YBCL Scholarship

Afiya Ward grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and she has consistently been actively involved in her community. In 2016, Afiya worked alongside community and organizational leaders to develop a Youth Leadership Program as an advanced program offering of the ARTS-Us Center for the African Diaspora in Saint Paul. Since its 2016 inception, she has dedicated much of her time to the development and execution of this program, serving over 100 youth, introducing them to STEM career opportunities, and teaching expression through the arts. Today, Afiya is a student at Florida A&M University, studying Agricultural Science and Business in order to be an asset to the environmental justice community by tackling food justice inequities. After she finishes school, Afiya plans to leverage the wisdom and connections she gains to become an impactful leader in the food justice movement.

Akasha Gabrieloff-Parish (they/them) hopes to bring marine biology and restoration ecology to the communities that need it most. Honoring the legacies of Black and Indigenous ways of caring for the earth, Akasha seeks healing, social justice, and inspiration for the world through the study of ecology. From Colorado, Akasha is a student at Eckerd College in Florida where they can enjoy and observe the ocean every day. Akasha is also a history buff and does art in their free time.

The Black Liberation Collective is a small organization based in Boise, Idaho that is 100% led by, with and for Black queer & trans youth. We are an organization that creates joy, abundance and liberation for all Black Idahoans. The Black Liberation Art Collective is a project of the BLC that uplifts and brings together Black artists in Idaho with the hopes of providing resources, space to connect, and abundance.

Amara Ifeji serves as Director of Youth Engagement and Policy with the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) where she carries out her commitment to advancing equitable access to the outdoors and climate justice education for ALL youth. Her barriers to access to environmental learning drove her to lead community science learning efforts for youth of color and conduct internationally awarded climate change research. Through her role with MEEA, she strives to empower a network of over 400+ youth environmental activists in the Maine Environmental Changemakers Network. Amara also pushes for both state and federal environmental education policy reform through her roles with the Nature Based Education Consortium and the Maine Climate Council Equity Subcommittee. In recognition of her work, she was awarded the 2021 National Geographic Young Explorer Award–one of only 24 youth in the world.

I am Andrew Chambers, a 2nd generation Jamaican American from Prince George's County, Maryland of the DMV. I'm interested in anime, art, music playlist, penguins, and mental health. Hobbies include tailoring, archery, playing video games, arts & crafts, and reading.

With this scholarship award I intend to put on a fashion showcase that brings awareness to climate change and the lasting effects fast fashion has on the environment; and the importance of community work and support of small businesses.

Hello! My name is Arianna and I am a sophomore at the College of the Holy Cross. I am an English major and an Education minor. My hope is to become a successful educator and become an activist for environmental justice.

Collin is a rising senior, majoring in Biomedical Sciences with a Pre-Med emphasis at Grand Valley State University. He’s a McNair Scholar, Chapter President of his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Vice President for the Grand Rapids NAACP. He’s a member of Black Student Union, African Student Council, and Pre-Med Club. Collin enjoys servicing communities, offering tutoring to students, organizing a Flint water drive and clothing drives for Children’s Advocacy Center. He’s one of two students from Grand Valley and one of eight in Michigan to be recognized by Campus Compact for Michigan for dedication to service inside and outside of the classroom. Collin continues serving his communities and maintaining academic excellence as he strives for medical school!

Diamond Spratling is an impact-driven environmental health professional and non-profit leader motivated to mitigate health, racial, and environmental disparities in Black and Brown communities. She is the founder of M4EJ (Millennials 4 Environmental Justice), a non-profit organization designed to bring awareness to and solutions for dismantling environmental racism. The Detroit native and 2021 TEDx speaker has spent almost five years at the forefront of environmental justice. Her strong dedication to the sector has earned her the William H. Sterner Memorial Award (2017) as well as the Elmore Manufacturing Award (2018). Diamond holds an MPH in Global Health from the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University and undergraduate degree in Environmental Policy and Analysis from Bowling Green State University.

My name is Trinity Haynes and I was born and raised in Detroit Michigan. I am currently a junior studying Environmental science at the University of San Francisco while also minoring in Chinese Studies. I am interested in working on restoration projects in the United States. Along with that, I am very interested in environmental education in urban areas and improving green infrastructure in urban cities. Some of my hobbies are arts and crafts projects, reading, and learning about the natural world around us.

Isaiah Johnson is a social entrepreneur and game developer from the Bay Area. He is passionate about creating a future where the game industry is inclusive and less toxic towards gamers worldwide. He is developing a video game called Heart 2 Heart to teach people how to have conversations with others when they are dealing with anger, anxiety or depression. Isaiah’s plan is to show different communities the benefit and power behind caring for your environment including the people around you.

To learn more about Isaiah’s work, follow him or reach out on Twitter or Instagram @johnsonisaiah28

You can also follow his social enterprise Project Beanstalk. A video game company, he’s hoping to diversify the video game industry. @projectbeanstalk.xyz.

Janel is an alumna of Florida A&M University and is currently a master’s student in Environmental Science and Policy at Johns Hopkins University. Her passion for environmental justice and the physical and mental health of the black community, lead her to envision Take Root.

Take Root is an app that aims to create a space to redefine our views on wealth by highlighting the importance of physical and mental health, along with the environment. The mission is to provide a convenient channel to locate and patron black-owned businesses that cater to these values, while also addressing the racial wealth gap in tandem with physical and mental health. Take Root will also encourage discussion on the history of related topics to empower a digital community.

Jasmine was born and raised in Memphis by way of deep Mississippi roots. She is passionate about liberation for all, and particularly for Black and brown southerners faced with compound economic, climate, racial, and generational injustices. Jasmine is deeply invested in youth organizing, excited about popular and political education, and energized by the potential for ancestral knowledge to guide us towards liberated futures. Alongside their movement work, Jasmine enjoys nature walks and hikes, cooking and baking, learning decolonial community herbalism and the bass guitar, hosting friends whenever possible, and keeping her houseplants alive.

I am just a remix of my ancestors. This current mix is called luigie alequín. I truly believe that Black bodies need to transition towards serenity and rest being the norm. We can’t heal while we’re defending ourselves. This can’t occur in the surveilled arena fabricated by the colonizer. I subscribe to actively not censoring myself to these systems, the Tía doctrine, and re-membering to remember.

Naudika is a mystic writer and a consistent learner. They work on short stories, scripts, social media and poetry, and when they’re not doing that, they’re up to no good. They are currently a student at San Francisco State University and had the opportunity to create a short, reading Choose-your-Own-Adventure-Game that they need to update.

Paul Jackson II, is an Honors Algebra and Geometry teacher in Miami, FL. During his second year teaching he was nominated as Rookie Teacher of the Year in Miami Dade County, after his efforts to propel his 7th and 8th grade Algebra students to pass the end of the year exam with a 100% passing rating, an accolade never achieved in school history prior. Paul acknowledges his success teaching is the ability to relate mathematics to the real world and daily interactions as a framework instructioning and creating dialogue with students. This pilot and theory captivated Paul to establish Math Relation as a online math platform with curated content teaching proficiency and mastery for students learning math. So far Math Relation has helped with the advancement of 70 students, and is continuing to grow. The scholarship funding will be used to establish a platform to accommodate students to the services before the end of the school year to help students review for final exams with the expectation to pilot an up and running platform for next school year.

Sarina Shane is a Chicago based designer, artist, and critic interested in inspiring others to be present and listen to their senses. Her long term interests center around homemaking: herbalism, cooperative housing, and experiential space activations.

Bio coming soon