Jeannot EMAA is a young environmental advocate from Cameroon, passionate about
protecting nature and empowering communities to take action for the environment. He works closely with Indigenous communities and is also a video journalist dedicated to documenting environmental issues and amplifying local voices.
He is the co-founder of Green Guardians Association, a youth-led organization that encourages and equips young people to actively participate in environmental conservation and sustainable development.
Jeannot believes that protecting the planet is a shared responsibility. Through community engagement, storytelling, and youth leadership, he is committed to inspiring collective action and creating lasting positive change for both people and nature.
Oliver Burkholder is a 20 year old from Denver, Colorado. Spending summers visiting his grandparents in Long Boat Key, Florida, he spent many hours at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, shaping his passion for the natural world to be one for the ecosystems of the ocean. He has worked as a facilitator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science since 2022 where he spends most of his time educating his community on the importance of whales. He is now pursuing a bachelor in science in marine biology at Seattle University.
In the summer of 2025, he was involved in helping collect data about Broadnose Sevengill Sharks through a program that gives undergraduates at Seattle University the opportunity to assist graduate students in Oregon State University’s Big Fish Lab. For the summer of 2026, he will be assisting a post doc at the Brosi Lab at University of Washington collect data on bumble bee populations in Mount Rainier National Park. He hopes to pursue a graduate degree focused on either insect conservation, coastal ecosystem restoration, or marine ecosystem conservation.
As he watched the policies that protected the very same ecosystems he has been exploring since childhood be stripped away, Oliver felt powerless as a young adult to do anything about the growing apathy towards nature he was witnessing. This motivated him to join Heirs To Our Ocean’s US Youth Leadership Council’s sixth cohort where he served as the co-chair of the Plastic Pollution Committee. Through that experience, he was able to meet many other amazing youth leaders passionate about the ocean, lead community efforts to hold the brands that caused the plastic pollution we saw accountable, present to a class about the impacts of plastic, and call upon the representatives and senators of his region to advocate for USFWS, NOAA, and FEMA during the appropriations for FY2026. He is excited to use the skills he learned in the US YLC to the IYLC.
Landon Hoberman is a 17-year-old from New Jersey whose path to systems-level environmental leadership began with a contradiction he couldn’t ignore. What started as an attempt to engineer edible ice cream spoons evolved into a deeper realization: meaningful environmental change happens upstream, before waste is created — by shifting defaults, not just redesigning products.
That insight drove him to found #reducebyrequest, a campaign eliminating the automatic inclusion of plastic utensils in takeout orders. The initiative has removed over 8.1 million single-use plastics from circulation and saved local businesses more than $200,000. He then drafted and secured unanimous passage of a local ordinance, testified twice before New Jersey Senate committees, and helped advance Bill S3195 — the strongest “Skip the Stuff” legislation in the country — into law in January 2026.
Through sustainability presentations and town cleanups, Landon saw a consistent gap: students want to help, but often lack clear pathways to get started. In response, he founded the Student Environmental Ambassador (SEA) Program, which now empowers over 1,440 ambassadors across 86 schools in 19 states and 10 countries, reaching more than 100,000 students through 17 strategic partnerships.
As Co-Chair of H2OO’s 6th Cohort Plastic Pollution Committee, Landon brought the same data-driven, community-grounded approach to the national stage. He is committed to advancing youth leadership in environmental decision-making, demonstrating that with the right tools and support, the next generation doesn’t need to wait to lead.
Caitlynn Du, a 16-year-old student from Beijing, China, is an environmental researcher and youth advocate exploring how science, policy, and diverse knowledge systems shape environmental decision-making.
Growing up in a rapidly urbanizing city, she became aware of the environmental challenges embedded in everyday life, from campus flooding to the gradual loss of local biodiversity. Motivated to create change, she has led multiple sustainability initiatives at her school, focusing on reducing waste, improving campus systems, and raising environmental awareness among her peers.
Her work extends beyond campus. Through her research on China’s South-to-North Water Transfer Project, she examines ecological trade-offs and environmental justice, while her seagrass mapping project integrates data on biodiversity and carbon to support decision-making. Her research has been presented at two international conferences, where she was the only high school presenter.
Beyond research, Caitlynn is committed to advancing youth participation in environmental governance. She participates actively in forums to learn about global crises. As the founder of an environmental education organization in China and a member of Heirs to Our Ocean’s Youth Inclusion Expert Working Group, she collaborates with partners to promote meaningful youth inclusion both nationally and globally.
She believes that addressing environmental challenges requires not only scientific solutions, but also more inclusive ways of understanding the world.
Marissa Guadarrama Oropeza is a rising senior at Brown University studying International and Public Affairs and an independent concentration in Environmental Storytelling.
Growing up between two immigrant communities in Los Angeles, Marissa witnessed the repeated exclusion of her community from decision-making spaces, despite bearing the brunt of socio-environmental inequality. As a result, these experiences ignited her passion for leveraging her education and positionality to foster equitable intergenerational climate collaboration. Through her research, advocacy, and leadership, she hopes to shape international and domestic policies that promote social and environmental change, empowering marginalized communities in the process.
Marissa served on the Los Angeles Mayor’s Youth Council, where she worked on local climate and accountability initiatives; she has also helped to develop Brown University’s first Environmental Justice Working Group where she has created opportunities at the intersection of environmental justice, storytelling, and community engagement. Beyond campus, Marissa has worked with the LA-based nonprofit Para Los Niños to help develop a policy agenda advocating for the rights of low-income immigrant families and has also conducted research on U.S. state-level climate obstruction with Brown’s Climate and Development Lab, presenting her findings to legislators and policy think tanks in Washington, DC.
Lydia Latifah Nansubuga is an eco and social justice activist from Kampala, Uganda. She serves as a Global Youth Leader and Board Member with Heirs To Our Ocean (H2OO) and has been a member of the Policy Working Group for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Cohorts of the U.S. Youth Action Council for the UN Ocean Decade.
Latifah has been an active member of H2OO since 2020. Her passion lies in advocacy for both environmental and human rights, as she deeply understands their interconnectedness. She has personally experienced the devastating intersection of climate and humanitarian crises, particularly as a young girl.
At just 13 years old, Latifah developed Climate Smart Urban Farming to grow food and avoid the threat of forced child marriage. She advocates for education and accessible information platforms to amplify voices, provide resources, create empowerment opportunities, and ensure safety and support for all — especially marginalized communities. Her mission is to bridge the gap between the suffering of these communities and lawmakers, emphasizing the power of legislation to create meaningful change.
Additionally, Latifah is dedicated to ending gender-based violence against girls. She speaks publicly to share her story and inspire others to work toward a better, more equitable world.
Currently, Latifah is pursuing her bachelor’s degree at a university in the U.S.
Litokne, from the Marshall Islands, a low-lying island nation in the middle of the Pacific, committed himself as a youth activist with H2OO in 2019.
Litokne was one of the 16 youth Petitioners in Children vs Climate Crisis wherein he shared his story about how the climate crisis has impacted the very survival of his island home. With only 7 feet above sea level, Marshall Islands lies on the very frontline of the climate crisis, and Litokne’s experiences have urged him to make sure his voice is heard globally.
Litokne believes the younger generation deserves a sustainable planet and should not be forced to leave their home and culture. Litokne’s island home is his identity, and he feels that no corporate actions nor government policies should take that away from him. Litokne takes action with H2OO because he believes that the next generation deserves a healthy and happy future too.
Julia, a marine conservationist from Indonesia, earned her bachelor’s degree in Marine Science from the University of Papua and is pursuing a master’s in Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University. Passionate about marine ecology, habitat preservation, and ocean pollution, she actively contributes through Our ConservaSea and Heirs To Our Ocean (H2OO). As a youth leader, Julia spearheads projects to engage and educate communities on marine conservation. She is dedicated to promoting ecotourism, community action, and leadership while inspiring others to protect marine ecosystems.
Dakota co-founded Heirs To Our Ocean (H2OO) at just 10 years old, driven by her deep curiosity about ocean life and a growing desire to protect it. What began as a passion project quickly evolved into a global movement as she connected with youth around the world who shared a vision for a safer, more just future.
From a young age, Dakota recognized that H2OO had to be grounded in youth protection—especially for those already experiencing the harshest impacts of environmental and social injustices. She understood the urgent need to address the health of our planet and the burden being passed on to future generations.
Now a university student, Dakota remains deeply committed to H2OO’s mission: to unite youth through shared purpose and to provide meaningful opportunities and resources to the greatest stakeholders in the climate crisis—youth everywhere.
Angela is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley with a strong commitment to environmental health and climate advocacy. She views climate change as one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Therefore, Angela feels a profound responsibility to lead transformative change for the health and well-being of both current and future generations. Angela firmly believes that every individual deserves the right to live in a safe and healthy world where their environment supports their well-being.
Angela is dedicated to ocean conservation. She has a wealth of experience in combating the environmental challenges that our marine ecosystems face while also championing innovative solutions for their preservation on a global scale. As the Founder and Executive Director of successful organizations, Angela is eager to bring her expertise, leadership, and enthusiasm to advance H2OO’s mission and make a meaningful impact on both ocean conservation and climate action.
Amber is a member of Heirs To Our Ocean (H2OO) who joined in 2020 during the first Cohort of the U.S. Youth Action Council for the UN Ocean Decade. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she developed a passion for the environment from a young age although she didn’t always see the best parts of it outside of her window.
In high school, she worked on various environmental projects, from cleaning up local beaches to helping plan more resilient coastal communities in South Queens. More recently, she began advocating for stronger environmental protections at U.S. Capitol Hill with other members of H2OO.
She is currently completing her degree in Marine Biology at the University of Delaware, finding her passion in research, has completed two terms on the Support Team for the U.S. Youth Action Council for the UN Ocean Decade, and is a Global Youth Leader for H2OO.
Outside of her work with H2OO, Amber enjoys kayaking, gardening, biking, and reading on the beach. She also continues to advocate for the environment in her personal life, from engaging in environmentally focused student-run organizations on campus to learning more about environmental racism affecting her community.
Charley Peebler is a 20-year old college sophomore who is passionate about building a brighter future for the next generation through tackling our climate and humanitarian crises. In 2016 they and their sister founded Heirs To Our Ocean (H2OO), a global movement started from the ground up to empower youth to take a stand against the crises our planet faces and to position themselves as leaders in eco-justice and climate action. Charley is especially passionate about policy advocacy and climate justice. Their main goal in their activist journey is to make climate and eco-justice space and advocacy accessible to all. In their advocacy work, they use their voice as an advocate as a tool to uplift the voices of others, with the vision of bringing all to the table as we make decisions for the future of our planet.