Sheelah Bearfoot (Chiricahua Apache) is an environmental justice advocate. She grew up in Tracy, CA, but has called the Bay Area home since 2012 when she began her academic journey at UC Berkeley. After graduating with a B.S. in Genetics and Plant Biology, she worked at the Native American Health Center in San Francisco as a clinical care assistant before pursuing an MHS in Environmental Health at Johns Hopkins, where she continued her focus on Indigenous health disparities. She’s had the privilege of working with/learning from dozens of grassroots organizations. “Western Science” has long been (and frequently still is) used to provide false legitimacy to systemic violence against communities of color, and Sheelah’s interdisciplinary academic and career choices are motivated by a desire to combat medical and environmental racism by destroying that facade. Her other projects include co-leading the planning committee for the Indigenous Peoples Summit, serving on Coming Clean’s Pesticide Mapping Project team, and being a mentor for the 2025 Young Climate Leaders of Color cohort. This will be her third time attending COP.

Emma Lyu Buretta is a Yale sophomore studying Environmental Studies and Political Science from Brooklyn, New York. She began climate organizing when she was twelve. She organized six climate strikes with Fridays For Future NYC, and was a core organizer for the 75,000 person March to End Fossil Fuels. She attended COP28 with the Fridays For Future delegation, and is excited to bring the insight she gained in Dubai to Belém with SustainUs.

Hailing from Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation, Big Wind Carpenter is a Two-Spirit member of the Northern Arapaho tribe whose commitment to grassroots community organizing began in their youth. With nearly twenty years of experience, Big Wind is a prominent voice in regional, national, and international policy and advocacy. Their extensive engagement includes attending five COP Climate conferences, two COP Biodiversity conferences, and numerous UN events, such as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. 

Josiah Edwards (Jō-sigh-uh, he/him) is a youth climate justice organizer based in Los Angeles, CA. Having grown up in the South Bay of LA County near the largest refinery on the west coast, he experienced environmental racism in his daily life. Now, as a member of the Los Angeles chapter of Sunrise Movement, he works to uplift the voices of youth in frontline communities by training young people on the organizing methods and discipline needed to build multi-racial, cross-class solidarity, a prerequisite to the power necessary to win a Green New Deal. In addition to his organizing as a member of Sunrise Movement, Josiah is also the project coordinator for convenings at Youth on Root, a nonprofit that envisions a self-sustaining grassroots movement led by youth who have meaningful opportunities to enact their visions of environmental justice for their communities. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Common Dreams, and Democracy Now!

Sierra Lambert is an artist, entrepreneur, and community builder whose work lives at the intersection of creative expression, climate justice, and collective care. She brings a deep commitment to using art as a tool to bridge communities, tell stories, and imagine sustainable, interconnected futures. Based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Sierra is the founder of Bridge Community Café and Gig-L, a platform designed to make gig work more equitable and accessible. She draws from her own lived experiences and cross-cultural collaborations, with growing proficiency in Spanish and Portuguese, and a personal history of engaging with international communities and movements. At COP, Sierra will help shape creative programming that uplifts frontline voices, centers cultural memory, and invites deeper reflection on the emotional and relational dimensions of climate work.

Jamie Wefald first became involved with SustainUS as a delegate to the UN climate summit in New York in  2019. Organizing with folks in their hometown and meeting youth climate advocates from all over the country inspired them to join SustainUS as a Community Coordinator, eventually progressing to the role of Executive Coordinator in 2022. After attending COP27 in Egypt, they are looking forward to lending their experiences to the COP30 delegation in Brazil.