Through the Action Fellowship program, ACE educates high school students about climate change and empowers them to lead on climate solutions.

On our blog, ACE will be introducing the 2014-2015 Action Fellows from our regions across the country. We are inspired by their unique experiences and passion, and think you will be too.

Learn about our New York’s Action Fellows below. Make sure to check back later to follow their great work this year!

Meet all our 2014-2015 Action Fellows here.
Read more about the Fellowship here.

Name: Anthony Neciosup
School: Long Island City High School
Grade: 12

Anthony Neciosup is from Queens, New York and is currently a senior at Long Island City High School. He got involved with Global Kids’ HRAP (Human Rights Activists Project) during his sophomore year after he witnessed the devastating impacts of Hurricane Sandy on communities in New York City and beyond. Anthony was determined to learn more about world issues and climate change and Global Kids helped him achieve just that. At the end of his junior year, Anthony had the opportunity to travel to Argentina and collaborate with ‘Fundación Tierra Vida’ to further build his leadership skills and learn about sustainable living.

In the summer of 2014, he joined the Alliance for Climate Education and Global Kids Climate Action Fellowship. One highlight of his involvement in the Fellowship has been helping to create and spread a campaign calling on our elected officials to mandate climate education in all New York Public Schools for grades K-12. When he is not working towards a sustainable future, Anthony likes to swim laps, volunteer, try new foods, and explore new places. In the fall of 2015, Anthony will attend college and will most likely major in the sciences.

Name: Emily Martinez
School: High School for Environmental Studies
Grade: 11

Emily was born in Manhattan, and has lived there all of her life. She attends the High School for Environmental Studies and will be graduating in June 2016. She loves to do many activities outside of school such as taking time to learn new music techniques and working with school clubs and organizations to learn from experiences she wouldn’t otherwise encounter. She participates in her school’s environmental club, the Young Environmental Stewards (YES) Club, where she gets to experience new ways to garden and how essential composting can be. Emily is part of her school’s National Honor Society program, participated in her school’s Sophomore Internship where she was trained to be a TA and tutor for chemistry. She has also been active in her school’s government for all three years of high school and will continue to participate in Leadership class until she graduates.

During her free time, she is a teacher assistant for chemistry lab, helping young students expand their knowledge in chemistry. In seeking new opportunities for learning and growth, she chose to work with CAMBA’s Teen RAPP program (Teen Relationship Abuse Prevention Program) in the summer of 2013. During the summer of 2014, she sought out the opportunity to work with ACE and Global Kids as an Action Fellow, where she has already seen the impact youth can make, has learned new ways to communicate and found that if you work hard and long enough, you can actually make a huge difference.

Emily cares about climate change for the sake of future generations of all types of species. One thing she has done to fight climate change is participate in the YES Club, where she has helped organize activities such as composting. She also contributes ideas from the YES Club to student council meetings to get the school involved. In the future, she would love to travel to Australia because of the beautiful scenery and architecture! One activity in particular she would love to do in Australia is to swim with dolphins!

Name: Darla Mariduena
School: High School for Environmental Studies
Grade: 11

Darla lives in Queens, New York, but is originally from Ecuador, where poverty and global warming are impacting its fauna and flora greatly. She is a junior at High School for Environmental Studies, in Manhattan. Her passion for the environment was ignited by her teacher and Young Environmental Stewards (YES) Club advisors, Dora Treanor and Evelyn Wing. As president of this club, she has been able to take charge and lead other students in environmentally focused projects, such as the renovation of her school’s rooftop garden.

She is overly active in her school through both extra curricular activities and sports. Apart from being president of YES Club, she is captain of her cross country team, a tennis player, and a member of her school’s National Honors Society. She enjoys reading, running, staying active, community service, learning languages, and learning new things overall. If she could have one superpower, it would be cloning. With this, she would be able to do a lot more work, as well as increase the impact just one person is capable of doing.

Darla became an ACE Action Fellow during the summer of 2014. She is determined to keep working toward passing the Climate Education Resolution and advancing the campaign. She hopes to keep working with youth in her school, as well as adults that she will be able to impact. She will continue to encourage others to live a green life and help the world they live in.

Name: Victoria Barrett
School: Notre Dame School of Manhattan
Grade: 10

Victoria lives in White Plains, NY and is currently a sophomore at the Notre Dame School of Manhattan. She has been working on human rights issues since her freshman year of high school, after joining Global Kids. One of her proudest moments so far in fighting against climate change was marching in the People’s Climate March. For Victoria marching in solidarity with over 400,000 people who cared about the climate like she does was incredible.

She is really interested in international affairs and foreign policy and hopes to focus on that in college. One of her goals for the future is to work in the foreign service, for the CIA or at the United Nations, in order to practice diplomacy. In terms of hobbies, she really enjoys making music, singing and playing guitar, cello, and other instruments. She also really enjoys filmmaking and photography. She hopes in the future she has the opportunity to travel as much as possible. She believes travel is very important to the development of a person’s mind.

Name: Nsilo M. Mavour
School: Brooklyn Technical High School
Grade: 12

Nsilo is from Brooklyn, NY and is a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School (BTHS). He started taking notice of environmental issues after realizing its connections to human rights and joined the Human Rights Activist Project at Global Kids Inc. There he worked on climate issues, most notably demanding climate education for NYC students in grades K-12. His greatest passion is human rights activism. He believes it’s his duty to fight for the oppressed, and the disenfranchised, and plans on dedicating his life to alleviating the ills these groups face. He thinks that some of the most impactful actions he has taken to fight climate change are the protests he has taken part in.

He plans on majoring in International Relations when he gets to college, and with that knowledge go on to alleviate some of the ills international communities face. During his free time he enjoys drawing, reading, debating, and playing music as part of the BTHS Concert Band. He is also Vice President of the Student Political Engagement Awareness and Knowledge Club at his school.

Name: Sam March
School: Park East High School
Grade: 12

Sam is from Brooklyn, NY and a senior at Park East High School in Manhattan. He got started working on environmental issues during his sophomore year of high school when he began participating in his school’s Environmental Club, but he was not really that committed to environmental work until later in that same year when ACE came and did an assembly presentation on climate change and its impacts in NYC and other parts of the world. After the presentation he was inspired to look more into the effects of climate change and what he could do to reduce the impacts.

Everyday people are forced out of their homes due to changing conditions on their land, whether it be from poor air quality to droughts or floods. Although Sam feels he has not been affected by climate change directly in big ways yet, it is still important to him to do his part in reducing the effects of climate change to the point where it no longer exists. Some of the highlights of Sam’s work to fight climate change so far have been: greening National Parks as part of The Student Conservation Association (SCA), raising awareness about the impacts of climate change, and working to get others involved in their community. When Sam has some free time, he enjoys hiking, Graphic Design, and volunteering in National Parks and for theatre based projects.

Name: Amy Oliveras
High School: Francis Lewis High School
Grade: 11

Currently living in Astoria, New York, Amy is a junior in Francis Lewis High School. Her motivation for climate activism was inspired by experiencing Hurricane Irene in Puerto Rico and Hurricane Sandy in New York City. This is her first time working on a campaign and she is excited to continue to work to pass Resolution 0375 in City Hall for Climate Education in K-12 New York Public Schools. As an Action Fellow with Global Kids and ACE she has participated in the International Young Environmentalists Youth Summit, the People’s Climate March, and press conferences and rallies at City Hall in NYC.

Amy is passionate about and interested in continued learning in the fields of international relations and creative writing. Amy feels that these interests are a part of who she is and aspires to be. She wants to understand how nations interact in the structures of economy, culture, and the military. She is a young published author of poetry and wants to continue growing as a creative writer.

Name: Annie Willis
High School: Long Island City High School
Grade: 12

Annie Willis temporarily resides in The Bronx, New York. She is a senior at Long Island City High School in Astoria, New York. In 2012, her life took a turn for the worst when Superstorm Sandy reached her home in the Rockaways. Annie and her family are still displaced to this day and because of that, Annie’s motivation for changing policy to combat climate change is inspired by experiencing devastating long lasting events due to extreme weather.

Currently, her passion is trying to implement climate education in the New York State school curriculum. As an Action Fellow with Global Kids and ACE she has participated in the People’s Climate March along with rallies and press conferences at City Hall. One highlight of her climate activist journey was being a guest panelist for 350.org New York “Why the U.S. Must Lead” event during the week of the United Nation’s Climate Summit in 2014.

In the future she hopes to continue her work of being an environmentalist and a human rights activist. In college she plans to study International Politics and Economics in order to further connect policy and social change. During her free time, Annie enjoys cooking for friends and family and reading. She is also a member of her school’s golf team.