This week, Forbes came out with the most inspiring thing I’ve seen in a while: a list of 30 under 30 in the energy industry. In their words, these are the “people who aren’t waiting to reinvent the world… the 30 disrupters under 30,… [are] making a difference right now.”

ACE’s Youth Reps program is beginning to grow — we just added two new Youth Reps from LA and New England. Our students are innovating their way through high school. Most recently, we had nearly 50 schools doing efficiency audits of their classrooms through ACE’s Biggest Loser: Energy competition. As this, and other ACE Action Team projects grow, I can’t wait until we see a few of our own Youth Reps on that 30-under-30 list in the coming years.Take 16-year old High Schooler Jonny Cohen, for example. In 2007 at merely 11 years old, Jonny invented a plexiglass panel for the front of his school bus, reducing fuel use by 25%. Or right here in the Bay Area, there’s Brad Burton, 26-year-old VP of Product & Strategy at 1BOG (1 Block off the Grid), an innovative company that uses collective purchasing power to lower the price of solar for an entire community. Then there’s my personal favorite, Alexis Ringwald, 29-year-old founder of Valence Energy (sold to Serious Energy), a company which creates energy management software for commercial buildings. Alexis was a huge mentor for ACE’s two Youth Reps & Youth Advisory Board Members, Shreya & Daniela. The girls installed Valence’s software in their own school, saving 13% on their energy bill in the first year alone. Young people inspiring and leading other young people… that’s what it’s all about!