Sophia Kianni

NEXTGEN CLIMATE ACTIVIST – Sophia Kianni is an 18-year-old climate and environmental activist, specializing in media and strategy. Her passion for environmental advocacy began after she witnessed the devastating effect pollution was having on her parents’ home country, Iran. She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, an international nonprofit with over 5,500 volunteers translating climate information into more than 100 languages. She was recently selected to represent the United States as the youngest member on the inaugural United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. She is also the host of the New Fashion Initiative Podcast, interviewing everyone from sustainability leaders at Lush Cosmetics and Mara Hoffman to politicians like Tom Steyer. Sophia’s activism has been featured in news outlets including Forbes, CNN, The Guardian, CNBC, and even on the front page of The Washington Post. She has written for news outlets such as MTV News, BuzzFeed, Teen Vogue, Refinery 29, and Cosmopolitan. Sophia has been publicly commended by the Congressional Committee on the Climate Crisis and the United Nations Foundation for her advocacy. She is an adamant public speaker and has spoken to people around the world from Doha, Qatar to Cambridge, Massachusetts.