Brower Youth Awards

Recognizing Youth Environmental Leadership

Thanks for joining us for the 26th Annual Brower Youth Awards Ceremony on Thursday, October 9th, honoring young environmental leaders who are making a difference in their communities across North America. Since 2000, BYA is the signature event hosted by the New Leaders Initiative program of the Earth Island Institute.

lake with young people wading

We gathered at the Goldman Theater at the David Brower Center with a fresh energy in a cozy, intimate setting that allowed our youth awardees to shine. We honored the recipients through short videos, speeches, and an audience Q&A.


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2025 Winners

Lily YangLiu

White Rock, BC, Canada

Pushing for youth participation in political and environmental decision-making.

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Sophie Tipper

Centennial, CO

Advocating for youth involvement in policy-making.

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Joey Wu

Woodbury, MN

Using storytelling to shed light on climate insecurities and solutions.

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Kyle Trefny

Eugene, OR

Empowering youth and Indigenous leadership for a fire-resilient future.

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Inaam Chattha

Toronto, ON, Canada

Addressing the rising mental health impacts of climate change.

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Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors!

Our 2025 Selection Committee

Dena Montague

Dena Montague is an Environmental Justice Lecturer at Stanford University. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of ÉnergieRich, an early-stage start-up establishing community based local manufacturing of solar energy systems in Ghana. ÉnergieRich develops collaborative research partnerships between Ghanaian engineers and engineers in the African Diaspora to implement innovative energy solutions that center community voices.

Anupa Asokan

Anupa Asokan is the founder and executive director of Fish On, a fishing interest organization representing recreational anglers and spearfishers in ocean policy. Anupa is a passionate ocean advocate who has worked at NOAA, led the Ocean Initiative and Government Affairs at XPRIZE Foundation, and supported organizations like NRDC and the World Surf League. Beyond her advocacy, Anupa is an avid waterwoman who regularly spends her free time fishing, surfing, diving and stand-up paddling. With a conservation career inspired by her lifelong love of fishing and fueled by her passion for spending time in the ocean, Anupa consistently saw the needs of recreational and subsistence fishers misrepresented in ocean conservation. Fish On was born to support the needs of conservation-minded fishing communities and advocate for meaningful, ambitious ocean conservation policy so that everyone may have access to an ocean that is healthy, thriving and full of life.

Faith Adiele

Faith Adiele is a PEN Award-winning memoirist and Chair of Writing & Literature at California College of the Arts. Author of the memoir Meeting Faith, about moving into the Thai forest to become the first Black Buddhist nun, she founded the USA’s first writing workshop for BIPOC travelers. Her nature writing includes HBO Max’s A World of Calm and Sleep Stories for the Calm meditation app. Named one of Marie Claire‘s “Five Women to Learn From,” she serves as Senior Editor for Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Nature & Place and speaks internationally about the transformative power of personal narrative.

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