Her long-term goals include attending a respected university and building a successful career that creates stability, fulfillment, and positive change.

Through Coro, Destiny hopes to gain leadership experience, build meaningful relationships, explore new opportunities, and strengthen her civic knowledge. She is committed to personal growth and becoming a confident leader who will inspire others. She strives to make a lasting impact in her community for years to come through service, education, and dedication to equity and success.

Emmanuel Wu

Emmanuel is an 11th grade student at Whitney High School with a strong interest in public policy, chemistry, law, and education. He is actively involved in activities including Mock Trial, Science Olympiad, teaching in rural Taiwan, badminton, music, and peer mentorship, where he enjoys working with others and helping younger students grow. Emmanuel hopes to pursue a career in law, education, or an interdisciplinary field.

Through the Youth Climate Fellowship, he hopes to deepen his understanding of environmental policy, strengthen his advocacy and leadership skills, and use his knowledge in both the sciences and humanities to address complex challenges. He is excited to connect with like-minded peers who are equally passionate about civic engagement and building a more sustainable future.

Fermin Zacarias

Fermin is a student at Ánimo Jackie Robinson Charter High School. His long-term goals are to graduate from college and work with animals. His interests include helping animals and playing the drums with his band, including his friends Diego, Jose, and Chris.

Through the Coro program, he hopes to learn the impact of climate change on animals, and how we can collectively prevent negative environmental impacts on animals and people.

Gwendolyn Schneider

Gwendolyn is a rising junior at Sequoyah High School where she is on the volleyball team and participates in community service projects. Her long-term goals are to study psychology or philosophy in college because she wants to understand the human mind. Gwendolyn hopes to gain communication and leadership skills from her participation in Coro.

Hannah Davids

Hannah is a rising junior at Windward School. She is a student-athlete on the varsity soccer team and an avid scuba diver with a growing interest in environmental stewardship. Hannah has been involved as both a volunteer and counselor working with diverse populations of teens through sports camps, summer camps, and literacy programs, alongside serving as a peer counselor at her school supporting fellow students.She is especially interested in psychology, leadership, and how people engage with complex challenges like climate change. She hopes to pursue a career that combines these interests with meaningful community impact.

Through the Coro Climate Fellowship, Hannah aims to deepen her understanding of climate issues, strengthen her leadership skills, and learn how to collaborate across perspectives to drive practical, community-based solutions.

Hudson Barber

Hudson is a rising junior at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. She is interested in neuroscience and public health, especially how air quality, environmental exposures, and access to care can shape long-term health. She is especially curious about brain health, conditions like ADHD and Alzheimer’s, and the broader disparities that affect who gets support and treatment. Hudson volunteers at Kaiser Permanente and has been involved with the Variety Boys and Girls Club, where she enjoys working with younger students and building meaningful connections. She also founded Project Breathe Strong, a youth-led initiative focused on asthma awareness, education, and advocacy around air quality and school environments.

Through Coro, Hudson hopes to learn more about leadership, policy, and community change, and to build skills that will help her make a stronger impact.

Irene Park

Irene is a junior at LACES where she is academically driven and on the path of building a successful path for her future. She is the co-president of her school’s Dance Club, a member of the school’s Yearbook staff, and enjoys interacting with her school’s diverse community. She hopes to strengthen her skills in team communication and learn what it means to be a leader within her communities on a deeper level.

Michaela McKoy

Michaela is a graduated senior pursuing a political science degree at UCLA. She attended Environmental Charter High School where her passion for civic advocacy and engagement grew. She loves film and gardening, and her favorite extracurriculars are debate club and the students for social justice club.

From this opportunity, she hopes to gain lifelong peers that want to make change together, and increase her strategizing and communication skills.

Nathan Moon

Nathan is a rising 11th grader with a strong interest in leadership, public service, and community engagement. Through experiences with Congressman John Lee’s Youth Council and the Dragon Kim Foundation, he developed a deeper passion for civic leadership, teamwork, and service. He also has a creative background in graphic design, 3D art, and visual storytelling, which has strengthened his ability to think innovatively and communicate ideas effectively. Nathan is especially passionate about expanding RoboRoots club, a robotics outreach initiative that introduces younger students to coding and robotics through mentorship and hands-on learning.

Through Coro, he hopes to further develop his leadership skills, gain a deeper understanding of how communities and public institutions create meaningful change, and learn how to become a more effective and service-driven leader in the future.

Rebecca Vitti

Rebecca Vitti is a junior at Harvard-Westlake High School. Her long-term goal is to help reshape everyday systems so that sustainable choices become easier in daily life. At Harvard-Westlake, she has initiated a composting program on campus, competes in the NCF-Envirothon, serves as Editor-in-Chief of Mosaic, a student lifestyle magazine, and writes as a Features reporter for The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle.

From participating in the Coro Youth Climate Fellowship, she hopes to gain a better understanding of the many avenues to creating and improving environmental policies and practices. She would like to combine that understanding with the development of leadership skills that can promote better stewardship of our world.

Zachary Moon

Zachary is a junior at North Hollywood High School where he is electrical leader in robotics, varsity player for golf, and a hardworking student. He is interested in creating change in his community through mindsets and direct responsibility. He is interested in robotics, golf, art, and helping others using those same skills.

He hopes to gain community and a way to advance his character and goals through his Coro participation.