Author: slpLiz

  • Activist Spotlight:  Juliet Homes

    Activist Spotlight: Juliet Homes

    This Spotlight interview was conducted by SLP intern Ella Katagas, a senior at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, New York. Juliet Homes, 17, is a sustainability activist from New York City. Raised in Manhattan, Juliet now attends Northfield Mount Hermon, a high school in Gill, Massachusetts. What is your first memory of being…

  • Activist Spotlight: Beatrice Phiri

    Activist Spotlight: Beatrice Phiri

    Beatrice Phiri, 23, was born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia. She is a youth reporter for multiple organizations including Agents of Change Foundation and Children’s Radio Foundation. Beatrice’s weekly radio programs cover climate change and environmental sustainability and reach a cross section of her local community. Beatrice is a member of the United Nations Youth…

  • Activist Spotlight: Joshua Borokinni

    Joshua Borokinni, a 20 year old activist from Lagos, Nigeria shares his inspiring work as a climate activist and social innovator. Joshua is the founder of Borokinni Joshua Initiative, an organization that focuses on social innovation, youth engagement, sustainable development goal advocacy, and climate journalism. In our conversation, we spoke about the dedication it takes…

  • Activist Spotlight: Nabila Abbas

    Nabila Abbas, 23, spoke with SLP from her home in a remote area of Pakistan. Growing up in conservative tribal area, Nabila found it challenging, but essential, to break out of the limited role offered to girls in her community. With the support of her parents, Nabila has become a fierce advocate for girls, education,…

  • Earth Day 2020: A Virtual Day of Advocacy

    So what exactly is Earth Day? In 1969, founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, came up with the idea for a national day to focus on the environment after witnessing the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson believed that by…

  • Activist Spotlight: Jalen Kobayashi

    Activist Spotlight: Jalen Kobayashi

    In this month’s Spotlight installment, we bring you a conversation with Jalen Kobayashi, a poet and rapper from Chicago. Jalen uses his art to explore themes that focus on Chicago, the impoverishment and marginalization of minority groups, and social justice. Check out a few highlights from our conversation below! Tell us a little about your…

  • SLP Students Bring Impassioned Advocacy to Vermont State House

    SLP Students Bring Impassioned Advocacy to Vermont State House

    A group of forty ten and eleven year olds at Founders Memorial School in Essex, Vermont participated in the fall session of SLP’s Residency Program. After brainstorming more than thirty social issues of concern, these passionate 4th graders chose to address Vermont’s growing homelessness crisis.  “We feel upset because homeless people are not getting the services…

  • Activist Spotlight: Carlos Rodriguez

    Activist Spotlight: Carlos Rodriguez

    In this month’s Spotlight installment, we bring you a conversation with Carlos Rodriguez, a youth activist from New York City (born in Queens and raised in the Bronx). Carlos is extremely passionate about empowering and bringing positive social change to his community. Check out a few highlights from our conversation below! Tell us a little…

  • Is Civics Education a Constitutional Right?

    The U.S. public school system was created, in large part, to prepare young people to be capable, engaged citizens. Since the mid-20th century, however, most schools have neglected their responsibility to prepare students for civic participation: it’s been well-documented that high school students throughout the country are graduating with, at best, minimal knowledge about government…

  • Activist Spotlight: Freshta Tori Jan

    Activist Spotlight: Freshta Tori Jan

    In the final installment of our 2019 Spotlight Series, we bring you a conversation with Freshta Tori Jan, a truly incredible young woman who witnessed and experienced daily injustice growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan. Read on to learn how her journey through poverty, terrorism, and persecution has shaped her as a young activist, now committed…