It was a quiet, rainy Saturday afternoon in Chelsea, but the Avenues the World School was buzzing with students for the inaugural Youth Climate Action Alliance (YCAA) Interscholastic Conference. Led by students Sahara Maazel and Suman Shah, the YCAA brings together 14 different high schools to collaborate on driving climate awareness into action within their own schools and communities.
This year’s conference consisted of educational workshops, a student-activist mixer, a climate action achievement showcase, and a panel with climate professionals representing the office of a state senator, the Environmental Defense Fund and the United Nations. The conference, and the work of the YCAA, was formally recognized by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for the program’s commitment to sustainability and youth advocacy across NYC and beyond.
Many of the students in attendance serve as YCAA student ambassadors, who help design and lead high-impact climate action initiatives within their community. The ambassadors join a network of like-minded peers who meet monthly to collaborate on climate action initiatives, participate in skill-building workshops and networking events, lead sustainability events at their schools, and connect with local organizations and leaders to foster collective action. The YCAA conference was entirely student-run, from setting the agenda, to moderating panels, to keeping the schedule running on time, to coordinating guests, videographers and food accommodations, thanks to the exemplary leadership of Maazel and Shah.
One of the workshops at this year’s conference was led by Laurel Zaima-Sheehy, assistant director of K12 & Continuing Education at the Columbia Climate School; Emma Kyzivat, graduate student program assistant; and Aynsley Kretschmar, from the M.A. in Climate and Society program. The session focused on empowering attendees to identify a diverse set of climate solutions that align with their own community’s vulnerabilities as observed in the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index. Students drew connections between how existing community vulnerabilities are exacerbated by climate impacts, and then worked together to identify solutions across policy, energy, education, transportation, infrastructure and environmental restoration sectors. By exploring sectors with less obvious opportunities, participants were challenged to broaden their understanding of what constitutes a climate solution. Students left the session with a list of local organizations that could serve as models or provide mentorship opportunities to expand school-based climate initiatives.
The conference concluded with a showcase where student leaders from across high schools shared posters with their current climate initiatives. Hewitt School participants presented on their student-led sustainable cafe, which recently piloted reusable mugs. The cafe’s profits go toward improving the cafe and the school’s overall sustainability initiatives. The Brooklyn Friends School presented on their newly renovated green roof, which serves as a form of flood protection and a communal gathering space for the school. Shah, one of the founders of the YCAA and current student at the Chapin School, detailed her journey to successfully getting solar panels installed on her apartment building and raising awareness about community solar initiatives, an effort that required numerous administrative meeting presentations outlining a cost-benefit analysis and implementation plan.
YCAA came about following Maazel’s experience in the Columbia Climate School in the Green Mountains during the summer of 2025. The culmination of this two-week pre-college program is a climate action project where students develop a climate solution to bring back to their local community. While in the program, Maazel focused her project on climate journalism. After returning, however, she realized that there were already ample outlets for sharing climate stories, and her school would greatly benefit from more collaborative, hands-on work. Maazel was able to redefine her project’s scope while using a community-centered approach, building a comprehensive full-day agenda, conducting outreach and marketing, and communicating with relevant stakeholders. All of these accomplishments demonstrate critical lessons taught in the Green Mountains program, which Maazel says “illuminated new avenues for climate action.” Her experience learning from professionals and peers throughout the program inspired her to “work on this interscholastic initiative and empower others to take greater action for their communities.”
The success of the inaugural YCAA conference was a testament to the power of youth collective action. What started as one student’s climate action project has evolved into a growing, inter-school network of like-minded peers driving real change in their own communities. If you or your child is a New York City high school student passionate about climate and interested in connecting with like-minded students, you can learn more about the YCAA here.
Current YCAA high schools include:
- Avenues The World School
- The Chapin School
- Berkeley Carroll School
- Brooklyn Friends School
- The Dalton School
- Dwight School
- Fordham Preparatory School
- Friends Seminary
- Grace Church School
- Hackley School
- The Hewitt School
- British International School
- The Nightingale-Bamford School
- United Nations International School
YCAA is always looking to grow and collaborate with fellow high school students across the NYC metropolitan area. If you’re interested in joining the movement, contact the YCAA team to start a new chapter at your high school and join the network.
For more information about the Columbia Climate School in the Green Mountains program, please explore our website and FAQs. Sign up here for our pre-college mailing list to stay updated on summer and academic year offerings, or email us at learn@climate.columbia.edu.
Applications for summer 2026 are still open. Apply today!
