Cohort 15 (2024-2026)
Name: Cecilia Picoaga
Hometown: Lima, Peru
Education: Bachelor of Communication for Development, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Lima, Peru
Experience: Cecilia has more than 7 years working as CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and Sustainability Manager for multinational companies such as Diageo and Samsung. She also worked in the government and the nonprofit sector. The areas/topics where she worked are: education, youth empowerment, environment, health, disabilities, coding, social skills, innovation and robotics.
Interests: ESG, climate change, children and youth empowerment, supply chains and food systems.
Name: Eluagu Izuchukwu Innocent
Hometown: Imo, Nigeria
Education: Bachelor of Arts, International Relations, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria; MBA in Marketing, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
Experience: Innocent has spent over a decade working as Business and Sustainability Manager at Mitsubishi Corporation. Under this role, he has gained extensive experience in global business operations, contracting, project management, cross functional communication and supply chain management.
On the sustainability front, Innocent has developed and coordinated several social intervention and community outreach activities in Nigeria building capacities of Early-stage young entrepreneurs and small-scale farmers. A few of such project includes the donation and distribution of energy efficient cook stoves with briquette machines and solar home systems to co-operatives of Small Holder Cocoa Farmers in Nigeria to support their well-being and improve Quality of Life. This initiative aimed to improve health, promote forest conservation, and mitigate CO2 emissions.
Moreso, he facilitated and supported a community-driven program aimed at boosting the productivity and income of smallholder farmers. By donating farm kiosks, he enabled easier access to improved agricultural inputs and markets for their produce. Additionally, he aided provision of motorized mini tractors, including harvesters, planters, and tillers, which reduced the farmers’ reliance on manual labor. This program notably enhanced the productivity and income of sesame farmers in Doma Community, Nigeria.
He has also been involved in forest regeneration and conservation projects aimed at restoration of nature, biodiversity and reduction of carbon emissions.
Interests: Nature, sustainability, food security, social and environmental value creation, traveling, leisure walking.
Name: Graham Linehan
Hometown: Sarasota, FL, USA
Education: Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, Summa cum laude; minors in Spanish and International Development and Humanitarian Assistance, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
Experience: Graham graduated from the University of Florida in spring of 2024. Throughout his undergraduate years, Graham participated in the Lombardi scholarship and through this, had the opportunity to complete service work and short term courses regarding policy and non-governmental organizations in South Africa, human ecology in Mexico, and anthropology in Peru. Additionally, he completed an honors thesis investigating the discourse of climate migration, using the island nations of Tuvalu and Kiribati as case studies. By performing critical discourse analysis on government statements from the two states, he identified the two states’ plans in the case of climate change-related displacement and migration and compared how each state had a distinct envisioning for how their people would be classified under international law. This research was recently published in the UF Undergraduate Research Journal. In the time since his graduation, Graham volunteered with an organization in Colombia named On the Ground International. Located along the eastern border with Venezuela, he worked in several of the organization’s local shelters to provide aid such as food, clothes, information about the route ahead, and basic medical attention to the Venezuelan refugees fleeing. Overall, Graham is interested in the intersection of climate change and politics, both in the way that displacement due to climate change conflicts with the current refugee regime, and what policies states enact to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Interests: Climate migration, refugee studies, climate adaptation policy, small island state politics, electronic music.
Name: Guiecniza Dehesa Blas. She is a proud member of an indigenous group named Zapotecas from El Espinal, Oaxaca.
Hometown: El Espinal, Oaxaca, Mexico
Education: Bachelor of Computer Systems Engineering, Universidad Técnologico del Istmo, Juchitán de Zaragoza, Mexico
Experience: Guiecniza received her bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering at the Técnologico del Istmo in 2015.
Guiecniza has been working for more than 6 years at the Wind Energy Sector, first at General Electric Company and later at Vestas company, in the South of Mexico. She is passionate about nature and the environment. In congruence with her studies and her career she is now focusing on the master’s degree of Sustainable Development Practice at the University of Florida.
Interests: Nature, leadership, management, circular economy, climate change, wind energy, supply chains, hazardous waste management.
Name: Heather Burky-Lechwar
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL, USA
Education: BFA in Film & Television Production, Art Institute of Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Experience: Prior to earning her BFA in Film and Television, Heather worked in Property Management where she was exposed to a wide variety of people from all different backgrounds. When she decided to go back to college, she was thirty years old and had three small children. She produced several films during her time at the Art Institute and directed/produced a documentary titled “Lost Country” as her senior thesis film which went on to win a Student Academy Award. The documentary examined Cuba, the series of events that led to Fidel Castro coming into power, the subsequent dismantling of the government, and the oppression the citizens experienced.
During her research on Cuba and other oppressed countries, Heather developed a strong sense of urgency to help those without a voice. She has always had a passion for the environment, battling climate change, and restoring the biodiversity that has been destroyed over the past 75+ years due to pollution, corruption, and lack of knowledge and transparency. Heather’s hope is that with her experience in media productions, along with the education she will receive in the MDP program, she can help bring awareness to the challenges our societies face and help those that are less fortunate restore their land and prosper.
Interests: Climate change, conservation, education, human rights, restoring soil health and biodiversity, documentaries, travel, spending time with family.
Name: Tayler King
Hometown: Orlando, FL, USA
Education: Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Russian Language and Culture, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Experience: Tayler graduated from the University of Florida in 2023 with degrees in Biology and Russian. During their undergraduate years, Tayler was actively involved in the Pride Student Union, leading initiatives such as the Pride Student Assembly, organizing social and educational LGBTQ+ events, and raising funds for the New Day Scholarship, which supports black, queer femmes at UF.
In their gap year, Tayler worked with the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars program, a scholarship program for low-income first-generation students at UF, where Tayler is also a proud alum. Their work focused on developing academic workshops, facilitating career development sessions, and reimagining a first-generation pre-law mentorship program.
Since May 2022, Tayler has been engaged in research at the UF Martin Lab, testing the In2Care mosquito trap in Gainesville’s Pleasant Street neighborhood. This project aims to explore innovative public health solutions, particularly in lower income neighborhoods.
Tayler’s academic journey includes participation in the UF Biology Immersion Program, which provided opportunities to travel and study in diverse environments such as the Highlands, St. Augustine, the American Southwest, and the Northwest Pacific.
Passionate about bridging the gap between social justice movements and environmental conservation, Tayler is dedicated to preserving biodiversity in urban areas and advocates for a holistic approach to conservation in the Anthropocene. Their regions of interest include southern and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the American deserts.
Off campus you may find Tayler on a hike through Loblolly Woods, catching a movie at the theater, or playing Dungeons and Dragons with their friends.
Interests: Urban biodiversity, social and climate change, desertification, Southern African sustainability.
Cohort 14 (2023-2025)
Name: Bailey Dunn
Hometown: Okinawa, Japan & Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
Education: Bachelor in Sustainability and the Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Experience: Bailey spent the two years leading up to her masters program at the University of Florida, working with a small French non-governmental organization based in Zambia. She was the conservation and development project manager and carried out five different projects during her time there. Those projects include a women’s empowerment group that kept bees and produced honey, conservation education lessons in five primary schools, school field trips to the national park for game drives and tours of the elephant orphanage, school poultry production, and school feeding programs.
She believes conservation of natural resources is only possible when communities are empowered, informed, and involved in conservation projects. During her time in Zambia she was given the opportunity to work with people from many cultures and languages which helped her develop unique problem-solving skills.
In Zambia she collaborated with local education standards officers, teachers, community leaders, lodge owners, other non-profit organizations and even the chief of the area to develop programs that the community would be excited to take part in. All of her programs focused on sustainability as a key pillar for assessing their longevity and success with the eventual goal of the programs no longer needing outside funding or intervention from donors and NGOs.
Interests: African wildlife, conservation, sustainability, reading, nature walking, dancing
Name: Daneille March
Hometown: St. Catherine, Jamaica
Education: BA in Guidance and Counselling, International U of the Caribbean, Kingston; Teaching Credentials specializing in English Language and English Literature from Shortwood Teachers’ College, U of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
Experience: Daneille has been a teacher of English Language and English Literature at the high school and middle school levels for over 16 years. She has taught in several countries including Jamaica and the United States.
Daneille’s deep interest in education extends beyond the formal education system, to all aspects of life. She is passionate about improving access to quality and relevant education, especially in developing countries.
Daneille founded and operated an event and planning company, focused on providing educational excursions and events. One major goal of this company was to maximize students’ learning and development through co-curricular, extracurricular and non- curricular events and activities.
Daneille’s professional goals include adding development practitioner to her career portfolio.
Interests: Education; women’s empowerment; family, youth and community development; human rights; traveling.
Name: Estefany Güechá Sánchez
Hometown: Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia
Education: BA in International Relations, Diploma in Formulation of international cooperation and economic development projects, U de Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
Experience: Her last name means warrior in the Muisca Indigenous language. She grew up in many parts of Colombia and graduated from a public school in a village. Upon graduating, her family could not pay for her university and this represented an opportunity in her life to connect with a huge purpose. After living the frustration of not being able to access higher education she promised to do what was in her hands so that the dreams and potential of young Colombians are not limited by their lack of financial resources. She achieved one of the best results on the state exam and with this accomplishment she was chosen for an academic excellence scholarship at the best university in Colombia for her BA. While at the University she managed to travel to many countries representing Colombia and her university in debate competitions, and she obtained scholarships in Canada and Turkey (Erasmus Mundus Scholarship), in addition to the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Scholarship 2023.
She co-founded the Cerros de Cambio Foundation in 2017 with the purpose of training and guiding communities in vulnerable conditions with opportunities that allow them to achieve a better future in the long term. She worked for years with the public and private sectors but her passion is the social sector because she is the living example of the positive impact of social mobility, which is why, as Executive Director of her non-profit organization, she dedicates her life to creating opportunities that reduce the social gap regarding access to quality education.
Estefany is a social leader who grew up in a country that has been in an endless internal war that has claimed the lives of millions. She promotes education because she is convinced that it is the way to build a more just and peaceful Colombia. She has built a career as a speaker on innovation and social entrepreneurship, one of her goals is to give a talk on platforms like TED that touches the hearts of millions who want to make social entrepreneurship a life option. She dreams of building a Collective Social Responsibility system in which the commitment to be sustainable is shared so that the private sector has real incentives to invest in the social sector to create a lasting impact internationally.
Interests: Social entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Conscious capitalism, sustainable development, nonprofit management, public speaking, debate, leadership, female empowerment, gender equality, social justice, human rights, Latin American Studies, singing, traveling.
Name: Hailey Muchnok
Hometown: Orlando, Florida, USA
Education: B.A. in Sustainability Studies with minors in Environmental Science and Geology, U of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Experience: Hailey graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in May 2023 from the University of Florida. Whilst completing her undergraduate degree, Hailey interned and conducted research at the UF BioEnergy and Sustainable Technology Laboratory. The subject of her research was the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the concrete industry. She sought to answer the question as to whether it was possible to create a closed-loop system in which microalgae is cultivated from cement flue gas to be digested anaerobically in order to produce biogas; this biogas would then be used in order to power cement plants. Her research was recently approved for publication in the UF Journal of Undergraduate Research, exemplifying her devotion to sustainability and all that it entails. She is furthermore passionate about the intersectional nature associated with sustainability and ensuring that the different aspects of it are not regarded in isolation. Her career goals are rooted in enhancing the wellbeing of global and local environments as well as their inhabitants and are driven by the worsening nature of the climate crisis.
Interests: Climate change, sustainability and its intersectional nature, coastal conservation, social equity, ecotourism, reading, beaches, fitness.
Name: Jennifer Quartey
Hometown: Gomoa Eshiem, Ghana
Education: BA in African Studies and Philosophy, U. of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
Experience: Right after graduation, Jennifer worked with Lead For Ghana as an English Language teaching fellow in an underserved school located in the Volta part of Ghana. Her professional sense of purpose was to impact and transform the livelihoods of girls in rural communities through excellent education. Under the two-year Lead For Ghana fellowship, Jennifer contributed to many initiatives in the community she served which included the completion of a three-unit classroom block, donations of thousand-plus exercise books as well as other stationery and most importantly the launching of Teens-In-Entrepreneurship initiative (TIE).
Through the support from the Women Changemakers for Education mentorship program, in 2022, Jennifer founded TIE which seeks to promote girls’ education in underserved communities through mentorship programs as well as vocational training in beads-making, baking and sewing. The initiative has empowered about 32 teenage girls through vocational training of which five girls and two girls are being partially and fully sponsored to attend Technical and Vocational institutions respectively. As a first-generation scholar, Jennifer’s ultimate dream is to see every girl work hard to succeed no matter what circumstances they face and she believes acquiring a vocational skill is one of the ways to go around it.
In addition, Jennifer also volunteered with Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) as a Learner Guide and used the My Better World Programme modules to educate forty (40) young girls in Junior High School on their well-being and ways they could thrive both in and outside school.
Interests: Education, gender equality and equity, climate change, community development: how do environmental issues affect women’s development and girls’ education in remote areas, and how can climate change education help address such issues?
Name: Rosemary Godfrey Maro
Hometown: Dar es Salaam , Tanzania
Education: BS in Wildlife Science and Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Experience: Rosemary was born and raised in Tanzania, a country well-known as the land of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Serengeti. She went to secondary school right at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro in Machame District. Her experience there together with the country’s natural splendors nurtured her innate connection with the wild and natural surroundings, embarking on a journey of her education at the University of Dar es Salaam, where she pursued a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife science and conservation.
As a Program Coordinator in a non-profit organization she participated in the review of the National Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) implementation strategy to aim at integrating and fostering sustainable rural livelihoods, in line with improving wildlife conservation. She also coordinates an Environmental education program with students and teachers, community-based conservation activities including restoration of wildlife corridors through afforestation of native species, mitigating human-wildlife conflicts and placement of chili fences to keep elephants from destroying farms.
During her volunteer work in different national parks in Tanzania, Rosemary demonstrated her commitment to scientific explorations including animal behaviors, reproduction, growth and nutrition in wild mammals, demographic surveys of wild mammals, vegetation dynamics, utilization of natural resources and applying fire ecology principles to rejuvenate ecosystems. Her dedication to community-based conservation and taking human-wildlife interactions from conflicts to coexisting have won her recognition in the Environmental Conservation community of Tanzania.
Interests: Nature, wildlife conservation, climate change, non-profit management, gender equality, women’s inclusion, awareness-raising campaigns, public speaking, diving and marine life exploration, hiking, waterfalls, fitness, yoga and meditation, cycling, playing tennis.
Name: Salvador Cuadros
Hometown: Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia
Education: BS in Chemical Engineering, U De Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia
Experience: After receiving his B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Salvador briefly worked In the Young Research Program with the University of Cartagena and Colciencia, working in the development of products based on plants to replace anticorrosives based on heavy metals. After that, he worked at the University Of San Buenaventura Cartagena, participating in the design and management of a project-oriented to the training of workers in the oil industry. Then, in 2019 he started as Full-time Teacher in Basic Science at the University of Santo Tomas Villavicencio until 2021. Currently, Salvador is a High and Middle School Teacher in Chemistry, Biology, and Math.
Interests: Studying technologies and practices related to the environment and sustainability, playing soccer, playing chess, running.
Name: Sydney Khanthavong
Hometown: West Palm Beach, Florida
Education: BS in International Studies, U of Florida; Minor in Sustainability Studies, U of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Experience: Sydney began her college experience focusing on international studies and business administration. Inspired by her upbringing of being raised with family business, she desired to hone in on her own knowledge and experience within the importance of small business. At the University of Florida, she was inspired by the university’s stress on sustainable efforts and decided to shift gears in her major, long-term career goals, and purpose in life.
During Sydney’s undergrad, she was involved with social movements that focused on human rights. She actively participated in national protests in order to raise awareness and advocate for the oppressed. Additionally, she interned at a local nonprofit that redefines foreign aid through education reform in Haiti. This internship allowed Sydney to engage with individuals from interdisciplinary backgrounds and become introduced to program coordination.
She currently works as the Global Partnerships Coordinator at a nonprofit focusing on the transition from surviving to thriving of orphans and vulnerable children. She engages with the nonprofit’s NGO partners and builds connections across the globe for collaborative projects. Sydney works alongside the Program Director and Director of Global Partnerships to coordinate projects and maintain partners’ logistics through CRM software. She strives to continue to build upon this skillset and serve as a project manager for an NGO with substantial sustainable change in the future.
Interests: Human rights, nonprofit management, advocacy, project management, ESG frameworks, climate change, cultural appreciation, mental health.
Name: Veronica Manguinho de Souza
Hometown: São Paulo, Brazil
Education: Bachelor in Psychology, U Cruzeiro do Sul, São Paulo; MBA in Strategic Management, Specialization in Change Management and Regenerative Leadership, Fundação Instituto de Administração Business School, São Paulo, Brazil.
Experience: Veronica has more than 15 years working as Head of Organizational Development and Change Management in multinational companies such as Natura, Sodexo, and Citroen. In these companies she led Cultural Transformation, Diversity and Inclusion, Organizational Design and Employee Experience.
She is recognized for her genuine commitment to creating inclusive, high-performance work environments. Her approach is based on the principles of TEAL organizations, redesigning areas such as Corporate Education, Talent Management, Attraction, On and Off Boarding to align with these principles.
In her academic journey, she serves as a guest professor at Fundação Dom Cabral, and lectures on Equity and Inclusion, Innovation in HR, Acceleration Programs for Young Leaders, Regenerative Leadership, Future of Work among other topics.
Interests: Traveling, nature, spirituality, indigenous leadership, inclusion, women and youth empowerment, regenerative design, eco psychology, donut economy, shamanism, ancestry.
Name: Wendy Mesa
Hometown: Miami, Florida, USA
Education: B.S. in Agricultural Education, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
Experience: After receiving her B.S. in Agricultural Education, Wendy returned to her hometown where she briefly worked at the University of Florida’s Tropical Research and Education Center as a biological aide focusing on seed embryology, and an agriculture assistant within the Agroecology lab. After her time at TREC, she began teaching Veterinary Assisting, Environmental Science, and Agricultural Foundations in the Miami-Dade County Public School District. Wendy is currently an Education/Training Specialist where she focuses on pipeline programs from the elementary to the undergraduate level.
Interests: Academically she enjoys learning about the many intersections between agriculture and its impacts on Climate Change. For fun, she enjoys playing tennis, gardening, and spending time at the beach/pool/springs.
Name: Carla Lissa Nelson
Hometown: Port-au-Prince, Haïti
Education: Medical Degree from Université Notre-Dame d’Haïti, Port au Prince, Haiti
Experience: Upon completing her medical curriculum at Université Notre-Dame d’Haïti, Carla’s studies were culminated by a thesis. In that regard, she chose to examine, through a cross-sectional study, the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and their correlates, in a marginalized group of the Haitian population – the elderly. Carla’s research was recognized as a solid contribution for the accumulation of data on chronic diseases among the elderly. Her findings also have the potential to improve Haitian health policies pertaining to people aged 65 and up.
Her motivation to positively impact the life of many emerged from this experience and was substantially heightened with the loss of a family member due to questionable hospital policies in Haiti. This latest event raised her awareness on the precarity of the health policies in Haiti and made her realize that being a medical practitioner in a failing healthcare system was unreasonable. As a result, she embarked on a new challenge: to ameliorate health policies for the benefit of the masses. This newly-acquired perspective led her to begin a career in public health early on.
This resulted in her working as the Program Coordinator for a well-known Public Health-oriented organization and overseeing the implementation of 2 programs. Understanding how to best serve the target populations, with regard to their existing needs, was crucial to the successful provision of her deliverables. Therefore, she also collaborated closely with a multidisciplinary team as well as key stakeholders from various sectors including the Ministry of Health the Haitian Medical Association, the National Ambulance Center, and different NGOs. Carla’s work as a Program Coordinator for a Public Health institution further helped her mentally grasp the value of an integrative approach to holistically address a population’s needs. By enrolling in the Masters of Sustainable Development Practice Program, Carla aims to shape her career in public health through the lens of sustainable development as she strongly believes this outlook will help her become an Agent of Change, not only in her country, but also in other regions of the world where her services will be needed.
Interests: Planning/implementing/evaluating public health programs, public health research, systems thinking, international health, health policy, health systems management.
Name: Garon Joannou
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Education: BA in Philosophy, Environmental Studies Minor, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, USA
Experience: Garon started his undergraduate experience as a Business major before transitioning towards a degree in Philosophy. His time studying Ethics and Transcendentalism led him to take his first Sustainability course. Environmental ethics and personal engagement with natural phenomena were fascinating to him. He finished his time at Furman University by completing courses related to Sustainability and Environmental Sciences. Working with the local community through outreach programs led by the Sustainability Department and its associates was deeply rewarding. He enjoyed creating surveys and identifying problem areas within these communities with the help of his peers. This is what led him to become deeply involved with Sustainable Development.
Garon is fortunate to have diverse professional experience. He has interacted with individuals from various occupational and educational backgrounds by working in the service industry, corporate spaces, non-profits, volunteer practices, and international businesses. He is currently working at a sustainable textile company based in South Florida where he oversees both the execution of hospitality projects and sustainable initiatives.
His primary concerns are improving economic and social security in communities and pairing this with a strong ecological consciousness. He hopes to ensure that everyone has equal access to necessary resources that will ideally yield improvements to overall societal and environmental wellbeing. He believes that cultivating a connection between people and the environment will bring this positive change. Rekindling the love of the land will drive change in areas of desperate need.
Interests: Community development and empowerment, Sustainable Development Goals, resilience, sustainable education, climate change, climate change misinformation, food systems, music, record collecting, video games, pc gaming, soccer, tennis, hiking, walking my dog, traveling.