2024 Contestants
What if we COMPETED for the PLANET like athletes competing for a national title?
Competing Universities
Meet these “Elite Athletes for the Planet”
2023-2024 Contestants
Carnegie Mellon University Harsh Vaibhav Nallanthighal
Duke University Malainey Potts and Prithveeraj Wavre
Florida International University Karina Hernandez
George Mason Vidhi Pathak
Georgetown University Maggie Liu
Georgia Tech Maitraiyee Mohan
Loyola University Maryland Abeisha Jeyavijithan
New York University Beneah Gineth Gorospe
Northwestern University. Elise Neal
Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute Julia Kelly
Stanford University Anushka Vijay
Stony Brook University Bowen Cheng
UC Santa Barbara Lydia Pesce
UCLA Lilie Kulber
University of Maryland Peggy Mothershed
University of Arizona Lila Carruthers
University of California Santa Cruz Noah Sherod
University of Colorado Sabrina Schatz
University of Delaware Madison Drew and Carl Nelson-Poteet
University of Michigan Arianna Ontko
University of Oregon Brendan Adamczyk
University of Pennsylvania Alexa Guerrero
University of Southern California JJ Flores
University of Tennessee Julia Craven and Luke Cornelius
University of Virginia Samuel Solomon
1st Place $1,000
2nd Place $500
Winners will be announced at our Green Wave conference for student leaders in sustainability, February 7, 2024. It’s virtual and free.
Choose a focus (university, city or company)
Recruit at least one other person for your team
Collect your observations about the organization’s environmental sustainability — their progress and challenges
Do some research on their sustainability impact and initiatives
Starting with a template, prepare a presentation
Deliver your presentation over Zoom to a group of judges — leaders in the field of sustainability
Learn to drive change in this virtual competition during football season
(10 minute video)
Contest Judging
Semi-finals will be in January 2024. You’ll have just ten minutes. Please practice with your team and make it a solid, compelling presentation. Use your slides but don’t read from them.
Judges
Anupama Pasricha, Dean, School of Business, St. Catherine University
Brandon D. Morton, Director of Economic Development, Dallas College
Chris Gassman, Accelerator | Podcaster | Speaker on Doing Well by Doing Good and Resilience
Gifford and Libba Pinchot, Founders, Intrapreneur.com and Bainbridge Institute (first MBA program in sustainability)
Glenn Hallam, Co-founder, Green Dock Ventures
Hadley Willman, Former Director, University Climate Ambassadors
Marissa Rosen, Founder, Climate Social
Robert Bartolucci, Director, ESG, The Opus Group
Sameer Ameen, Climate Action & Resilience Fellow - Office of Sustainability, UC Berkeley
Thomas Schueneman, Founder, TDS Environmental Media
What judges will be looking for
Did you cover a wide range of sustainability topics?
Was your commentary thoughtful?
Was your photography high quality and creative?
Were you knowledgeable about past successes and future plans?
Did you articulate clear and defensible priorities?
Did you show insight about challenges, process and leadership?
Did you engage other students from your campus?
Sign Up
Now accepting applications for Fall 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
Who receives the prize?
The prize money will go to the team leader.
Can I donate the money to my school club?
Yes.
What skills can I gain from this?
We teach the ability to see and pursue sustainability opportunities — ways that organizations can address their environmental impact.
Can I put this on my résumé?
Yes, as a presenter and a winner, you can draw attention to your participation in this competition.
Do you have internships available?
Yes, we will. Our goal is to find bright, passionate students through this competition.
What is the purpose of University Climate Ambassadors?
Our mission is to connect the passionate with the powerful for the planet — to help student leaders see opportunities to protect the planet by promoting solutions and influencing leaders who are in a position to implement these solutions.
How do I join University Climate Ambassadors?
Sign up for the competition. We can connect you with representatives who can tell you more.
What aspects of sustainability should I focus on?
Think broadly - energy, waste, food, etc. Use your judgment.
Is this open to graduate students?
Yes.
Can my team have two people present together?
Yes.
Can my observations be anonymous?
Yes, your observations can be anonymous, but of course, one person on your team has to make a presentation online to a group of judges.
What types of organization should I pick? Choose an organization that has a large impact on the planet … in terms of their consumption of energy, water, food, waste, etc.
How large should my team be? Start small and consider using a pre-existing group like a green team. Over time, as you gather momentum, you’ll find it easier to attract more people to your team.