She has shown incredible commitment to climate change mitigation and biodiversity regeneration, both as executive director of Climate Cardinals and as the youngest member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. With Sophia, we want to engage the younger generations in the impact investment agenda, listen to their views and leverage their energy to accelerate the change required and leave them the best possible planet and society. We cannot underestimate the importance of Generation Z in this transition, as well as the ability to engage all developed and developing countries in this global agenda. Sophia as a 21-year old Iranian-American woman is the perfect bridge to diversity in our Advisory Board”.

Sophia Kianni said : “Youth activists are leading the climate movement and are the world’s most powerful resources when it comes to climate solutions, but at the same time, there is a lack of opportunity for young people to directly fund climate ventures. Most support is currently focused on climate philanthropy and grants for youth-led non-profits. It’s time for youth activists to transition to investing so we can leverage our voices to fund solutions and effectively vote on the future.”

This appointment is the second of a few similar announcements that UnaTerra will release in the coming weeks to reveal its full Advisory Board. Interestingly, in a moment in which much debate is happening about diversity and inclusion, UnaTerra’s Board is majority female, showing that it is entirely possible to be committed to gender equality and attract impressive talent.

Many thanks to Sophia for her demonstrated support and for her environmental and social leadership. We look forward to a fruitful and impactful long-term collaboration in the years to come.

She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, an international nonprofit with 9,000 volunteers in 40+ countries working to translate climate information into over 100 languages. She represents the U.S. as the youngest member of the inaugural United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. She sits on boards and advisory councils for The New York Times, World Economic Forum, Web Summit, Inkey List, Iris Project, JUV Consulting, Ashoka, and American Lung Association.

Sophia has amassed a following of over 200,000 across social media platforms and her work has been featured in news outlets including Forbes, CNN, Vogue, Business Insider, BBC, NPR, ELLE, TIME Magazine, The Guardian, NBC, and even on the front page of The Washington Post. She was previously a fellow with PBS NewsHour and has written for news outlets such as The Washington Post, MTV News, Cosmopolitan, and Teen Vogue. She is a prolific public speaker and has spoken at universities across the world including Columbia University, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Cambridge University, and Harvard University. She won the TED global idea competition and her debut TED Talk has 1.5+ million views.

She has been named VICE Media’s youngest Human of the Year, a National Geographic Young Explorer, among Business Insider’s Climate Action 30, one of Teen Vogue’s 21 under 21, and a Forbes 30 under 30 honorees.