Empowering Youth to Act on Climate Change

Amanda McKenzie is one of Australia's rising environmental leaders. Amanda is currently National Director of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, which she co-founded in 2006. In three years the AYCC has grown into the nation's largest youth run youth organisation with 56,000 individual members and 30 organisational members. Amanda represents Australian youth in discussions with Federal Ministers, State Government representatives, business and industry representatives from Australia and around the world.

Amanda has been instrumental to building the global youth movement on climate change helping to organise the Global Youth Climate Conference in 2007 and 2008. Amanda contributes widely to the debate on climate change publishing in Australian and international publications. Amanda was awarded joint Young Environmentalist of the Year in 2009, holds an Australian Leadership Award from the Australian-Davos connection and was awarded the Monash University Distinguished Young Alumni award this year.