Solar Freeze (winner)
Expanding food security in Kenya through solar-powered cold storage
Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award
Previous Candidates
2022 Candidates
Resson Kantai Duff
Funding Director, Maliasili
Tiana Williams-Claussen
Director, Wildlife Department of the Yurok Tribe
Illu Global, Inc.
Building the solar workforce of the future in Myanmar and beyond
Make Grow Lab
Entrepreneur using food waste to generate sustainable materials
Sweta Chakraborty
Championing behavioral and communications solutions to the climate crisis
Lucia Coulter
Protecting African children from lead poisoning
Mary Creasman
Disrupting politics and revolutionizing climate leadership in California
Kealoha Fox
Senior Advisor, Institute for Climate & Peace
SINAI Technologies
Software solutions to cut carbon emissions in manufacturing
Caleb Kruse
Using artificial intelligence and satellites to analyze vast environmental data
Vianey Moreno
Revitalizing humanity's passion for the outdoors through environmental stewardship
Olugbenga Olubanjo
Inventing clean, efficient and affordable solar energy capsules for Nigerian communities
Jack Pan
Founder and CEO, Ocean Motion Technologies
Amber Reimondo
Amplifying communities in their fight against destructive uranium operations
André Sanchez
Advisory Board Member & Regional Coordinator — Latino Outdoors | Community Engagement & Conservation Policy Manager — CalWild
Aminath Shauna
Environmental minister building climate resilience in the Maldives
Kelly Trott
Vice President of Deployment & Impact, Imagine H2O
Neil Vora
Combating animal-to-human diseases and environmental destruction
2021 Candidates
Farwiza Farhan
Founder, HAkA
Chook-Chook Hillman (finalist)
Klamath organizer bringing together diverse practitioners
David Diaz (finalist)
Prioritizing community and health in San Gabriel Valley
Alejandra Echeverri
Giving communities influence over conservation policy
Amelia Wenger
Shifting human activities to reduce marine pollution
Anand Varma
Understanding how animals move through inventive photography
Caroline Spears
Tailoring climate policy to be district-specific
Daniela Fernandez
Advancing ocean sustainability through startups and grassroots organizing
Dany Sigwalt
Empowering youth movements through infrastructural support
Etosha Cave
Pioneering technology to create value from CO2 emissions
James Kanoff
Solving food insecurity with farmed surplus
Kaiyu Guan
Uncovering large agricultural insights through novel sensing technology
Lehua Kamalu
Polynesian voyager centering indigenous knowledge in global efforts
Lola Fatoyinbo
Measuring ecological value of wetlands with satellites
Monika Shankar
Giving academic tools to communities to improve public health
Tristin Anoush McHugh
Sequestering carbon through kelp conservation
Yolanda Joab Mori
Community leader improving climate resilience across Micronesia
Zack Parisa
Getting ordinary Americans paid for storing carbon
2020 Candidates
Clara Pratte
Founder, Navajo Power
Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner (finalist)
Interdisciplinary environmental visionary
Leah Penniman (finalist)
Ending injustice in the food system
Vic Barrett
Climate justice activist
Susan Graham
Enhancing conservation through automation
Shyla Raghav
Driving climate change solutions at Conservation International
Rohit Kalyanpur
Revolutionary solar-charging electric machines
Rose M. Mutiso
Investing in women leaders for sustainable energy in Africa
Sami Tellatin
Unlocking funding opportunities for farmers
Patrick Maloney
Creator of transformative clean energy platform
Nikola Alexandre
Transforming connections between people and earth's systems
Nadia Nazar
Youth artist mobilizing climate action
Joleah Lamb
Searching for solutions to end plastic pollution
Haydée Rodriguez-Romero
Protecting Costa Rica's marine environments
Hal Holmes
Harnessing technology to reverse the 6th mass extinction
Gavin McIntyre
Natural replacements for plastics and animal agriculture
Dominique Gonçalves
Building coexistence between people and wildlife
Desirée Williams-Rajee
Rebalancing urban ecosystems towards justice
Ankit Agarwal
Up-cycling flower temple waste
Bailey Farren
Real-time disaster response platform improving public safety
Desiree L. Narango
Urban ecologist and community scientist
2019 Candidates
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
Founder, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad
May Boeve (finalist)
Grassroots campaigner mobilizing climate action
Varshini Prakash (finalist)
Activist leading youth-driven climate movement
Arthur Middleton
Mapping ecosystems for science and education
Asha Frank
Economic and sustainable island nation restoration
Christa Hasenkopf
Atmospheric scientist using open data for air quality
Emma Kennedy
Science and storytelling to protect coral reefs
Faith E. Florez
Using tech to protect farmworkers from heat-related illness
Gator Halpern
Farming coral to restore reefs
Han Chen
Promoting global transition to renewable energy
Jasmine Crowe
Fighting hunger and food waste
Ka’ila Farrell-Smith
Abstract artist, environmental activist, and wilderness guide
Kaushik Kappagantulu
Sustainable agriculture for rural Indian communities
Kira Sadler
Elevating diverse voices in conservation
Nik Strong-Cvetich
Surfer protecting natural resources of coastal communities
Sahithi Pingali
Using crowdsourced data to target freshwater pollution
Samantha Wright
Storyteller mobilizing mass environmental & social action
Sara Eckhouse
Making food systems healthy, sustainable & equitable
Sarah Bellos
Advancing plant-based dyes and textiles
Sofia Elizondo
Using tech to discover plants' medicine and food uses
2018 Candidates
Miranda Wang
(Winner) Inventor of sustainable plastic recycling technology
Protected: Asha de Vos
(Finalist) Blue whale expert working to make ocean science inclusive
Chioma Ukonu
(Finalist) Getting Nigerians to recycle with social incentives
Alexia Akbay
Pioneer of new sustainable seafood farming methods
Mitch Anderson
Defending environmental rights of indigenous people
Erin Barnes
Crowdsourcing public health and the fight against climate change
Elizabeth Corr
Social justice leader uniting arts and the environment
Adel Essaddam
Pioneer of technology that breaks down PET plastics sustainably
Brian Gitta
Inventor of device that detects malaria in two minutes
Dallas Goldtooth
Leader of indigenous activism against environmental injustice
José González
Growing an inclusive, nationwide network of nature lovers
Peter Hammarstedt
Captain who patrols the oceans to catch illegal fishing operations
Kahlil Kettering
Developing sustainable cities for people and wildlife
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Leader of environmental youth activists worldwide
Gavin McCormick
Inventor of technology that enables people to choose clean energy
Matthew Mulrennan
Finding a giant, tentacled symbol for ocean conservation
Stephanie Speirs
Bringing solar to renters and low-income households
Vien Truong
Environmental activist lifting communities out of poverty
Thomas Tsun-Hung Yee
Leading efforts to build sustainable, transit-oriented housing
Jamielyn Wheeler
Political strategist who builds coalitions on environmental initiatives
2017 Candidates
Dan Hammer (WINNER)
Democratizing satellite imagery for environmental monitoring
Susana DeAnda (FINALIST)
Clean water for ALL Californians
Danfung Dennis (FINALIST)
Virtual reality artist sharing environmental narratives
Mark Huerta (FINALIST)
Engineer providing sustainable water business models
Lesley Marincola (FINALIST)
Entrepreneur making electricity affordable in the sub-Sahara
Katie Rowe (FINALIST)
Elephant sanctuary founder fostering peace in Samburu communities
Ryan Flaherty
Business analyst stewarding natural resources
Laura Flessner
Responsible for coastal resilience strategies
Eddie Game
Putting ears in the forest to know what’s there
Quentin Gee
Academic invested in bringing research to action
Ed Hawkins
Editor of open source science media experiment
Nathan Hunter
Urban farmer empowering the economically distressed
Lauren Kurtz
Legal expert protecting climate scientists
Dawn Lippert
CEO, Elemental Excelerator
Katharine Mach
Research scientist improving near-term climate response
Ashwin Madgavkar
Aerial imagery for climate-smart agriculture
Jennifer Moslemi
Storyteller improving the emotional resonance of scientific narratives
Christine Su
Grasslands management app developer
Vien Truong
Environmental activist lifting communities out of poverty
Michael Twitty
Chef exploring race and ecology through cuisine