Recognizing Youth Environmental Leadership

Join us for the 27th Annual Brower Youth Awards Ceremony on Monday, October 19th, where we’ll honor 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.

2026 Winners

Renee Zhao

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Making climate action accessible to youth

Ojas Sanghi

Tucson, Arizona

Harnessing schools for climate action and leadership

Garrett Ordonez

Los Angeles, California

Transforming recreational hikers into conservationists

Kaitlyn Culbert

Toms River, New Jersey

Using science and communication to protect pollinators

Esther Bonney

La Plata, Maryland

Promoting mental health through native landscapes

Ambassadors

Anonymous
Josh Floum & Maggie O’Donnell
Francisco Martinez
Michael Mitrani & Frannie Roche
Ariela St. Pierre
Nadine Weil
John Knox

Our 2026 Selection Committee

Angelina Benson-Glanz is Senior Program Officer, U.S. Clean Heat at Climate Imperative, where she supports grantmaking strategies and manages grant portfolios to electrify and decarbonize the buildings sector. Angelina joined Climate Imperative from Elevate Energy, where she was the Principal Director of Special Projects. She led Elevate’s role in the design and implementation of the national Justice40 Accelerator, which supports community-based organizations to grow their capacity to access federal funding and scale community-driven climate solutions. Angelina also led the launch of Elevate’s affordable housing high performance building consulting services and supported the growth of Elevate’s buildings programs nationally. Prior to Elevate, Angelina was a policy analyst at the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office, where she coordinated partnerships with utilities and non-profits to target outreach, energy efficiency program delivery, and incentives in neighborhoods with high energy use. She began her career in business strategy consulting at Marakon Associates working with Fortune 500 industrial firms. Angelina has a Bachelor of Science in Education in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

Kyle Trefny

Kyle Trefny (he/him) is an organizer, wildland firefighter, artist, and researcher. He first attended the Brower Youth Awards in 2016 as an audience member while in high school, and it helped inspire his journey. In 2022, Kyle co-founded FireGeneration Collaborative (FireGen), to empower young frontline workers and Indigenous practitioners to transform fire and land management. FireGen has created historic involvement for young people in fire and land policy, research, and organizing. Kyle is also a researcher at the University of Oregon, and a land steward at Santa Rosa Junior College. He is of Ashkenazi Jewish and West European descent, born and raised a settler on Ramaytush and Muwekma Ohlone lands in San Francisco, CA. He enjoys history and fantasy, drawing, and connecting with people and place. Kyle was a 2025 Brower Youth Awardee.

David Jonathan Godfrey

David Jonathan Godfrey is a communications, research, and policy professional with more than a decade of experience supporting international organizations, nonprofits, and advocacy initiatives focused on human rights, LGBTQ+ equality, public health, and sustainable development. Based in Mexico City, he has worked with organizations including UNAIDS, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UCLA’s WORLD Policy Analysis Center, ILGA, and Glisten, leading projects in digital communications, website management, policy research, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge management. A multilingual communicator fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, David specializes in translating complex research and policy issues into accessible, compelling content for diverse audiences. He holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from The New School and a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and French from Seattle Pacific University.

Mae Chan

Mae Chan is the founder of Real Life Oakland, where she helps experienced leaders transform their expertise, lived experience, and personal purpose into aligned businesses and innovative career paths. Drawing on 13 years of experience building and leading a successful brick-and-mortar children’s business in Oakland, she brings a unique combination of entrepreneurial insight, strategic thinking, and deep empathy to her work. She specializes in helping clients develop highly differentiated, premium offers rooted in their unique strengths, stories, and the transformation they are uniquely positioned to create. Through her work, she is building a community of purpose-driven leaders committed to creating a more equitable, joyful, and sustainable future of work and business.