Monday night at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco was not a typical scene. Usually the Club is full of grey-haired lecture-goers (no offense) who enjoy hearing the latest on any topic ranging from politics to art, philosophy to science. Everyone from state governors to famous authors to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies have graced the stage at the Commonwealth Club. This week though, the Club’s best program (in my humble opinion), Climate One, hosted a panel of youth environmental advocates who told their story to a diverse audience, including ACE’s own Youth Advisory Board member, Adarsha Shivakumar.

Their stories are remarkable. Abigail Borah, a Middlebury College student and advocate with SustainUS, talked about her work as an international youth delegate to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban, South Africa. Last November, Abigail interrupted the negotiations before US climate envoy Todd Stern spoke saying that the “US government doesn’t speak for me” and demanding that the US step up and lead the world. She has guts, determination and an unquenchable thirst for answers on climate change. It was inspiring to hear her speak articulately and passionately about our collective future.

Tania Pulido works on urban agriculture in Richmond, California. Her story is amazing — just watch her in this acceptance speech for her Brower Youth Award last year. She completely turned her life around after her experience organizing against Chevron in Richmond — the single largest greenhouse gas emitter in all of California. Now she is employed and in college, and happily working to better her community.

Last, but certainly not least, the third panelist was ACE’s own Adarsha Shivakumar.

Adarsha is a freshman at Stanford now, and has more energy than 10 normal people combined. He  starting his own international nonprofit at the age of 14, called Project Jatropha — a collaboration dedicated to promoting the plant Jatropha curcas as an ecologically friendly and economically sustainable source of biofuel in rural India.

The three panelists discussed their vision of change — how young people are heard and the challenges facing the world today, including issues of food justice, climate change, and more. The audience was filled with high school students from around the Bay who came to listen to their stories and glean inspiration for their own projects and efforts.

It was an inspiring night to say the least, and I was honored for ACE to be part of it. For more information, and to listen to a podcast of the event, check out Climate One online here.