About Us
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
The National High School Climate Forum connects schools from over 40 states! Take a look at our map to see some of our member schools!
Our Story
Founded in 2020 by environmental leaders from Princeton Day School and the Lawrenceville School, the National High School Climate Forum (NHSCF) has become a vehicle for hundreds of students to connect and discover their passion for environmental awareness and advocacy.
At the NHSCF, we affirm that solving climate change requires a joint effort, and we must unite our individual actions to make real change. We believe that change starts with youth leaders, as we are the generation who can take actionable measures to not only solve environmental issues but also create original, innovative, and sustainable frameworks along the process.
Executive Leadership
Michelle Xu - Co-President
Princeton Day School, NJ
Michelle is a senior at Princeton Day School. She is interested in how the environment connects with policy and biochemistry. At school, she co-heads the environmental club EnAct where she focuses on organizing the community to address climate change through service, symposiums, festivals, and most recently, lobbying to local legislators. In her free time, you can find her writing, going on walks, and practicing the piano.
Sophia Zhou - Co-President
Princeton Day School, NJ
Sophia is a senior at Princeton Day School. She is passionate about the environment and how AI technology can used for innovative solutions. Most recently, she is interning at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory where she is studying climate models and ML techniques. She loves to play soccer and in her free time, she likes to go to the woodshop or run.
Delicia Liao - Co-President
Hawken School, OH
Delicia is a senior at Hawken Upper School in Ohio. She began participating in climate-based initiatives after researching the existential nature of climate change for debate. In her free time she loves running, baking, and listening to music.
Sathvik Samant - Co-President
The Lawrenceville School, NJ
Sathvik is a junior at The Lawrenceville School in NJ. He is passionate about computer science, and is particularly interested in the intersection between emerging technologies and human thought. Most of the time, you can find him in the pool, swimming competitively.
Regional Leads
Olivia Buvanova - Northeast Regional Lead
The Pingry School, NJ
Olivia joined the forum in 2022 with the goal of expanding her environmental efforts beyond the borders of her school community. In addition to her involvement in the forum, Olivia is also a member of Green Key at her school -- a program that creates climate-related speaker series, composting days, and environmental awareness assemblies at her school. Outside of NHSCF, Olivia enjoys playing the piano and doing ballet!
Arden Reilly - Northeast Regional Lead
Princeton Day School, NJ
Arden is a junior at Princeton Day School, and is interested in the environment through her family. She goes to the beach every summer and when she sees how much climate change has effected the place she loves, she wants to take as many steps as she can to prevent it.
Sumin Seo - South Regional Lead
BASIS Shavano, TX
Sumin Seo is a senior in BASIS Shavano. She found interest in the environmental field as well as climate warming when she wrote a research paper about radical solutions to global warming during her freshman year. She is hoping to find more ways to solve the problem of climate and environmental changes as well as bring more awareness to global warming.
Mignon Evans - South Regional Lead
Isidore Newman School, LA
Mignon is a junior at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana. She hopes to pursue a career in conservation and sustainability in the future, mainly focusing on protecting endangered species. Mignon has interned with Glass Half Full NOLA, has taken a two week course on clinate change, and is on her school’s committee that focuses on helping the environment. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing volleyball, hanging out with friends, and watching movies.
Jinan Berard - Midwest Regional Lead
Hathaway Brown School, OH
Jinan is a junior at Hathaway Brown School. She is a co president of the green team there and a co-president of a local green team. She is looking forward to her leadership position as Midwest Regional Coordinator of the NHSCF and working with the executive team. She loves scuba diving, visiting national parks, and reading a good book. In college she wants to study Environmental Science and Economics.
Elias Sharifi - Midwest Regional Lead
Hawken School, OH
Elias is an upcoming junior at Hawken Upper School in Ohio. He is an active member of the school's tennis team and a passionate foodie. Elias also participates in public forum debate, where he developed a keen awareness of climate change as a global crisis. This realization has driven him to conduct research on its long-term effects.
Chloe Mayo - West Regional Lead
California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley, CA
Chloe is a senior at California School of the Arts in the visual arts conservatory. She is the co-president of the CSEarth club there and volunteers at the Heal the Bay Aquarium. She has her own greeting card business, Chloe Sofia Creative, which she hopes to expand and donate some proceeds to environmental causes. She is a fan of old music and movies, and in her free time she enjoys spending hours painting, spending time with her cats, or going to concerts with friends.
Carlie Wong - West Regional Lead
California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley, CA
Carlie is a junior from Los Angeles, California who became passionate about sustainability in face of the climate crisis and the disregard from powerful corporations today. In addition to reversing climate change, they are also interested in reforming the US public transportation system. In their free time, Carlie enjoys making art, watching movies, and learning about history!
Advisors
Zarah Cardona - Political Advisor
Princeton Day School, NJ
Zarah Cardona attends Princeton Day School and is currently a junior. Zarah plays soccer for a club team and her school team, and also runs track. Zarah has always been invested and intrigued by the environment around her, and in eigth grade, she started to develop that passion for the green welfare around her.
Mina Jun - Sustainability Advisor
Gibson Ek High School, WA
Mina Jun is a senior at Gibson Ek High School in Issaquah, Washington. She has been apart of NHSCF since her sophomore year and is excited to be returning to the leadership board to continue to learn and contribute to getting students and youth involved and interested in climate change and sustainability. She has worked on many projects in the past, including helping to develop a city-wide sustainability fair and implement composting initiatives into her school district. Outside of environmental work, she enjoys music, movies, art, and mycology!
_edited.jpg)
Birk Farinacci - Social Media Advisor
Hawken School, OH
Birk Farinacci, a student at Hawken Upper School, is committed to making a difference in the fight against climate change through his nonprofit work and impactful social media posts for NHSCF.