Youth Advisory Board

I was a part of the BLAST internship last summer and helped plan and execute Remake the Future. We learned about solar panels and energy and coal emissions, and I left feeling a lot more educated about all the small solutions that could make an impact. I learned a lot about waste management while planning Remake the Future such as sock rugs and t-shirt bags, and my experiences planning it reinforced the career I want to go into (environmental engineering). Contributing to environmental solutions means finding personal and practical ways to stay involved in reducing our environmental footprint. I remember Cathy asked me to crochet with t-shirt yarn, and I ended up making a fish with it. Even something as small as that is one thing less from the landfill, and I felt like I had contributed to ACS in my own unique way because that plushie was one less item in the landfill. I've made or kept more items at home that could have easily ended up in the landfill and contributed to more gas emissions (I have dozens of gum wrapper hearts in my room and I use them for decoration), and even if they have a small impact ACS taught me that an impact is still an impact, however small.

Over the past 2 years, I have participated in BLAST and have been a Fall/Spring/Summer intern. Through my experience at Accelerate Climate Solutions, I have not only been able to be more conscious about the environment and my personal choices but have also been able to learn about the various ways I can contribute to bettering climate change on a larger scale. Working with ACS has also made me think more on the bridge between the environment and engineering. It has provided me with a possible career path and specialty. Contributing to environmental solutions means making the world a better place, one step at a time. Without ACS, I do not believe that I would have thought that I could do half the things I can today, and it has truly shown me how I can make an impact in the world.

On a hot day in the middle of July many years ago, Briana built a solar-powered “oven” to bake a s’more. It was only a cardboard box, no larger than a mini fridge and no heavier than a loaf of bread, covered in bright tin foil and hot glue. The cardboard oven was certainly less convenient to use than a traditional gas-powered oven, but Briana was pleased (1) to have something warm and sugary to eat and (2) to show herself that she could harness a more environmentally-friendly method of energy generation to complete a task, however small. As a seventh grader interested in human interactions with the natural world, she knew that this activity was relatively harmless, but that others, unfortunately, were not. A quick scan through newspaper headlines and scientific journals revealed only a few of the environmental crises that abounded in her backyard and throughout the world, from the increasingly late arrival of snowfall in the winters of her Michigan hometown to the raging fires painting the sky red in California, from the rapidly vanishing ice sheets at the poles to the rising waters swallowing up islands in the Pacific. It was clear that human activities—our use of natural resources, our generation and consumption of energy, our handling of wastes—played a major role in these crises, and that experts of all kinds were needed to implement environmentally-responsible ways of powering homes, transporting people, consuming goods, and ultimately living better on this planet. The desire to contribute to a resilient world in the face of climate change led her to earn a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Chicago. Over four years, she filled test tubes with lake water to measure contamination from septic tanks, pored over primary research on environmental health, and set foot in dozens of laboratories to identify conservation strategies in the most energy-intensive spaces on campus. She now serves as an Energy and Conservation Specialist in the Will County Land Use Department, where she improves energy and water efficiency by implementing Will County’s 2021 Energy & Conservation Plan. Her day-to-day involves benchmarking energy consumption and costs in County-owned buildings, collaborating with facilities staff to fund efficiency projects, and coordinating regularly with public- and private-sector partners to advance programs that steward our resources wisely. She enjoys delving into sustainability topics from a variety of angles, especially the glories and pains of the ongoing clean energy transition. Fortunately, we can make this transition using technologies much more sophisticated than cardboard ovens.

I've been building an interest in environmental issues through my science coursework and through mentoring younger students in STEM, and I'm looking for a way to turn that interest into real action in my community. To me, contributing to environmental solutions means using whatever skills and time I have, whether that's organizing, communicating, or problem-solving, to help move sustainability efforts forward, even in small, practical ways.

Hi! My name is Oscar, and I've worked with ACS for about a year now. I first learned about ACS through the (previously) BLAST competition, in which my friend Ian and I built OPIS, a geospatial app to simulate pipeline spills. We got 1st Place in BLAST 2026, and then I applied for the summer internship at ACS. I worked with the citizen science team last summer on monitoring Air and Water quality, and have continued my internship into the school year working with the AirAware team. Recently, I went to LCOY AND YCJS, both opportunities I found through ACS.

With Accelerate Climate Solutions, I have worked with the civic engagement team, event planning team, Power a Better Future, and Local Climate Action teams C/D. Each of these unique experiences has taught me countless skills including creating flyers, handing out flyers door-to-door and at local businesses, working with new peers from other schools, creating and giving presentations, researching current environmental issues and potential solutions, advocating to state representatives, upcycling recyclable materials into usable tools, and many more that I can apply in my daily life and in the future. Contributing to environmental solutions honestly means a lot to me because I believe that people should take responsibility for the pollution they have created. Even if their actions do not directly impact their own life, they contribute to potentially having significant influence on many many on other people such as through extreme weather. Furthermore, climate change has already begun to and will continue to impact all of our lives in some shape or form. I believe that contributing to environmental solutions is the first step in taking action towards minimizing the impact of people on nature and Earth, our one and only home.

Last year, I took part in the BLAST competition where I worked on a proposal to turn plastic into filament to be used for 3-D printing purposes. In the summer of 2026, I participated in the summer internship. I was a part of the Climate Education Team where I created social media posts and blog posts about fast fashion. I also collaborated with others on the mini-documentary series that was created to educate others on the environment and climate change. These opportunities gave me so much experience in research and a professional environment, but they also opened my eyes to what I can contribute to environmental solutions. Before these experiences, climate change always seemed like this huge and untouchable problem, but the work I have done at Accelerate Climate Solutions have shown me that environmental solutions don't have to be huge or fix everything. Environmental solutions can be individual changes we make to our lives; it can be a local solution before it is a global solution.

My involvement with Accelerate Climate Solutions began through the BLAST 2026 competition, where my team developed Pages of Hope, a initiative focused on transforming discarded paper and cardboard into notebooks. Our project placed third in the competition and introduced me to the process of turning an environmental problem into a practical, community-based solution. I also became involved with the Remake The Future team, where I contributed through blog posts, posters, brainstorming, logistics, and hands on crafts and upcycling activities. Accelerate Climate Solutions has given me a space where creativity and environmental action come together. Through these experiences, I have been able to see climate action from different perspectives, including education, science, policy, community engagement, and individual action. To me, contributing to environmental solutions means making sustainability accessible enough for people to participate in while also recognizing the environmental injustices that shape who is most affected by environmental problems. I want to help create approachable opportunities that spark individual passion and turn that passion into meaningful community change.

The first day that I walked into Accelerate Climate Solutions I didn't know what to think. I walked into that library on the first day completely unaware of what Accelerate would teach me. Through Accelerate, I got a better grasp of the impact I could have on the climate movement, in my personal life and beyond. By researching renewable energy, I found out how far the world had come in green energy and how progress was continuing no matter what fossil fuel company try to do. I also learned how to start grass roots advocacy through researching and spreading awareness about the POWER Act. Advocating for the POWER Act allowed me to have a meeting with a public official, something I wouldn't have deemed possible prior. Via my involvement in Accelerate Climate Solutions, though it was only one summer, has allowed me to better understand how my actions can affect my whole community. Dedicating simply an hour of your time a week can have a huge impact, and now I understand the value of using my time. Contributing to environmental solutions means working hard no matter what backlash you might fact. No matter what you say, there will be always opposition, but that doesn't stop the fact that a green future is our future. In all honesty, I used to think that working towards a greener future meant working on every issue at once, but I've realized that's not the case. Working towards climate solutions means combining your interests with your passion for a greener world. For instance, I love learning how things work, and I applied this to my research about battery storage last summer. I got to learn the mechanisms of something completely different and use this knowledge to help people understand the technology's benefits. This allowed me to apply my passions into climate solutions, and I hope to continue this into the future.

I have been involved with ACS over this past summer. I think that it is a phenomenal organization and motivates me to be my best when it comes to anything, especially having climate awareness. I've been involved with the Local Climate Action Naperville Focus team, where I've worked to propose a CARP for Naperville and learned about the IMEA contract. Contributing to environmental solutions means a lot to me because I'm not only helping my community but I'm making contributions to the greater cause of helping save the planet.

My past involvement with Accelerate Climate Solutions have included 2 years of dedicated work to resolving local climate issues. In my first year, I was heavily involved in speaking at city council meetings in opposition to the IMEA coal contract in Naperville. Additionally, I was in contact with the superintendent of District 204 and was advocating for a Carbon Action Plan to be made. During my second summer with this group, I shifted my focus more towards the carbon action plan in District 204 through getting in contact with the new superintendent, preparing and presenting a speech at a district board meeting, and advertising meetings to others who were involved in ACS. In addition to this work, I have become very involved in the planning of the Youth Climate Justice Summit through the Vibes committee and am working with my school to organize transportation to this event despite their lack of attendance in earlier years. This opportunity of being involved in Accelerate Climate Solutions for the past two years has given me a platform to advocate for change in my community. I have realized how much power my voice has and how truly caring about something can lead to big results. This group has also given me a chance to remember the importance of what we do, as well as the devastating effects of climate change on our world, even though we can't see them all of the time. Being a part of the solutions to this terrible issue gives me sense of purpose and a desire to continue helping others in every way that I can.