Across the editions of the Harmony Online Journal and the Global Youth Council on Science, Law and Sustainability, dozens of young writers, editors, mentors and contributors have shaped our work. This page brings their bios together in one place.
Tip: jump straight to a contributor by clicking a letter below, or use your browser’s search (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) to find any name, school or interest in the bios. Each bio links back to the contributor’s entry on the About Us page or the Internship Alumni page.
A C E J K N P R S T V WA
Adelyn “Addy” Sophie Newman-Ting
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2021 Team ↗
Adelyn “Addy” Sophie Newman-Ting is a GYC Councillor, a junior editor and a student of St Michael’s University School in Victoria, British Columbia. She is a gold award-winning Indigenous Child Author of ‘Finding the Language’ in the Voices of Future Generations Children’s Initiative. On her father’s side, she is Kwakwaka’wakw and Coast Salish Indigenous, as well as English, Irish and Scottish; on her mother’s side, she is Chinese from Taiwan. Her Indigenous name is Kesugilakw meaning leader of people, and her Chinese name is Ting Li-Wen meaning pretty flower cloud. Addy enjoys dancing, baking, skipping and singing, and she is an avid reader, writer and artist who loves to spend time with her puppy Harriet. Addy hopes that her books will raise awareness for the climate, and the importance of saving Indigenous languages and cultures.
Alexia Vassiliou
Deputy Coordinator — Global Youth Council on Science, Law and Sustainability ↗
Ms Alexia Vassiliou, BA Hons (Cantab), is a recent graduate from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Law, specialising in International and Environmental/Sustainable Development Law. Beyond academic achievements, Alexia is a keen advocate for youth engagement and sustainability initiatives. On the local level, she has mobilised youth litter-picking campaigns across the UK and promoted waste-reduction initiatives while studying abroad in Singapore. Alexia cultivated her interest in sustainable agricultural practices while volunteering in Greece and working with olive trees. She also honed traditional ceramic techniques using locally foraged clay. She is fluent in English and Greek, and aspires to progress her French, Spanish and Arabic.
Anisa Daniel-Oniko
GYC Councillor · Senior Editor — 2024 Team ↗ · Journalist — 2021 Team ↗
Anisa Daniel-Oniko is a GYC Councillor, and a writer, editor, and Voices of Future Generations child ambassador from Delta and Edo States, Nigeria. She grew up in Lagos but currently lives in Dubai, UAE, with her family. She wrote her debut book, “Double ‘A’ For Adventure”, which follows twin girls who find themselves on a semi-fantastical adventure. It went on to make the longlist for the Nigeria Prize for Literature, the largest literature prize in Africa. Her second book, Further in Florien, was released in August 2021. Anisa is intensely dedicated to the SDGs, especially life on land, life underwater, and gender equality.
Annabel Koven
Mentor — 2025 Team ↗ · Internship Alumna ↗
Annabel Koven, BSc Enviro Sci Cand (Brown), is an Ambassador for the US Coalition on Sustainability, Engagement Officer for the Democratising Education for Global Sustainability and Justice programme at the University of Cambridge, and President of Brown Sustainable Business Society hosting lecture series, consulting projects and competitions. Previously, she worked with the Billion Oyster Project, an educational non-profit based in New York City, leading a camp to educate children on Long Island Sound ecosystem challenges. She has been awarded an undergraduate visiting scholarship at the University of Cambridge, and interned with the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Collaboratory at the Kennedy School, Harvard University, and has coordinated events and fundraising for the National Rowing Foundation.
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Carla Kotter
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Internship Alumna ↗
Carla Kotter is a GYC Councillor and a student at The Perse School in Cambridge, passionate about the intersection of science and sustainability. She studies biology, chemistry, maths and German at A-level, with a passion for medicine or natural sciences to advance sustainable and equitable healthcare systems and climate resilience (SDGs 3, 13). As a Chemistry Ambassador for her school, and an active member of the Biology, Chemistry and Medicine Societies and the Charity Committee, she takes part in many science competitions. With The Knowledge Society (TKS), she explored global innovation and sustainability challenges, and to promote social sustainability she co-leads a student project to provide 200 free heart scans to young athletes and students. She also volunteered at King’s Hedges School, teaching children about equity, diversity and inclusion, and has taken part in environmental and climate initiatives locally. Fluent in English and German and (almost) French, Carla is a violinist, singer and keen hockey and golf player.
Carlos Andrés Olivera Caballero
GYC Councillor · Senior Editor — 2024 Team ↗
Carlos Andrés Olivera Caballero is a GYC Councillor, a law student and youth leader from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, focused on Indigenous rights, sustainable development, and global education. He is the founder of Bookcubers and Gengo Academy, initiatives that provide education to underprivileged communities. Carlos also serves as Deputy Director of the Legal Area at the Departmental Youth Council of Santa Cruz.
Catherine Grammond
GYC Councillor · Senior Editor — 2021 Team ↗
Catherine Grammond is a GYC Councillor and a Pearson College alumna. From a young age, she has been a dedicated member of several groups at her schools and in her province to fight climate change. She has notably been a young minister of environment in Quebec. She is especially passionate about mycoremediation (the use of mushrooms to decontaminate different types of soils), which has led her to pursue her course of studies in agricultural and environmental sciences at McGill.
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Eliana Ituarte Strömberg
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — Harmony Online Journal · Contributor — Issue 3 · Internship Alumna ↗ · Intern Spotlight ↗
Eliana Ituarte Strömberg is a GYC Councillor and a student at the International School of Lund, Sweden, with roots in both Sweden and Mexico. Her bicultural background has shaped a deep curiosity about how different countries can collaborate towards a greener future, a question that led her to write “Is Scandinavia Really So Green Inside and Out?” (Harmony Journal, Issue 3), for which she interviewed a biotech engineer and lawyers from Colombia and Sri Lanka on cooperation between developed and developing countries, and to serve as a Junior Editor of the Harmony Online Journal. She took part in a youth crowdfunding challenge in which around 20 young people pledged to paddle, cycle or hike 100 km to raise funds and awareness for education on climate change and biodiversity loss, completing her pledge trekking across glaciers in the northern Swedish mountains. She has presented her experiences to Lund Municipality to inspire other young people to launch similar initiatives. Read her full Intern Spotlight interview.
Ella Lovat
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2021 Team ↗
Ella Lovat is a GYC Councillor and a junior editor, attending primary school in Glasgow. She has written for the Harmony Journal on environmental initiatives in her school, including efforts to reduce pollution and adopt environmentally friendly practices in her classroom.
Emma Yanakieva
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Internship Alumna ↗
Emma Yanakieva is a GYC Councillor and a sixth form student at The Perse School in Cambridge, UK. She focuses on chemistry, physics, maths and further maths for A-levels, and is a keen member of the Chemistry, Maths and Physics Society, hoping to study chemical engineering at the University of Cambridge. Her independent research project explores how the energy consumption of AI can be optimised through the adoption of renewable energy sources. She has competed in the national finals of the UK Space Design Competition, earning commendations on her teamwork and innovative designs. To promote sustainability and nature protection, she volunteers at her local animal rescue centre and does litter picking. She is also passionate about social sustainability, volunteering as a coach and umpire in local youth sports clubs as part of a gold Duke of Edinburgh award programme, and serving on her school’s charity committee. She speaks fluent Bulgarian and English, and enjoys hockey and cricket, as well as debating and public speaking.
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James Bonsall
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Internship Alumnus ↗
James Bonsall is a GYC Councillor, a keen geographer and biologist as well as an academic scholar in Year 11 at Winchester College. With a keen passion for biodiversity, nature conservation and restoration, he has worked with the Chiltern Rangers caring for ancient woodland and on local projects restoring endangered chalk grassland as well as wetland and chalk stream habitats around Winchester. Inside school, he is an enthusiastic member of the school natural history society and an avid gardener who runs the College gardening society. He loves being outdoors: hiking, photographing and enjoying the natural environment. He has a particular love for the rare temperate Atlantic rainforest and its lichens and bryophytes.
Jeremi Trojak
GYC Councillor · Fenlands Youth Advisor — Fenlands Futures ↗
Jeremi Trojak is a GYC Councillor, and studies chemistry, biology and history at The King’s (The Cathedral) School, Peterborough. He has an interest in law spanning a wide field from environmental to international, and is most concerned with the intersection of these areas with the climate crisis, which he has explored through his role as President of King’s LawSoc. Passionate about the sciences, he also approaches the crisis from this perspective, leading a series of presentations across his school to various year groups, ranging from topics such as biodiversity within the Fens to the analysis of the effects of PFOA release by DuPont. He is a former Peterborough Youth Councillor representing Cardea and Stanground, and was its social media officer, using his platform to engage young people on issues which affect them and local opportunities to make their voices heard, which has included events such as YouthFest and the Bright Futures Awards.
Jona Cordonier Gehring
GYC Chair and Councillor · Senior Editor — 2021 Team ↗
Jona David Cordonier Gehring is chair of the council and a senior editor, and studies maths at the University of Cambridge where he is active in the Cambridge Climate Society, rowing, running and the renewable energy lab. Prior to this, he was maths medallist and a scholar in College at Winchester College where he was active in the maths, science and sustainability societies, also co-editing FindSolveExplain and tutoring young people in maths and science. He has held internships at ITER, Counteract venture capital, Faster Climate Impact with ETH Zurich and the Judge Institute in Cambridge, and the Energy Reactions and Carriers (ERC) Lab in Cambridge. As Child Author with the UNESCO Voices of Future Generations Children’s Initiative, he has also authored four children’s books on the SDGs in six languages, and his young writers’ contest stories are also published by Lune Spark. He holds several international and national awards for maths, science, debating and the model UN, was a founder of the Cambridge School Eco Council, the King’s College School Eco-Society and the Winchester College Sustainability Council, and co-led a network of youth stranded by the global COVID-19 pandemic to host a series of online tutorials on Science, Law and Sustainability reaching over 800 youth worldwide, which became the GYC. He enjoys reading science fiction, rowing, running and chess, plays the flute, and is fascinated by obscure mathematics, renewable energy finance and technologies, fusion power, physics and protecting our planet.
Joseph Baek
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Internship Alumnus ↗ (listed as “Joe”)
Joseph Baek is a GYC Councillor and a student at The Perse School in Cambridge with a strong focus on physics and chemistry for sustainable energy and environmental engineering. As part of his school’s Green Team, he participated in the Cambridge Schools Sustainability Conference. He also serves as CEO of Young Enterprise, a student-led non-profit organisation at school dedicated to raising funds for charitable causes. Joseph supported the Paddle to the Sea to raise awareness about climate change and lectured in the University of Cambridge DemEd Global course on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Through the Council he contributes to global projects to protect wetlands and strengthen future generations’ voices in decision-making. Joseph enjoys playing piano, rugby and CAD/CAM modelling.
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Katie Hensman
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Internship Alumna ↗
Katie Hensman is a GYC Councillor and a student at The Perse Upper in Cambridge, with a particular interest in physics, philosophy and ethics. Katie is passionate about the interplay between science and ethics leading to policy decisions. She has therefore attended various legal talks and programmes, which have given her an insight into this area. At school Katie is a member of a science partnership programme, where she teams up with local primary schools and helps teach young students about the scientific problems of today’s world. She has taken part in a programme led by Diamond Light Source, learning about how synchrotrons can be used in cutting-edge research, including in fields such as environmental science. Aside from academics, Katie enjoys playing the flute, but the majority of her extracurricular time is spent playing hockey, and she is currently in discussions with US college coaches about potential scholarships.
Kourosh Moghadam
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Internship Alumnus ↗
Kourosh Moghadam is a GYC Councillor and a student at Winchester College with a strong passion for geography, economics and German. He has actively contributed to sustainability initiatives, including a rewilding project where he planted wildflower meadows and trees. He has worked at Worthy Earth, a regenerative farm in Hampshire, and at LiveEO, a company leveraging satellite imagery and AI for real-time infrastructure monitoring to enhance safety and climate resilience. Beyond academics, Kourosh volunteers weekly with the Alsama Project, teaching English to Syrian refugees in Lebanon. As Social Media Manager of the Sustainability Society, he initiated and manages the podcast Between a Rock and a Green Place. He also co-developed the School Sustainability Ranking (SSR) to help schools measure and reduce their environmental impact. He is also a member of the UN C&O Association, contributing to a youth statement on climate resilience. He focuses on developing strategies to create ecosystems within urban environments to enhance biodiversity and sustainability. He also led a 100 km+ running challenge raising funds to support education and science on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
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Natalia Obloj
GYC Vice-Chair and Councillor · Senior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Internship Alumna ↗
Natalia Obloj is GYC Vice-Chair and Councillor, and a student at St Paul’s Girls’ School (SPGS) in London with a keen interest in the science and policy of sustainability. At SPGS, she runs the Chemistry and Sustainability Club and is an engaged SPEAC member. Natalia co-leads the SPGS team competing in the Davidson Inventors Challenge at the University of Cambridge, designing a sustainable paint that can remove emissions from the air. She has been involved with The Children’s Board (a San Francisco-based consultancy) advising senior executives at major energy companies on the next generation’s views on energy transition, and worked in a bioengineering lab on climate-resistant and disease-resistant banana crops. With the support of Whitley Fund for Nature, Natalia has started collaborating with a prominent Colombian conservationist and Indigenous youth, sharing perspectives on nature and climate change.
Nico Roman Cordonier Gehring
GYC Vice-Chair and Councillor · Senior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Junior Editor — 2024 Team ↗ · 2021 Team ↗ · Internship Alumnus ↗
Nico is GYC Vice-Chair and Councillor, a sustainability advocate and young environmentalist with a particular focus on wetlands and fenland ecosystems. He led his own school eco-society and chaired Cambridge’s local Schools Eco-Council for years, and is also Voices of Future Generations (VoFG) SDGs Ambassador. He writes about nature and climate through his blog, Nico’s Natural World, and has completed long kayak journeys to raise awareness of river and wetlands health. Nico undertook an internship with IUCN and the UN Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre at the University of Cambridge on local biodiversity conservation measures. His efforts have been recognised with several awards, including the national CLEAPSS Science Award for his primary school Dragonfly Project, the national Rotary Young Environmentalist Award for his Heron Project, and a Cambridgeshire YoungStars Award for Environmental Action. He also edits the Futures youth anthology and GYC’s Harmony youth online journal, and his current educational project is being developed in partnership with UWC’s systems transformation pathway as part of the IB Diploma.
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Phoebe McElligott
Mentor — 2025 Team ↗ · Senior Editor & Mentor — 2024 Team ↗
Phoebe McElligott, BA&Sc Sustainability, Science, and Society (McGill University), MPhil Environmental Policy (Cantab), is a youth mentor from Toronto with a passion for tackling plastic pollution. She was awarded a place on the Dean’s Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research list for her research on the health impacts of microplastics. She currently works as an International Account Manager at the leading environmental compliance company in the UK. She also volunteers as a Research, Engagement, and Programme Assistant for the Democratising Education for Global Sustainability and Justice programme at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.
Portia Garnons-Williams
GYC Chair and Councillor · Senior Editor — 2021 Team ↗
Portia Garnons-Williams is GYC Chair and Councillor, a senior editor, and a student at Ottawa-Carleton Virtual Secondary School. She is a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights, having partnered with I Love First Peoples charity to raise awareness of and raise funds for Indigenous children living in Northern Canada. With her passion for sustainability and her strong Indigenous identity, Portia blends Indigenous knowledge and culture with sustainable practices. Through her academic research and volunteerism, Portia brings to light concerns about climate change and injustice against Indigenous peoples. Portia’s other interests include musical theatre, tennis and videography.
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Rehema Kibugi
GYC Councillor · Senior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · Senior Editor & Outreach Coordinator — 2024 Team ↗ · Junior Editor — 2021 Team ↗
Rehema Kibugi is a GYC Councillor and a gold award-winning Child Author in the UN Voices of Future Generations Children’s Initiative. Her story ‘The Children Who Saved the Mangroves’ speaks about the importance of mangrove forests and how they protect shorelines from damaging storms and winds, waves and floods, and provide income to local people. In her story, as well as her advocacy and writing, Rehema hopes to inspire other children in Kenya, Africa and further afield to speak about important matters through stories for even more children to read and enjoy. Rehema is passionate about writing, and enjoys playing piano and learning about history. She lives with her family in Nairobi, Kenya. She is also head of the Journalism Club at her school and a strong debater.
Ryan Hill
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2024 Team ↗
Ryan Hill is a GYC Councillor, a gold medal award-winning North American Child Author, a Goals Project 2024 Youth Ambassador, and an ambassador for Save Pangolins, who wants to use his voice to positively influence conservation efforts. As a young actor, his work has included performing in the Lil D’Bunk series, which is focused on addressing the challenges associated with climate change. He also did an interview with Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News Kids Edition for his work on pangolin conservation. When he is not working or being an animal activist, he is either dancing, singing, drumming or doing martial arts.
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Saira Thomas
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2024 Team ↗
Saira Thomas is a GYC Councillor, an author and sustainability advocate from Cambridge International School, Dubai. Her major works include The Green Warrior (first place, VoFG Story Writing Competition), The Adventures of Alko Batterio (Environmental Excellence School Award 2021), and Fruit of Endurance (Lune Spark Anthology). Elected Youth Ambassador for the Goals Project 2024, she is a passionate vegetarian and lover of nature and animals.
Saskia Carolissen
GYC Councillor · Fenlands Youth Advisor — Fenlands Futures ↗
Saskia Carolissen is a GYC Councillor and a sixth-form student at The King’s (The Cathedral) School, Peterborough, focusing on psychology, history and English literature for A-level. She is also a proud member of the Political, Law and Debate Society, as well as Model UN, at her school. Her interest in policy-making and sustainability lends itself to her passion for the interaction of science and the law. Saskia has broadened her understanding of policy-making and ethics by attending various masterclasses on philosophy at the University of Sheffield and UCL, as well as a philosophy conference at the University of Cambridge. Her participation in the Intergenerational Roundtable on Fenlands Restoration as Flood Defences has also given her active experience in engaging with science and law.
Saskia Sudhof
GYC Councillor · Summer Intern — Youth Sustainability Science & Policy Internship Programme ↗
Saskia Sudhof is a GYC Councillor and a student at Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley, California. Passionate about social justice and global issues, she is an avid participant in Model UN conferences and a volunteer for the non-profit organisation Braver Angels. She has worked with a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution researching modern Chinese history. She also enjoys spending weekends at her local cat shelter, aiding in the socialisation and adoption of kittens. Fluent in English and Mandarin, she loves baking, reading, cafés and board games.
Sophia Nyokos
GYC Councillor · Fenlands Youth Advisor — Fenlands Futures ↗
Sophia Nyokos is a GYC Councillor and a student at The King’s (The Cathedral) School, Peterborough, where she studies economics, history and business. Sophia has a keen interest in international law and sustainability, particularly in how local policy can drive meaningful environmental change. She is especially passionate about improving sustainability measures across Cambridgeshire and hopes to contribute to the establishment of a Youth Advisory Forum to ensure young people’s voices are represented in local decision-making. Alongside her studies, she serves as President of her school’s Law Society and established the Model United Nations society, where she has developed her leadership and public speaking skills while discussing current legal, political and global issues. She also volunteers with Children of Adam, a charity that provides humanitarian aid both within the UK and internationally. Supporting initiatives that improve access to essential resources and promote community well-being has complemented her interest in sustainable development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.
Stella
GYC Councillor · Internship Programme Alumna ↗
Listed in the Internship Programme alumni roll. Full bio in preparation.
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Thomas Langford
GYC Councillor · Junior Editor — 2025 Team ↗ · 2021 Team ↗
Thomas Langford is a GYC Councillor and a student at King’s College School Cambridge, UK. Having lived in France as a young child, Thomas is bilingual and has greatly benefited from both French and English culture, giving him an openness of spirit and a tolerance, acceptance and fascination for different cultures. Thomas is a councillor of the Cambridge Schools Eco-Council and a passionate advocate for the conservation of our planet. He was a member of the Heron team, national winners of the Rotary Club Young Environmentalist Competition in 2021, and was a guest speaker at an online Eco-Seminar mini-series about the SDGs. Thomas attends Cambridge’s climate strikes to raise awareness about the climate emergency and is a founding member of the environmental action group in his village. He loves photography, languages, swimming, reading (especially mythology), baking, Monopoly and walking his ever-increasing pack of dogs.
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Varnessa Kayen Varlyngton
GYC Councillor · Senior Editor & Outreach Coordinator — 2024 Team ↗
Varnessa Kayen Varlyngton is a GYC Councillor, a UNICEF Nigeria Young Influencer and creative artivist from Rivers State, Nigeria. As the founder of Egalitarianism for Earth, she raises awareness about environmental justice and child environmental rights whilst spearheading the Children4Climate Initiative. She won third prize for her piece ‘Looking Down At Us’ at the fifth edition of the global Climate Creatives Challenge.
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Wezi Chilubanama
GYC Vice-Chair and Councillor · Junior Editor — 2024 Team ↗
Wezi Emmanuel Chilubanama is GYC Vice-Chair and Councillor, and a student at St Ignatius College, Lusaka, Zambia. Winner of a global Eco-Challenge award judged by Dame Fiona Reynolds and Rev. Rowan Williams, he is an outstanding member of his school’s Book Club and works closely with the Voices of Future Generations Children’s Initiative as a Child Ambassador for SDGs, Africa.
Harmony Online Journal - Youth Voices on Science, Law and Sustainability 