Announcing the 2023 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award candidates

UCLA is proud to announce 18 candidates for the 2023 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award.

This year’s candidates advance environmental causes around the world, from Indonesia to Panama, rising to solve difficult and important environmental challenges. They include leaders fields such as sustainable design, wildlife law, shark conservation and carbon markets.

• Anjali D. Boyd, marine ecologist, entrepreneur and elected official
• Nalleli Cobo-Uriarte, environmental activist and storyteller
• Garry Cooper, CEO and co-founder of Rheaply
• Nesha Ichida, program manager and co-chair of StAR Project’s steering committee
• Meizani Irmadhiany, senior vice president and executive chair, Konservasi Indonesia
• Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, a community-based advocacy organization
• Benjamin Lepley, architect
• Inna Modja, artist, filmmaker and advocate for social, gender and climate justice
• Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez, executive director, Geoversity
• Taku Mutezo, environmental lawyer, Manicaland Province
• Aya Naseem, co-founder and marine biologist, Maldives Coral Institute
• Caressa Nguyen, founder, Sacred Lands Native Hands
• Sébastien Philippe, scientist and research scholar, Science & Global Security
• Hana Raza, founder/chairperson, Leopards Beyond Borders
• Wil V. Srubar III, associate professor of civil and architectural engineering
• Iroro Tanshi, co-founder and co-executive director, Small Mammal Conservation Organization
• Janice Tran, CEO & co-founder, Kanin Energy
• Jessie Turner, executive director, International Alliance

The 2023 candidates were nominated by leaders who have already made significant contributions to global environmental efforts.

In the coming months, an expert committee will choose three finalists. Finalists will then be presented to a panel of judges: Antonio Bernardo, dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management; Darnell Hunt, UCLA executive vice-chancellor and provost; Jeanne Holm, deputy mayor of finance and innovation for City of Los Angeles; Hans Mehn, a partner of Generation Investment Management; and Abel Valenzuela, Jr., interim dean of social sciences and UCLA professor.

The judges will select a winner, who will be announced at an Oct. 26 ceremony. Winners receive $100,000 and finalists take home $5,000, made possible by a generous gift from the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation.

In the coming months, we’ll be sharing more about each of the candidates on our website and social media channels (@uclaioes). Please stay tuned as we celebrate and honor these emerging environmental leaders.