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Meet the Team
Co-Founder + LYNP Lead
Marie-Claire Graf
Marie-Claire describes herself as a nature lover, climate diplomacy and policy consultant, advocate for intergenerational leadership in decision-making and climate justice activist. She is a Co-Founder of the Youth Negotiators Academy, former Focal Point of the Youth Constituency at United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC) / YOUNGO and former Vice-Chair on Youth at United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). She is the youngest negotiator of Switzerland to the UNFCCC on Technology Transfer, Gender, Action for Climate Empowerment, Capacity Building. Marie-Claire is focused on co-initiating, co-igniting and co-serving several movements striving for collective justice and liberation from any kind of oppression.
Co-Founder + External Affairs Lead
Veena Balakrishnan
Veena Balakrishnan is a political scientist, entrepreneur, and a social worker. She started doing social work as a 7 year old - as a caregiver, campaigner and educator. Veena started her career in ethical fashion, focusing on eradicating inhumane practices in garment labour, and setting up fair trade and fair labour standards in factories. Veena is a Co-Founder of the Youth Negotiators Academy, where she dabbles between Governance, Fundraising and Resource Mobilisation and external affairs. Most recently, Veena has completed her MA thesis on modern leadership in climate negotiations for achieving Paris goals.
Climate Youth Negotiator Programme Lead
Avril Chanel
After completing her Master’s degree in international law at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Avril interned at the Swiss Embassy in Baku. Over the past three years, she has worked for the Climate Vulnerable Forum, providing legal, policy, and advocacy support to ensure the member States’ participation in various United Nations processes. Additionally, Avril coordinated the fellowship programme, empowering participants to effectively represent their delegations at key climate conferences. Avril’s own curiosity drives her passion for leading capacity-building projects, particularly in the areas of climate change and human rights.
CYNP Training Manager (Fundamental)
Axel Eriksson
Axel Eriksson describes himself as a stubbornly optimistic advocate for environmental justice, who believes that an equitable society in harmony with (and in) nature is possible. Since 2016, when he was 14 years old, Axel has been advocating for increased youth involvement in decision-making. He started in a local youth council, moving to the national level and then switching fully to the environmental space in 2020.
LYNP Training Manager
JulietGrace Luwedde
JulietGrace Luwedde (she/her) is a dedicated environmentalist and passionate youth environment activist from Uganda currently pursuing a career in environmentalism. She currently plays a pivotal role in mobilising youth around the world to actively participate in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification's mission as the UNCCD Youth Caucus Global Focal Point, as well as the Youth Negotiator Academy as the LYNP Training Manager. Previously, she worked on a range of youth activist projects in various coordinating roles with the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change, Pollicy, Open Environmental Data and the Media Challenge Initiative
Administrative Officer
Bruna Freire
Bruna Freire is a Brazilian environmental engineer who has worked for the last three years in environmental consultancy. Her jobs were mainly focused on ESG compliance, solid waste management, circularity and environmental education. Currently, Bruna also volunteers to speak at public schools about climate change and the circular economy, in order to create awareness among students and professors.
Visual Communications Manager
Anthony Michael Mwami
Anthony Michael “Tony” Mwami is a digital storyteller & content creator who has over the past decade focused on telling the stories of young creatives in East Africa from a first-hand narrative. I use multimedia and online spaces to not just curate the stories, but also skill young people in utilising the resources at hand to tell their own stories.
Content + Media Relations Manager
Katherine Buckland
Katherine Buckland a climate justice communicator, with a background in grassroots organising. Her interest in how we communicate the climate crisis to drive action has led her to work in social media, digital communications, and media activation roles for climate justice oriented groups and organisations. She loves strategizing, conducting research, and creating content for digital communications campaigns that seek to make practical positive change in the real world.
Grant Manager
Leia Booth
Leia Booth has a background in arts and literature and holds an MA in environmental humanities. Alongside her work in climate philanthropy and funding, for the past three years she has worked to centre art, culture, and entertainment in climate policy-making at COP. Leia also holds the role of Development and Partnerships Lead for the first of its kind Entertainment + Culture Pavilion launched at COP28, and supported coordinating the operations and logistics of CultureCOP during COP27.
Programme Manager
Zahra Al Hilaly
Zahra Al Hilaly is an accredited Australian lawyer and journalist. She has dedicated her career towards human rights policy, working on the intersection of gender, climate, and the refugee crisis across global organisations including Women Deliver, UN Women, IFRC, and Amnesty International. Zahra sits on the boards of Missing Perspectives, a global female newsroom, and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.
Country Relations Manager
Mahsooma Rahmaty
Masooma Rahmaty spent seven years working around the UN Secretariat in NYC, conducting research on SDG implementation, peace, and security, especially the WPS and YPS agendas. Her interest in climate change really took off after attending COP27 in Egypt. That's why she decided to come to Yale School of Environment to get her master's in environmental studies, focusing on climate solutions and energy.
Community Enabler
Aurelie Villaespesa
After completing her law degree and master's in international public management from SciencesPo Paris, Aurelie embarked on a 3 year journey at the Paris Peace Forum. She wore many hats, starting as a projects assistant and eventually taking the reins as a coordinator for their Scale Up program, fostering civil society's growth. Collaborating with a diverse array of stakeholders to advance inclusive global governance was truly fulfilling, a passion Aurelie honed during her tenure at UNESCO, working on intercultural dialogue.
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