Anika Palekar is a born and raised North Carolinian, and has lived in Cary all her life. She is a senior at Panther Creek High School. Anika has been an ACE Action Fellow since 2017 and currently serves as a Senior Action Fellow.

Why does Anika care about climate change? The better question is, why wouldn’t she? Not only does it affect the home she loves but it is a global issue affecting everyone, and she feels it’s time humans did something about it. She has done a lot of research into the social science behind climate change beliefs, and enjoys learning about why people believe what they believe, while also advocating for climate education. She is a strong believer in climate justice, and the interconnection climate justice has with racial justice and economic justice. She believes that lower-income communities of color deserve the right to be heard and she is passionate about empowering them to represent themselves.

Some of her favorite moments from her first year as an Action Fellow included meeting an amazing group of other youth, attending the NC Climate Justice Summit with ACE and facilitating activities for other participants, and going to the NC General Assembly in Raleigh to lobby legislators during ACE’s Lobby Day.

Other interests she has include helping in her community: for the past decade as a Girl Scout, volunteering as a member of National Honor Society and being the sports medicine student aide for the wrestling team. She loves reading, research and paddle boarding – but only if she gets to go out to the middle of the lake and lay out in the sun on her board.