Meet the 2026 Net Zero Conference Trailblazer Award Nominees

Nalleli Cobo

After receiving a cancer diagnosis at just 19 years old, Nalleli Cobo led a grassroots campaign resulting in the permanent closure of a hazardous oil-drilling site in her community in March 2020. This site, infamous for its toxic emissions, had inflicted severe health issues on Nalleli and her neighbors. Growing up in South Los Angeles, Nalleli became an activist at the age of 9, spurred by the foul odors emanating from the oil well across the street from her home. Enduring headaches, nosebleeds, and heart palpitations due to the pollution, she began attending meetings and rallies alongside her mother, delivering her first public speech on the matter at just 9 years old.

Co-founding initiatives like People Not Pozos and the South Central Youth Leadership Coalition, Nalleli’s activism gained momentum. In March 2020, her tireless work culminated in the permanent shutdown of the AllenCo Energy drilling site, where she had spent her childhood. Furthermore, her advocacy led to criminal charges against AllenCo Energy executives for environmental violations.

Nalleli has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2022, and was on the 2022 Time 100 Next list.

Tzeporah Berman

Tzeporah Berman BA, MES, LLD (honoris causa) has been designing climate justice and environmental campaigns and advising governments for 30 years. She is the Co-founder and International Program Director at Stand.earth, the Founder and Chair of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, and serves as a member of the Advisory Group for InfluenceMap.

She has held positions advising the British Columbia government and in Alberta she Co-Chaired the Oil Sands Advisory Working Group tasked with making recommendations to implement climate change policy in the oilsands. She holds an honorary doctorate of law from the University of British Columbia, was an adjunct professor at York University for 5 years, and publishes and speaks widely on fossil fuels and climate change. In 2019, Tzeporah was awarded the Climate Breakthrough Award of $2 million dollars to develop a bold new global climate strategy and in 2021 she gave a TED Talk presenting the case for a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels. In 2024, she was named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders and received Climate Scorecard Canada’s Climate Leader Award. In 2025, she was selected as a finalist for the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award for Trailblazing Leadership.

Jamie Margolin

Jamie Sarai Margolin uses animation to communicate anti-colonial messages, while also telling entertaining and powerful stories. As the founder of Pelea Animation, she is using the art form as a political storytelling and communication tool to mobilize real world action.

Jamie is an activist, author, public speaker, screenwriter, illustrator, animator, and filmmaker. She is the co-founder of the international youth climate justice movement, Zero Hour. The organization launched with a march in Washington D.C. and 25 cities around the world, and has mobilized thousands of young people to fight for a livable planet. Jamie is the author of “Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It,” a recipient of the 2020 Gold Medal Nautilus Book Award for Young Adult nonfiction.

Jamie is one of Teen Vogue’s “21 Under 21” of 2018, People Magazine’s 25 under 25 of 2018, Fuse TV’s Latina Trailblazer of 2018, The Today Show’s 18 under 18 Groundbreakers of 2019, MTV EMA Generation Change winner of 2019, BBC’s 100 most influential women of 2019, GLAAD’s 20 under 20 LGBTQ+ people changing the world, and on the OUT 100 list of 2020.

Samata Pattinson

BLACK PEARL CEO Samata Pattinson is a British-born Ghanaian entrepreneur working across design, fashion, music, entertainment, and education. She is passionate about cultural sustainability and connecting the dots between people, communities and the planet.

Pattinson’s design, educational, and commercial initiatives have driven sustainable fashion to the Oscars. She has inspired the topic of sustainability on reputable platforms and academic institutions around the world. Her impressive portfolio includes collaborations with notable figures such as Maggie Baird and Billie Eilish at the Annual
Academy Awards (notably, Samata authored the Sustainable Style Guide for the 95th and 96th Annual Academy Awards).

Her impact spans diverse realms, contributing to significant film projects like ‘TEXAS’ and featuring in Billie Eilish’s climate change documentary with prominent figures. Engagements at UN Climate Change Conference COP26, COP27 and COP28, advisory roles at The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and educational work at esteemed institutions like Yale School of the Environment demonstrate her influence. Listed in LOHAS Magazine’s ‘Green Women Power List 100’ among luminaries like Jane Goodall and Marina Abramović, her commitment to sustainable change is profound.

Aman Sharma

Aman Sharma is an award-winning wildlife conservationist and sustainability influencer. With a following of 1 million people across his platforms and over 220 million views, he makes content highlighting nature, urban wildlife, and conservation.

His work has been featured in National Geographic, and he has spoken at forums like the Nobel Peace Center, the UNGA and Coachella to further environmental causes. He was also a UNDP Mission 1.5 Ambassador, Nikon India’s youngest creator, featured on TIME magazine’s homepage and was awarded the National Respect Award for environmentalism in 2023.

Stephanie Suganami Shepherd

Stephanie Suganami (aka Steph Shep) is an actor, environmental advocate and social entrepreneur. With over 1.9 million followers, Stephanie’s expertise is leveraging her social influence to inspire global activism. Steph has partnered with prominent lifestyle brands such as American Express, Google, Kerastase, and Bulgari.

Suganami co-founded the digital climate education platform @FutureEarth. Suganami is an ambassador for The Environmental Working Group and John Kerry’s World War Zero climate change initiative. She also recently joined the board of Vice President Al Gore’s The Climate Reality Project and Los Angeles based social service organization The People Concern.

Through her advocacy, Suganami has generated millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours for organizations who, like her, relentlessly pursue human flourishing and environmental preservation.

Stephanie is known for staring in the A24 horror “Opus.” The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically on March 14, 2025. Other feature credits include the Amazon feature “Something from Tiffany’s” with Zoey Deutch and Shay Mitchell, produced by Hello Sunshine.

Steve Glenn

Steve Glenn is the founder, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Plant Prefab, Inc., a certified B Corp that manufactures customized prefabricated building components, enabling general contractors, developers, and homebuilders to build high-quality architectural homes faster, more reliably, and more affordably. From its $40M, 270,000-square-foot automated factory at Tejon Ranch, Plant can manufacture 1,000–2,000 homes per year. Plant brings extensive experience in fire-resilient construction and is involved in dozens of rebuild projects in Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu.
 
Previously, Glenn founded and led LivingHomes, a design and development company focused on modern prefabricated homes combining world-class architecture with healthy, sustainable construction. The first LivingHome, designed by Ray Kappe, FAIA, was installed in eight hours and became the first home ever to receive LEED Platinum certification. More than thirty LivingHomes have been certified LEED Platinum or Gold, earning honors including the AIA’s top sustainable award and Green Builder Magazine’s Home of the Year.
 
Glenn serves on the Board of CicLAvia, the Advisory Board of Van Wickle Ventures at Brown University, and the WELLS Home Advisory Council. He was named Clean Tech CEO of the Year and Environmental Entrepreneur of the Year.

Lynn Simon

Lynn N. Simon, FAIA, LEED Fellow, currently leads Regenerative Consulting + Coaching, providing Climate & Sustainability Advisory, Consulting, and Coaching services. With over three decades of experience in sustainability and LEED consulting, she has honed her expertise in strategic direction, stakeholder engagement, and team optimization. Today, Lynn coaches’ clients to gain clarity on their personal and professional objectives. She helps them identify and enhance their strengths, ensuring they are well-equipped to face challenges and seize opportunities. Through personalized guidance, she empowers clients to take purposeful steps toward achieving their career aspirations and fulfilling life paths.
 
Lynn, a renowned sustainability expert, has delivered keynote speeches at global forums and recently chaired the AIA California Climate Action Committee. She spent two decades in leadership roles with USGBC, including serving on the Board and co-chairing Greenbuild San Francisco in 2012. Lynn has received numerous awards, including the USGBC Pacific Region SHERO Leadership Award, gb&d Magazine Women in Sustainability Leadership Award, and the USGBC President’s Leadership Award.
 
Prior to her current role, Lynn held positions at Arup, Google, and Thornton Tomasetti.

Josh Dorfman

Josh Dorfman is a climate entrepreneur, media creator, and brand strategist. He is the creator and host of Supercool, a media platform spotlighting the companies, technologies, and business models driving the low-carbon economy. Supercool focuses on climate solutions already winning in the market by delivering stronger performance, better economics, and clear customer value.
 
Josh is also co-founder of Plantd, a carbon-negative building materials company using fast-growing perennial grass. As founding CEO, Josh led the company through its Seed and Series A rounds. In 2024, Plantd was named to Fast Company’s list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Josh has since returned as CMO to lead Plantd’s brand evolution and commercial strategy for its next stage of growth.
 
Earlier, Josh launched and led Vine.com at Amazon, where he ran the company’s business unit focused on natural, organic, and sustainably designed products. He also created and hosted The Lazy Environmentalist, a sustainability media brand that became a SundanceTV primetime series, a daily SiriusXM radio show, two books, and a platform for major brand partnerships.
 
He has appeared across national media, including NPR, Morning Joe, and Fox & Friends, and The Martha Stewart Show.

Gavin McCormick

Gavin McCormick is founder and executive director of WattTime, an environmental research nonprofit that has used AI to pioneer novel emissions-reducing innovations that have been adopted in over a billion devices worldwide.
 
Gavin also co-founded Climate TRACE, a coalition of more than 100 universities, NGOs, tech companies, and researchers collaborating to monitor global greenhouse gas emissions. Climate TRACE uses satellites, AI, and open science to monitor the emissions of more than 740 million individual facilities and sources worldwide. In 2022 Fast Company named it the #5 most innovative company in the world.

Macalia Wagner

Macaila is a Canadian environmental educator and conservation storyteller. Driven by a passion for wildlife, she collaborates with global foundations and NGOs to bring attention to their most important work.
 
Macaila’s specialty is translating complex scientific data into engaging stories that inspire people to learn, care, and act.

Celia Camargo

Celia Camargo is the Director of Community & Purpose at GU Energy Labs, where she has led with heart and hustle for 12 years. Under her leadership, GU has doubled down on purpose, ensuring resources and relationships expand access, opportunity, and inspiration for athletes of all levels, while protecting natural spaces.
 
Celia champions GU Gives, GU’s philanthropic program, and scaled GU’s commitment to 1% for the Planet, helping to add more than a dozen new impact partners to their network. Together with The Conservation Alliance, she initiated GU’s participation in Brands for Public Lands, a coalition of like-minded businesses advocating for public land and waters. Celia builds GU’s network of nonprofits and program partners, collaborating to create ever greater access to movement, invite community, and defend (or care for) natural spaces to thrive.
 
Her goal is to bring others along as she acts to promote land stewardship and diversify the outdoor industry, always acknowledging the land, people, and ideas that came before us.