City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: August 18, 2025
Report #:2507-4962
TITLE
Inaugural Youth Climate Advisory Board Annual Report; CEQA Status – Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
This report is provided for information only and requires no Council Action.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Palo Alto Youth Climate Advisory Board (YCAB) is an advisory body of high school students dedicated to sustainability and climate stewardship. Members contribute to and provide feedback on Palo Alto’s climate initiatives and policies and bring Citywide sustainability efforts to local high schools. The YCAB was developed in partnership with the Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition. The inaugural YCAB meeting convened in September 2024. This staff report summarizes the accomplishments and achievements of the eleven members of the inaugural Youth Climate Advisory Board.
BACKGROUND
In the fall of 2023, Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition (PASCC) members Julia Zeitlin, Angelina Rosh, and Theo Waltuch met with the City to discuss their proposal for creating a Palo Alto Youth Climate Advisory Board (YCAB). Their idea was to create a student board, similar in structure to the Palo Alto Youth Council, that would address issues about sustainability and climate action that are relevant to the youth community and support the work of the Office of Sustainability.
The City worked with PASCC to develop and refine the YCAB proposal, resulting in adoption of Youth Climate Advisory Board By-laws in April 2024. YCAB members are expected to dive into complex issues and invest time and energy into making the City and Palo Alto schools more sustainable. Board members must attend high school in Palo Alto and are expected to attend monthly board meetings as well as additional subcommittee meetings. Board members commit to a full, year-long term, from September the year they are appointed to August the following year. The YCAB is led by a Chair and two Vice Chairs, elected by the student board members
and staff leadership. The Chair facilitates board meetings, with the Vice Chairs recording attendance and minutes. The Chair and Vice Chairs serve as youth liaisons and attend City staff’s Sustainability Leadership Team meetings.
Working with PASCC co-founder Julia Zeitlin, the City developed an outreach strategy, application, and application process for the inaugural YCAB. A selection committee of City staff, a PASCC representative, and a teacher at Fletcher Middle School reviewed the YCAB applications. The selection committee selected eleven Palo Alto high school students for the inaugural YCAB.
ANALYSIS
The inaugural Palo Alto Youth Climate Advisory Board formed in September 2024. The eleven members of the inaugural Palo Alto Youth Climate Advisory Board represent the following Palo Alto High Schools: Castilleja School, Henry M. Gunn High School, The Kehillah School, and Palo Alto High School. The members of the inaugural board are:
Elsa Lagerblad, Chair
Caitlin Hopkins, Vice Chair
Aiden Miao, Vice Chair
Anika Agrawal
Donovan Carlson
Laura Cheunkarndee
Maya Mazin
Jenna Mu
Aaron Nance
Yuna Ng
Kiara Yoon
The eleven members of the Board not only worked on a wide range of projects to champion sustainability and climate action, they also helped shape the structure and framework of YCAB, which will serve as a blueprint for future Youth Climate Advisory Boards. The inaugural YCAB focused their work on the following subcommittees: Media, Transportation, Water, and Zero Waste. The board members worked with schools, community members, and local agencies and businesses in their mission to advocate for youth voices on climate issues.
A summary of the work of the inaugural YCAB and the accomplishments of each subcommittee can be found in Attachment A: Youth Climate Action Board 2024-2025 Annual Report. This summer, the board continues their work on several projects, including a Sea Level Rise communications and engagement project. The Board is also drafting recommendations to present to the Palo Alto Unified School District Sustainability Committee to guide a vision and plan for a sustainable school district that could be included in a Sustainability Master Plan.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Current and future initiatives will be managed and funded by the Office of Sustainability. Staff does not currently anticipate the need for additional resource requests as part of the annual budget process.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder engagement about the Youth Climate Advisory Board is wide-reaching and coordinated with multiple departments. Efforts include direct engagement, social media and other digital marketing/outreach, website updates, leveraging the City’s communication platforms, and more. Stakeholder engagement by the Youth Climate Advisory Board members included direct engagement with Palo Alto high school students, the Palo Alto Unified School District, community members, and local agencies and businesses; participation in City and school events; social media and other digital marketing/outreach; providing content for website updates; providing content for the City’s communication platforms; and more.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This report is for informational purposes only with no action required by the Council and is therefore not a project subject to CEQA review.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Youth Climate Advisory Board 2024-2025 Annual Report APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer