YAE Leader and Co-Founder of YAE!
Miko Vergun is a federal plaintiff in Juliana et a. v. U.S. and co-founder and lead youth climate leader with Youth Acting for our Earth. And, she is an Oregon State University Student (Class of 2023).
Photo: Pam Vergun
Miko Vergun has been a core part of the work of Climate Change Recovery and Youth Acting for our Earth (YAE!) since its inception.
Busy with school and climate work, this page will remain somewhat limited for awhile, but you can learn more about her work below.
Miko, from Beaverton, Oregon, is a 18-year old federal plaintiff in the case Juliana et al. vs. U.S. and a climate activist who draws upon her Marshallese heritage to focus attention on the plight of the Marshall Islands and all the world.
Miko helped to found Youth Acting for Our Earth (YAE!), leading numerous trainings across three states and counting. She went through the training to become a Climate Reality Leader, lobbied through the Oregon Youth Legislative Initiative, and co-founded an Earth Guardians Crew at the International School of Beaverton. She was elected to the Global Youth Board of Plant-for-the-Planet, attended the Summit in Germany, was honored as a Youth in Action by the Marshallese community, and served as board member of the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation.
She regularly speaks to media outlets and at rallies, K-12 schools, universities, congregations, and other events, in the U.S. and also internationally, as well as presenting workshops, trainings, and at conferences—including a 15 Minutes of Brilliance Keynote at the Living Future Conference that received a standing ovation, and at the 2016 Soil Not Oil International Conference. She graduated from the International School of Beaverton with an International Baccalaureate (IB) MYP Certificate and Diploma and holds a State of Oregon Seal of Biliteracy. She now studies journalism, psychology, and sustainability at Oregon State University.
Miko has also served as a successful fundraiser including at a benefit for Our Children’s Trust organized by churches in a small town in Oregon; as one of two featured youth speakers, she helped to bring in almost double the fundraising goal, fundraising over $46,000. In 2019-2020, she was hired by The Evergreen State College onto the Services & Activities Fee Allocation Board, which allocates funds. In 2018 she traveled to and spoke at many venues in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, including the University of the South Pacific, the College of the Marshall Islands, and Assumption K-12 School, and met with the president of her birth country.
In her spare time, Miko loves making and listening to music, camping, and hiking.
Want to learn how Miko got started? Check out: https://shalvahalizah.wordpress.com.
For the page on the Our Children’s Trust site for Miko Vergun, federal climate case plaintiff, go to: https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/miko.
For videos of her presentations and other posts about Miko and other YAE Team members, please visit our YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram:
http://bit.ly/CCR-Climate-Change-Recovery-Pam-Vergun-YouTube
https://www.facebook.com/ClimateChangeRecovery/
Climate Change Recovery 