SustainUS is a non-profit, nonpartisan

Nonpartisan (American organizations)

A nonpartisan organization, in American politics, is a non-profit organization organized under United States Internal Revenue Code that qualifies for tax-exempt status because it refrains from engaging in certain prohibited political activities...

, youth

Youth

Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...

-led advocacy group

Advocacy group

Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Its goal is to improve youth participation and youth empowerment

Youth empowerment

Youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults....

 as it relates to advancing sustainable development

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...

. SustainUS works particularly with youth aged 13-26 and on United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 conferences related to youth and/or sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

.

Through proactive education, research, and advocacy at the policy-making and grassroots levels, SustainUS members are attempting to build a future in which all people recognize the inherent equality, value, and interdependence of social, economic, and environmental sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

.

History

Founded May 2001 at the International Youth Summit in Borgholm, Sweden, to prepare U.S. youth for the World Summit on Sustainable Development

Partial, Longer History

Programs

SustainUS operates several programs:

• Agents of Change (AoC), begun in 2003, brings delegations of U.S.-based youth to conferences and summit
  Summit
  Summit may refer to:*Summit , the highest point of a mountain, hill, road, or railway.-Locations:United States* Summit, Arizona* Summit, Arkansas* Summit, California** Summit, Butte County, California** Summit, Kern County, California...
  
  s related to international sustainability policy, primarily at the United Nations. Youth delegates work with government delegates, fellow civil society
  Civil society
  Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
  
   members, and other youth to promote cooperation, focusing on youth-friendly and future-oriented policies. AoC has been active at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to 14, 1992...
  
   since at least 2005, also the International Forum on the Eradication of Poverty, the Commission for Social Development
  Commission for Social Development
  The Commission for Social Development is one of the ten functional commissions established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1946 to advise and assist it in carrying its work....
  
  , Commission on the Status of Women, and the Commission on Sustainable Development
  Commission on Sustainable Development
  The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development was established in December 1992 by General Assembly Resolution as a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council, implementing a recommendation in of Agenda 21, the landmark global agreement reached at the June 1992 United...
  
  .
• Citizen Science is a nationwide youth-led citizen science
  Citizen science
  Citizen science is a term used for the systematic collection and analysis of data; development of technology; testing of natural phenomena; and the dissemination of these activities by researchers on a primarily avocational basis...
  
   initiative committed to providing a platform for young scientist
  Scientist
  A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
  
  s and engineer
  Engineer
  An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
  
  s to engage in policy discourse and share scientific knowledge as it relates to sustainable development. The primary goal is to raise the awareness of United States' citizens regarding existing and emerging technologies designed to improve economic, social, and environmental conditions for not only current, but future generations as well. Citizen Science attempts to bring together the many fields of science into a holistic scientific forum to support and dissemate the principles of sustainable development. Citizen Science holds an annual paper competition based upon the discussion topics of the upcoming Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). The purpose of the competition is to make technical aspects of those topics relevant and understandable to the general public and influence sound public policy.Competition winners have their work published in the journal Citizen Science, and present to activists and policy-makers at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development at the UN Headquarters in New York City
  New York City
  New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
  
   as a member of the UN youth delegation.

Organization

• Steering Committee
  • Co-Chairs: Jennie Hatch & Marcie Smith
  • Secretary: Ellie Johnston
  • Treasurer: Vicky Liang
  • Media Relations Coordinator: Louise Yeung
  • Partnerships Coordinator: Dave Hannon

Full List of Staff

• Board of Directors
  • Jason Babbie
  • Sara Standish
  • Julie Larsen
  • Kyle Gracey
  • Monika Kerdeman
  • Catherine Manzo
  • Lockey White
  • Michael Gale
    Michael Gale
    Michael Gale is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL/AFL between 1985 and 1993 for the Fitzroy Football Club and then from 1994 to 1998 for the Richmond Football Club....
    
    
  • David Turnbull
    David Turnbull
    David Turnbull is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 2003, and was a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the federal election of 2004.Turnbull was educated at the Edinburgh College of Domestic...
    
    

Full List of Directors

Past Chairs/Steering Wheels

• Kyle Gracey
• Erin Kenzie
• Catherine Manzo
• Sara Standish
• Lauren Inouye

Scholarly Association

Many of SustainUS's leaders and staff are members of several prominent U.S. scholarship programs, and SustainUS draws many of its leaders from these organizations, including:

• Harry S. Truman Scholars
• Morris K. Udall Scholars
• Fulbright Scholars
• Peace Corps
  Peace Corps
  The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
  
  Volunteers