Community Foundation of Northern Virginia
Earth Force
Fairfax County Federation of Teachers
George Mason University Office of Sustainability
George Mason University’s Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center
Thanks to the following people for participating in this year’s SEAS Committee!
Natalia Uro De León is a 2020 graduate of Wakefield High School where she played field hockey and lacrosse and managed the wrestling team. Natalia chaired Wakefield’s Environmentally Conscious Organization of Students (ECOS). Throughout high school, she found joy in being a proactive advocate for sustainability, producing a video series for Wakefield’s media program titled ‘How to Save the World,’ in which her team covered many topics from fighting fast fashion to proper recycling methods. Natalia now attends Dickinson College studying Sustainable Business and Environmental Studies. She is an active Eco-Rep who works with the Center for Sustainability Education to create a more sustainable community through peer education, and she is a volunteer for the school’s Free xChange, a clothing swap program that also spreads awareness around fast fashion. This Earth Day, she’s ecstatic to share her story alongside her best friend Ela for the SEAS keynote address.
Ela Gokcigdem is a first-year student at Babson College. A Wakefield High School class of 2020 graduate, Ela was involved with the varsity tennis/swim team and served as the president of the History Honor Society and DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America). Outside of school, she ran her own venture called ePearl Technologies, providing customers with wireless earbuds made out of 100% recycled materials. She served as a student liaison alongside Natalia for the Arlington Public Schools Superintendent’s Sustainability Advisory Committee. At Babson, Ela continues to pursue the intersection between environmental conservation and entrepreneurship. She is a member of EarthEcho International’s Youth Leadership Council, deputy director of finance for the youth-led climate organization This Is Zero Hour, and she was recently selected as one of the youngest members of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers fellowship. On campus, she is working on redeveloping Babson’s climate action plan to turn the college’s operations carbon neutral, while also serving on the executive boards of the Sustainability Intern program, Food Recovery Network, and the Babson Sustainability Club. Like Natalia, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to talk alongside her closest friend and hopefully inspire youth across Northern Virginia to save the planet.
