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Commission recognizes youth climate leaders and presents Joanna Wald awards; education team reports 19,000 youth reached
Summary
The commission presented Joanna Wald Environmental Service Awards to Kirk Grimes (A. Philip Randolph Institute) and Diya Sharma (youth founder of Persistent Planet), heard an environmental education update showing nearly 19,000 youth reached, and received youth presentations about summer programs and school-based initiatives.
The San Francisco Commission on the Environment honored youth and community organizers and heard an update on the department’s environmental education work at Tuesday’s meeting.
Commissioners presented the Joanna Wald Environmental Service Award to Kirk Grimes of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and to Diya (spelled in transcript as "Diya") Sharma, a recent high-school graduate and founder of Persistent Planet.
Commissioner Eddie Ahn introduced Kirk Grimes, noting APRI’s long history in Bayview Hunters Point and Grimes’s role in recruiting youth to climate programming. Grimes accepted the award and acknowledged colleagues and APRI staff he said supported the work.
Commissioner Angelique Tompkins introduced Diya Sharma, who told the commission she founded Persistent Planet to educate youth about environmental justice through art and workshops and credited mentoring and seed funding from the YMCA Youth Empowerment Fund for early projects. "Persistent Planet was created to address what my friends were going through, educating people on how systemic racism and income inequality is affecting us now," Sharma said.
Earlier in the meeting, Esther Tang, senior environmental education strategist, and Shraddha Mehta, community partnerships and engagement program manager, briefed commissioners on the education team’s work. Tang said the team reached "almost 19,000 youth last year" and highlighted the department’s Climate Action Youth Summit, which grew from about 180 students in a pilot to more than 3,000 attendees this April. Tang noted next year’s summit is scheduled for April 24, 2026 during Climate Week.
Youth presenters described a range of programs and projects. Matthew Nguyen, a rising senior, described Young Leaders in Climate Action, a group that ran summer workshops for underserved middle-school students and piloted school partnerships for the People’s Garden. Other youth fellows and interns described outreach projects ranging from waste accountability at schools to Bring Your Own Cup campaigns.
Why it matters: The education team’s programs are a primary channel for engaging students and building local climate capacity; the awards recognize community partners and youth leaders whose work connects climate education with environmental justice.
Clarifying details: Staff reported reaching nearly 19,000 youth in the prior year; the Climate Action Youth Summit drew more than 3,000 attendees in April 2025 and the next summit date was given as April 24, 2026. The Joanna Wald awards were presented to Kirk Grimes (A. Philip Randolph Institute) and Diya Sharma (Persistent Planet).
