Announcing the 2026 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award nominees
Meet 15 remarkable young environmental leaders who are already making a difference.
Meet 15 remarkable young environmental leaders who are already making a difference.
What better way to celebrate the first 10 years of the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award and its world-changing community than to honor its newest cohort of emerging leaders?
All of the following 15 nominees, who bring powerful expertise and energy to their unique areas of focus from around the globe, have already accomplished so much before the age of 40. Their potential to accomplish even more in service to their communities, their countries and our climate, is a stirring reminder that together, transformative change is possible.
While each of these rising stars will separately vie for the prestigious award — $100,000 to the winner and $15,000 each to two additional finalists, made possible by the Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation — they are all united in their commitment to progressive environmental leadership. Their admittance to the rank of Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award nominees deepens this influential alumni network and offers exciting possibilities for future collaboration, inspiration and innovation.
Congratulations to the 2026 nominees!
Maya and Mica Caine (United States): Co-founders, Helix, strategists whose fashion company reimagines clothing as a shared civic resource and advances regenerative, place-based systems of stewardship and circularity
Zuzana Buřivalová (Czech Republic/United States): Principal investigator, Sound Forest Lab, co-founder, “Conservation Effectiveness” initiative, and associate professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, tropical forest conservation scientist dedicated to giving biodiversity a voice in the decisions that shape its future
Callie Broaddus (United States): Founder and executive director, Reserva: The Youth Land Trust, conservationist, filmmaker and photographer working to empower youth to conserve threatened species and habitats around the world
Rebecca Cliffe (Costa Rica/United Kingdom): Founder and executive director, Sloth Conservation Foundation, zoologist dedicated to protecting sloths and their tropical forest habitat
Charles Agbor Emogor (United Kingdom/Nigeria): Founder and executive director, Pangolin Protection Network and researcher, University of Cambridge, zoologist who integrates ecology, social science and technology to address pertinent conservation challenges in Africa
Heather Fipps (United States): Founder and executive director, Context Collaborative and the Hollywood Climate Summit, architect of community experiences and media projects that transform environmental narratives into cultural movements
Steven Fox (United States): Managing partner, Propeller, venture capitalist investing in ocean-climate companies that use science and technology to address climate change
Hunter Arey Listwin (United States): founder, Conservation Technology Accelerator, engineer, conservationist and technologist dedicated to equipping conservationists with cutting-edge technology to enhance their impact
Konstantin Klemmer (United Kingdom/United States/Germany): assistant professor, University College London and researcher, LGND AI Inc., researcher who models the dynamics of our cities and the planet with neural networks
Jack McDonald (United States): Lead researcher, Oilfield Witness, advocate and policy researcher focused on the environmental impacts of the oil and gas industry
Doris Njagi (Kenya): Founder, Forest Restored, social entrepreneur building a scalable solution at the intersection of climate action, sustainable design and inclusive economic growth
Devon Parfait (United States): Chief, Grand Caillou/Dulac Tribe and coordinator, Mississippi River Delta coalition, leader in the fight to preserve GC/D homelands, culture and identity, as well as advancing justice for coastal communities
Suzanne Pierre (United States): Founder and executive director, Critical Ecology Lab, ecologist and biogeochemist studying how human-driven environmental changes have altered the natural world
Tonthoza Uganja (Malawi): Founder and CEO, Sustainable Farming Solutions, pioneer of a farmer-co-created model that addresses both climate change and rural poverty
Serah Lois Wawira and Lydia Bernard-Jones (Kenya): Product and behavioral leads, UpEnergy Group’s electric cooking portfolio, designers of cooking products that drive sustained use and measurable fuel displacement
As with every year, the 2026 nominees were selected through a competitive global nomination process, sparked by an initial nomination from a renowned leader in the field with their own major environmental contributions.
A committee of experts will evaluate the nominees and name three finalists to be presented to a distinguished panel of judges: Ah-Hyung “Alissa” Park, dean of the Samueli School of Engineering and UCLA professor; Christina Christie, Wasserman Dean of the School of Education and Information Studies and UCLA professor; Andrew Steer, former CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund; and Audrey Choi, chair of the Generation Foundation.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony at UCLA on October 8, 2026.
Finalists will be announced July 13. Follow UCLA IoES social channels for more on the nominees — and their path to the prize.
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