Rise Global Winner 2023

Maanit is a technology and policy-focused conservationist from Seattle, USA. Growing up amidst the ecologically rich yet delicate ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest, he now leads a youth coalition—which won a prestigious Presidential award—that advocates for removing four federal dams that threaten critical regional Keystone species. Remarkably, Maanit is the youngest independent delegate at the 2022 UN COP15 on Biodiversity and the sole panelist under 18 at Vancouver's IMPAC5 ocean-protection congress. Further showcasing his dedication, Maanit is a 2023 NASA Intern, a 2021 Space School delegate, the founder and chair of his city's climate advisory committee, a grantee of the Ashoka/GM STEM for Changemaking program, and a talented photographer. His Rise project, "Pokok-Ed," is an educational gamified simulation of palm oil production for students 12 and above.