GeoGators Gavriella Hecht and Sarah VanSchoick were selected as two of 250 global Future Leaders in Climate hosted by The Aspen Institute Energy & Environment Program (EEP) in Miami Beach from March 3-9.
The Aspen Institute fully funded their opportunity to attend the Future Leaders Climate Summit and successive Aspen Ideas: Climate event in Miami Beach where they were immersed in the intersectional climate space discussing policy, activism, and science with other young Future Leaders and established leaders across sectors globally. Among the 250 Future Leaders were scholars, social media activists, UN youth delegates, founders of climate initiatives, policy analysts, and more. During the Future Leaders Climate Summit and Aspen Ideas: Climate event, Gavi and Sarah had the opportunity to network with some of the greatest minds on the frontlines of the global climate crisis.
The Aspen Ideas: Climate event featured panels and plenaries discussing issues like climate migration, clean energy investing, climate storytelling, building resilient shorelines, and more. VP Kamala Harris addressed the Future Leaders cohort at her evening plenary, Bill Nye the Science Guy called all climate leaders to action, and established climate leaders welcomed the Future Leaders to the table. This experience provided Gavi and Sarah a unique opportunity to engage with and learn from people working in different areas of climate change, and this will strongly impact the conceptualization of their future research and engagement activities. Gavi and Sarah are incredibly grateful for their experience and look forward to sharing what they’ve learned with the UF Department of Geography and their communities.
