Katharine “Kat” Morris is a scholar-activist for intersectional environmental justice. Kat is currently a Helen Gurley Brown Fellow at The Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health (CCEEJH) at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Kat is also currently on the Board of Connecticut Equity Now. Kat graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2020 with a Bachelor of the Arts (B.A.) in cognitive science and anthropology, and then with a Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) in 2021. While at UConn, Kat graduated Magna Cum Laude as an Honors Scholar and BOLD Scholar, all while becoming the Founding President of Collaborative Organizing (UCCO), a grassroots organization that mobilizes and engages for diversity, equity, and climate action. Kat received the Donald L. McCullough Leadership Award for her leadership with UCCO, which remains a strong, active organization at UConn. Also while at UConn, Kat received the Cohen Student Leadership Scholarship and the NAACP UConn Chapter Activist of the Year. Kat also delivered a TED Talk for TEDxUConn, ‘How to Collaborate for Environmental Justice’, in which she discusses environmental racism and the power of utilizing radical love and intersectionality to innovate change through discourse. Kat plans to pursue a Ph.D. in policy development for intersectional justice, health equity, and climate action while continuing with her roots in community organizing. In her free time, Kat enjoys being outside, being around nature and water, is fond of listening to music, and practicing radical love with those around her.

Khadija is a second-year environmental science undergraduate student at the University of Connecticut. Khadija is passionate about making the outdoors accessible to everyone and reflects on her experiences as a Muslim Indian woman understanding that environmental issues often affect communities of color disproportionately. Khadija is the author of the UConn Daily Campus’ series ‘My Environmental Story’ where she often reflects upon her experiences as a woman of color who chooses to wear Hijab and how her identity plays a role in her environmentalism. She is working on other sustainability projects such as PATHS - People Active on Trails for Health and Sustainability which further supports diversifying the outdoors and making nature a safe place for all individuals and communities. Khadija is also working on NatureRx, a UConn program focused on getting out into nature for physical and mental health benefits. Khadija takes her passion, empathy, and love for nature with her everywhere she goes, even to Scotland! She attended COP26 and reflects upon her experiences there and beyond.

Sharon Lewis, the Executive Director of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ), experienced at a young age that low-income communities and people of color are exposed to toxic chemicals and environmental injustices disproportionately. She learned this when she realized that people in her community of North Hartford were experiencing adverse health effects caused by living in close proximity to a landfill and didn’t know at the time that it was possible to acquire so much sickness from that cause. Now, as the Executive Director of the CCEJ, Sharon works to create systemic change within systems that have kept low-income communities and people of color disproportionately adversely affected by unsafe environments where people live, work, play, and go to school. It is CCEJ and Sharon's mission to improve environmental and human health by uniting communities, educating individuals, and fighting for justice for all people.

Adrian Huq is a local climate organizer and educator enacting change on a grassroots level. Adrian is a sophomore at Tufts University majoring in applied environmental studies and minoring in film and media studies. Hailing from Derby, Connecticut, Adrian developed an interest in environmentalism from a young age by way of the issues of recycling, pollution, and food waste. In their junior year of high school, they would be introduced to the topics of energy efficiency, climate change, and climate justice, solidifying their interest in taking action on climate. Since 2018, Adrian has worked with the Climate Health Education Project (CHEP) as Youth Coordinator, helping facilitate their student internship which advances youth-led climate education in New Haven area high schools. This school year, they are supervising ten student interns from five different New Haven area high schools. Adrian is also a co-founder of the New Haven Climate Movement Youth Action Team, and has been organizing with them since 2019. Additionally, Adrian is currently a communications intern at the Tufts Office of Sustainability and at the New Haven Urban Resources Initiative.

Ciarra is a fourth-year environmental science major at the University of Connecticut. Ciarra emphasizes the importance of learning about and connecting with our roots and is working on connecting to her own roots of being a Jamaican and Panamanian woman in the environmental field. Currently, Ciarra is working as an administrative assistant for her family’s Behavioral Health Practice and was the founder of the UConn Volleyball Club at UConn Hartford. Now studying at UConn’s Storrs campus, Ciarra is actively getting more involved in the ECOGarden club.

Michio is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Connecticut studying natural resources & the environment (NRE) with minors in Spanish and human rights. Michio started out as a freshman at UConn in the EcoHouse Learning Community, a residential community of students with shared interests in environmentalism. He then grew to acquire leadership positions and eventually the presidency of UConn’s Fridays for Future, an organization that carries out international school strikes for our climate. On campus, Michio is involved in UConn’s Collaborative Organizing (UCCO), a grassroots organization that mobilizes and engages for diversity, equity, and climate action. Michio also served as a Difference Maker Mentor for UConn Extension’s Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) where he mentored CT youth students in carrying out community conservation projects. Michio was awarded the COP26 Fellowship where he was able to attend COP26 in Scotland and continue his climate activism work abroad. This year, Michio was awarded the Cohen Student Leadership Scholarship for Enhancing Community from UConn demonstrating his commitment to his own communities and more.

Alex Rodriguez is a Climate Advocate at Save the Sound. Born and raised in New Britain, CT, Alex found his way into environmentalism after his family in Puerto Rico experienced environmental injustices during Hurricane Maria in 2017. Alex passionately continues to fight for communities within CT and beyond with Save the Sound, and leads the Youth Eco Advocacy Corps, a group that works to shine a light on the activism and sustainability work of youth environmental leaders advocating to make communities cleaner and safer. Alex also finds joy in traveling and loves seeing new parts of the country and world.