The Youth Climate Cabinet is comprised of award alumni and is the body that administers the National YCAA and serves as the peer review panel for submissions. In its spare time, the Cabinet speaks TRUTH TO POWER.
The YCC is also responsible for adjudicating the National Youth Climate Activism Award each year.
FINNEGAN BROWN
⦾ Chair
Finnegan is a climate advocate, visual artist, and youth leader, recognized for his creative activism and civic engagement. He was awarded the NYCAA in 2023 for his climate action work in artistic activism and engagement with local government. He advocates for connecting with nature through visual art, believing that experiencing its wonder inspires us to protect biodiversity.
As a Member of Parliament in BC’s Youth Legislative Assembly, Finn introduced a bill in the BC Legislature to redesign the grounds with a focus on habitat restoration and sustainable practices. The bill was passed with support from youth MPs representing ridings throughout British Columbia. He previously served in the Vancouver Island Youth Parliament, where he passed a private member’s resolution to install beehives on the Victoria Parliament Buildings to promote biodiversity and food security.
Now in his first year studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of British Columbia, Finnegan is fascinated by the ways ideas shape policy and society. His editorial cartoons have been recognized with the Global Young Journalist Award and selected for publication by the George Orwell Foundation in London. He was honoured to deliver the keynote address at the Victoria Climate Action Youth Forum, where he inspired and mentored other youth. Through his creative and civic work, Finnegan seeks to connect with others to take meaningful, collective action for social change.
Finnegan is an avid swimmer, competitive water polo player, and certified lifeguard. Now living away at university, he misses his two dogs, Lucy and Fred, but stays connected to pups by helping train facility and service dogs through UBC Campus Canines in partnership with PADS, promoting accessibility and inclusivity on campus.
➜ Check out Finn being interviewed on the National Observer by Patricia Lane HERE.
⦾ Secretary
KASEY CHEN
Kasey was a recipient of the YCAA in 2022 for her climate activism and leadership in Mount Douglas Secondary’s Environmental Leadership program. She has lobbied MLAs in the past and spoken to Justin Trudeau about youth concerns as part of the City of Victoria Youth Council. At school, she has volunteered on restoration at Mount Tolmie, recycling pick-ups, maintaining produce and native plants in the school garden, and leading the BC Politics group.
Kasey is now an undergraduate at the University of British Columbia in the combined honours Physics and Math program.
PARKER LITTLE
⦾ Communications Officer
Parker was a recipient of the YCCA in 2022, where she was recognized for her recycling reformations at Claremont Secondary School. This included the opening of a Cafe (named the Zero Waste Cafe), writing Claremont’s One Planet Saanich plan, and speaking alongside Saanich’s immediate-past mayor, Fred Haynes, when the municipality accepted a Carbon Disclosure Project award. She has spoken to over 1,200 youth about the importance of recycling, and placed second nationally for her speech about the importance of the skilled trades in Canada’s future in the 2022 Skills Canada competition.
Parker is now doing a double major in Economics and Environmental Science as an undergraduate student at the University of Victoria. Her Environmental work continues through her research on soil carbon sequestration through the VKURA research internship, through her membership with the University’s sustainability project, and as a board member of I-SEA.
AMY ZHANG
⦾ Coordinator
Amy served as the Youth Outreach Group Leader in Mount Douglas Secondary School’s Environmental Leadership program, where she led initiatives to educate students about climate change, local ecosystems, conservation practices, and environmental threats such as microplastics. Under her leadership, the Youth Outreach team inspired middle school and high school students to take meaningful action toward environmental stewardship through interactive education and community engagement. Youth Outreach has since become a lasting part of Mount Douglas Secondary School’s Environmental Leadership program and continues to reach more students each year, educating younger generations about climate change and empowering them to take meaningful action in their own communities.
Beyond Youth Outreach, Amy volunteered throughout the Environmental Leadership program by removing invasive species at Mount Tolmie, transplanting camas in the school garden, and participating in local beach cleanups.
Amy is currently studying Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. She is excited to see what inspiring actions youth will continue to bring to environmental advocacy, community leadership, and the future of our planet.