Esperanza Garcia is an MS candidate of Columbia University’s Sustainability Management program and president of the Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development. She blogs at Ecohope. She was born and raised in Cebu, Philippines and is the mother of a 6-year old who is her inspiration.

She was co-founder and member of the executive board of the International Youth Council, which has provided educational resources and leadership opportunities to young global leaders. She has studied renewable energy at Yale University and finished her post-baccalaureate at Columbia University. She has worked as a consultant for South-South News, which works with UN agencies in helping South-South countries develop programs. She founded the Philippine Youth Climate Movement, which recognizes climate heroes and promotes climate change awareness among 50,000 students in Philippine schools. She served as a consultant for the Philippine Senate Climate Change Committee. As a consultant for Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, she focused her efforts in organizing the UN Youth Assembly, attended by hundreds of young global leaders. She was also a consultant for the Millennium Development Goal Awards Committee, which honored the efforts of government and civil society in their contributions towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. She was a journalist for UNICEF and South-South News, covering news from the UN General Assembly and the Clinton Global Initiative.

She served as a negotiator and official delegate to the Philippines at the UN Climate Change Conference in2009 and 2010. Garcia is the recipient of numerous awards on youth leadership and has been invited to speak at international conferences, including the UN, on the importance of young people’s engagement in global affairs and environmental sustainability. Her work has been published in several books and magazines including UniPro’s “30 top Filipinos under 30” and the Swedish magazine Heroes of Today.