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Meet the 2022 Youth Steering Committee
Ava Cuevas
Ava Cuevas is a rising high school sophomore in Southern California who is a passionate and dedicated animal rights activist who strives for creating awareness to unfamiliar animal issues. Her advocacy ranges from educating and discussing animal issues to rotaries in her hometown, starting Animals Revealed on Facebook solely based on bringing light on factory farming, fur farms, entertainment industries, etc., and being a member of Farm Sanctuaries Youth Leadership Council. Ava is also in the works of writing and publishing her very own book titled Reveal based on uncovering the truth about the corrupt practices involving animals. In her free time, she enjoys raising and tracking monarch butterfly data for Project Monarch Health and gardening!
Sarah Dosanjh
Sarah Dosanjh is a 18 year old rising freshman at the University of California: Los Angeles majoring in human biology and society with intent to pursue a masters in public health. She is originally from San Jose, California where she collaborated with her district’s food nutrition team to implement more plant-based options in her high school. Passionate about animal advocacy, climate change, nutrition, and science, she has worked closely with Friends of the Earth and FFAC over the last 3 years to advocate for a more sustainable, nutritious, and ethical future. In her free time, she enjoys baking, eating, playing tennis, and hiking!
Navin Durbhakula
Navin Durbhakula is a rising sophomore at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, majoring in the Environment, Mind, and Nutrition (EMN). Originally from Potomac, Maryland, he became passionate about the plant-based food system after seeing the effects of a whole foods plant-based diet on his own health. He then interned at his county’s food council, where he pushed access to plant-based meals for over 100,000 food insecure residents, and founded the Harvard Plant Futures Initiative, an organization that fosters plant-based education and systems change at school. In his free time, he loves to sing, draw, cook, and spend time in nature!
Satvika Iyer
Satvika Iyer is a rising high school junior in Milpitas, California. She believes that science and education can solve global issues, and has applied data science to analyze genetic defects associated with neuronal migration, trained an ANN to better detect forest fires, and promoted a school wide plant based campaign where she specialized in working with the district on bimonthly meal plans and advocating to all the students in the school district on the benefits of plant based eating. She believes in the power of policy and equity for all, working with this youth steering committee, FFAC, and Homegrown Bay Area in hopes of being a part of affirmative and compassionate climate action. In her free time, she loves to play volleyball and softball, spend time in nature, and work with the neurodiverse individuals at her school!
Ezra Kleinbaum
Ezra Kleinbaum is 15 years old and lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts. He’s very passionate about climate justice, animal rights, and food justice. In the past, he’s worked on, and led a number of campaigns including successfully starting Meatless Mondays in his school district, and banning the sale of fur in his hometown. In his free time he enjoys going on runs and spending time with friends.
Ananya Kumar
Ananya Kumar is a rising third-year student at The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. She is majoring in Environmental Engineering and minoring in Energy Systems and Computer Science. She entered the realm of climate justice through the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition where she is currently a fellow! Excited to work with the YSC to try and combat inequity in our current food system, she is excited to contribute to projects that will work to advocate for climate-friendly foods. She is also passionate about advancements in renewable energy and the future of sustainability in the engineering realm. In her free time, she loves to garden, cook (and eat) yummy vegan food, and go hiking!
Induja Kumar
Induja Kumar is a student and community organizer from Chandler, Arizona, and is a rising junior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Induja joined the Youth Steering Committee due to her belief that food sovereignty is essential to building community power, fighting climate change, and dismantling harmful industrial food systems. Outside of YSC, Induja’s work has ranged from fighting for federal religious freedoms alongside Americans United in cases such as Kennedy v. Bremerton and presenting on equitable climate policy at COP 26. In her free time, she enjoys reading science fiction and going hiking.
Kennedy Little
Kennedy Little is from Lexington, Kentucky. She attends Morehead State University where she is majoring in Legal Studies and AgriScience with a minor in Sociology. Kennedy is passionate about social equity, and is spending her summer in organizations like the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, LEAD for Farmed Animals, and the newly formed organization Farm Transition Academy. The 19 year old is avid about making positive change in her community and advocating basic rights for all. She has hopes of attending law school and becoming a social justice and animal rights attorney.
Cate Ledoux
Cate Ledoux is a rising sophomore at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, originally from Rockville, Maryland. She is majoring in chemistry with an anticipated minor in public health, and is passionate about sustainability, food justice, and health equity. She is excited that her work with the YSC will allow her to engage with all three! In her free time, she loves running with friends, listening to podcasts, and perfecting her banana bread recipe.
Lucas Salaberry
Lucas Salaberry is a senior who has grown up in Houston, TX public schools and recently was selected to represent the US in a United World College in Freiburg, Germany to finish off the last two year of high school. With more than 100 countries represented through 200 students striving for global sustainability and peace he has led his school’s student agricultural service program and spearheaded renovations of his school’s 40+ meter long outdoor plant wall mobilizing more than 150 students and staff. Through being a National Field Representative at the youth climate policy lobbying group Our Climate and now being apart of the YSC, he hopes to create a more sustainable future through systemic change.
Nancy Zhang
Nancy Zhang is a rising junior in high school from Carmel, Indiana and is passionate about nutrition, health, and the environment. Some of her favorite work has included collaborating with dieticians to produce researched informational content, as well as working on implementing diverse and nutrient-dense plant-based entrées in her school district after noticing animal based protein bias in guidelines affecting her community. In her free time, Nancy loves leading volunteering events at local parks, as well as tending to her ever-growing collection of houseplants.
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