A Pakistani-American teenager Mishka Banuri has won the Brower Youth Award in recognition of her efforts to spotlight climate change issues in the traditionally conservative state of Utah.
The 17-year-old from Salt Lake City helped craft and pass the Utah Climate Resolution, the first of its kind in the state.
Mishka co-founded of the Utah Youth Environmental Solutions, a youth-led group that engages with their community on environmental issues and has also been an organizer for the Utah People’s Climate March in 2016, according to her profile posted by the Brower Youth Award organization.
Her work seeks to empower youth to hold statewide organizations and institutions accountable to climate change and build the youth climate movement in Utah..
Mishka has a deep sense of her Pakistani-American identity and takes pride in her heritage.
“As a Pakistani Muslim American, Mishka seeks to build bridges and empower Muslim youth and students of color in Utah.”
Brower Youth Award annually recognizes the work of six young leaders who are making strides in the environmental movement.
“A signature element of Earth Island Institute’s year-round New Leaders Initiative, Brower Youth Award winners demonstrate excellent leadership as well as a commitment to the communities their work serves,” the organization says.
