Our Values
Stewardship
At the YCAA, stewardship is the conviction that we are entrusted with the care of our planet and the responsibility to protect it. We lead with the understanding that our actions today shape the world future generations will inherit, and strive to ensure that our leadership leaves a positive impact on the people and the planet.
Resilience
At the YCAA, our emphasis on resilience and adaptation is grounded in continual growth and the willingness to improve as leaders, advocates, and stewards of change. As the climate landscape shifts, from policy changes to environmental challenges, we continuously learn and adjust our approaches to remain effective and impactful.
Initiative
We empower youth to drive climate action through curated resources, professional expertise, skill development, and community. We encourage and facilitate ambitious, coordinated, and equitable efforts in the realm of sustainability that shape ambassadors to become leaders of climate action.
Compassion
Compassion underpins our work by strengthening our connection to the communities most affected by climate change. We engage with attentiveness and empathy, ensuring that our actions address genuine human needs. By placing care and humanity at the center of every initiative, we work to foster change that is both substantive and sustainable.
Who we are
YCAA cofounders Suman and Sahara are high school students at The Chapin School and Avenues The World School, respectively. Their shared passion for climate action, cultivated since elementary school, inspired them to create the Youth Climate Action Alliance. Through the YCAA, they combine their friendship, creativity, and dedication to climate solutions to help students lead tangible change in their schools and communities. Read more about each cofounder below.
Suman Shah
Suman is a New York City-based high school student who cares deeply about the climate crisis due to her love for nature and animals, as well as her concern for how climate change threatens ecosystems and biodiversity. Growing up in a coastal area of New York City, she has seen firsthand the impacts of extreme weather and flooding, which have made the urgency of climate action impossible to ignore. She has led efforts to increase environmental stewardship at her school and has worked on climate policy at the state level by supporting the New York Heat Act, the Accelerated Solar for All (ASAP) Act, and the Solar Up Now for New York (SUNNY) Act. She is a trained Climate Reality Leader, a Blue Planet Alliance Global Ambassador, and a member of the NYC Climate Reality Project chapter. She believes it is our responsibility to protect the planet and ensure its vitality for generations to come.
Sahara Maazel
Sahara is a student activist and an advocate for global climate action. Visits to Central Park and natural oases in her hometown of New York City sparked an appreciation for nature and wildlife. This appreciation of our natural environment alongside an awareness of the devastating impacts of anthropogenic climate change has led Sahara to recognize the need to translate existing climate awareness and urgency into action. After receiving mentorship from The Climate Reality Project, the Harvard Chan Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, the Columbia Climate School, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National Advocacy Institute, Sahara has led climate action efforts at her school. As the leader of the Climate Action Campaign at Avenues The World School, she has driven climate action alongside her campaign team through community solar contracts, climate education partnerships, and zero waste initiatives. As a cofounder and co-leader of the YCAA, Sahara is excited to bring her activism to the interscholastic level.
