Sophia Kianni

Why you should listen

Sophia Kianni is a climate activist studying environmental science and public policy at Stanford University. In middle school, she witnessed the devastating effect pollution was having on her parents' home country, Iran. Her experience inspired her to found Climate Cardinals: a nonprofit that aims to make climate education more accessible to people who don't speak English. Climate Cardinals has grown to 8,000 volunteers and facilitated the translation of more than 6,000 pages of climate information into 100 languages.

As a result of her environmental advocacy, Kianni was chosen to represent the US as the youngest member on the inaugural United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. At the UN, she works to increase youth representation in international decision-making spaces. Her work has been featured in news outlets including Forbes, CNN, BBC, TIME magazine, The Guardian, NBC and the front page of The Washington Post. She has been named VICE Media's youngest Human of the Year, a National Geographic Young Explorer and one of Teen Vogue's 21 under 21.