Last month, ten high school seniors from Sonoma County were recognized for leadership and civic engagement in the 28th annual Community Youth Service Awards, sponsored by The Press Democrat. The Climate Center Youth Advisory Board member Isabella (Izzi) Rader of Windsor High School was honored for her dedication and leadership in climate protection.
The team at the The Climate Center is proud of Izzi’s accomplishments, grateful for her longtime commitment, and excited for where she is headed next!
Here is an excerpt from The Press Democrat’s article about the award winners…
Izzi, as her friends call her, is an active participant in her campus climate change movement. First at Healdsburg High and later at Windsor High, she’s volunteered with ECO2school, educating other students about what they can do to save the environment. Her focus is on reducing each student’s carbon footprint by changing the way they get to and from school.
“I want to spread the word and catalyze the necessary actions to save this earth,” Rader said.
A member of the Center for the Youth Advisory Board since 2014, Izzi was also a founding member of her school’s Eco Club. As a school leader, she helped organize the annual ECO2school Challenge – a school-wide campaign that encourages students to use alternative transportation. “A lot of people think that it is harder to bike, walk, or even carpool rather than driving yourself or getting a ride… But the amount of effort that it takes to use active forms of transportation is often exaggerated. It is a very simple action with quite an amazing impact,” Izzi says.
Izzi’s contributions extend around Sonoma County and far beyond. Izzi has organized social media campaigns to promote conservation efforts through internships with The Climate Center and with Yuba Bicycle in Petaluma. She traveled to China with the American Youth Leadership Program in 2015 to share her environmental work in Chinese schools and communities, and to learn about the innovative work that Chinese students are doing to fight climate change. She returned from her summer in China even more inspired to make a change.
“Izzi is passionate about mitigating climate change both in terms of changing her own behavior and in inspiring others to do the same. She is a strong leader with a natural ability to build community by bringing people together,” says Amy Jolly, Program Manager of Youth Leadership at The Climate Center.
Izzi plans to attend Sonoma State University in the fall.
For more information, read the full article from The Press Democrat.
